Microsoft Office 2010: Can't be activated anymore?

[German]Owners of Microsoft Office 2010 who are still using this package should realize that this product has not only fallen out of Microsoft support, but can also no longer be re-activated in case of a fresh install. Microsoft seems to refuses now to activate the product after a re-install, as I have now learned in two specific cases.

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Windows 8/8.1: Out-of-band fix for printer issue (July 28, 2021)

Update[German]Microsoft has released the next set of out-of-band updates for Windows 8 Embedded/Server 2012 and Windows 8.1/Server 2012 R2 on July 28, 2021. These updates are supposed to fix the printing issue in connection with SmartCard authentication. Here's a quick overview of the new updates.

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Future Windows Server versions will only be available as LTSC

Windows[German]Microsoft is cutting Windows Server channels and eliminating the semi-annual upgrade channels in the future. Starting with the upcoming Windows Server 2022, there will only be so-called LTSC variants every two to three years, which will get five years of mainstream support and another five years of extended support with security updates.. Continue reading

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Out-of-band updates fixes Windows printing issues (July 27, 2021)

Update[German]Microsoft has released unscheduled updates for Windows 10 version 1809, as well as Windows 7 SP1 (with ESU) and Windows Server 2008 SP2 (with ESU), effective July 27, 2021. These special updates are intended to fix the printing issue associated with SmartCard authentication. Here is a quick overview of the situation.

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Windows 11: Microsoft AMA , the HW requirements, app updates and other insights

Windows[German]Microsoft recently held an "Ask me anything" (AMA) session on Windows 11, where some strategies were presented. For example, there will be no quarter for systems that do not meet the hardware requirements – tricks to get around the installation hurdles are not supposed to exist. In addition, some information about the topic of app updates was revealed – so they don't have to be updated via the store. Here is a brief overview of these topics, enriched with my thoughts on sustainability and Microsoft Teams as a Trojan horse for the IT solutions of the coming years.

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Why ISL Online: Critical factors when choosing a remote desktop solution

[Sponsored Post]In the rapidly evolving IT world, choosing the right remote desktop software is critical for organizations that value security, ease of use and reliability. One provider of secure remote access that has been on the market since 2001 is ISL Online, which presents some considerations for choosing such software below. More ...


Hotfix for MBAM bitlocker recovery key issue in ConfigMgr 2013

Windows[German]Quick note for administrators who use the MBAM agent to escrow BitLocker recovery keys. This may result in excessive policy generation in Configuration Manager version 2103. Microsoft has now provided a hotfix to address this issue.

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Microsoft Edge 92: Security Baseline available

Edge[German]Quick announcement for administrators in the corporate environment. As of July 26, 2021, Microsoft has announced the availability of the Security Baseline for Microsoft Edge version 92 (see the Techcommunity post Security baseline for Microsoft Edge v92). In the new version, 3 settings have been added to the policies and one setting has been removed. The package can be downloaded from the Download Center as Security Compliance Toolkit. (via)

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iOS 14.7.1 and macOS 11.5.1

[German]Apple released iOS 14.7.1 and macOS 11.5.1 on July 26, 2021. These are updates that fix bugs and especially security vulnerabilities. One vulnerability is already being exploited for attacks practically in the wild.

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RemotePotato0: Privilege Escalation Vulnerability in Windows RPC Protocol

Windows[German]Every Windows system is vulnerable to a specific NTLM relay attack that could allow attackers to escalate privileges from user to domain admin. This vulnerability has a status of "not being fixed" and was the subject of the PetitPotam approach I addressed over the weekend. Now Antonio Cocomazzi  has pointed out the vulnerability called RemotePotato0. This uses the Windows RPC protocol for privilege escalation.

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Microsoft Edge 92.0.902.55 causes PDF freezes

The update of the Edge browser to version 92.0.902.55 on July 22, 2021 does close various vulnerabilities. However, users report that this Edge version causes freezes when opening PDF files (see Microsoft Edge 92.0.902.55: Fixes vulnerabilities, causes freezes in PDFs).

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