Vol. 24, #20 - May 20, 2019 - Issue #1232
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Hey Windows Defender, you've come a long way baby.
Or have you?
Windows Defender started out many years ago as a downloadable free antispyware program for Windows XP. Then with Windows 7 it became included software and eventually evolved into a full-fledged antivirus program that replaced Microsoft Security Essentials in Windows 8. At least that's how I remember it.
In Windows 10 however it's now known as Windows Defender. No wait -- in the Windows 10 Creator's Update it was renamed Windows Defender Antivirus, so I guess that's currently what the marketing team at Microsoft are calling it these days.
My question however, laying aside the naming question, is whether it does a good job catching the nasties that are trying to invade your Windows 10 devices. Microsoft says it does:
"Windows Defender Antivirus delivers comprehensive, ongoing and real-time protection against software threats like viruses, malware and spyware across email, apps, the cloud and the web."
You can read more of what they say here:
The most secure Windows ever -- and built to stay that way (Microsoft.com)
http://www.wservernews.com/go/6bd5ovdq/
Yong Rhee on his TechNet blog shares this interesting comment from his time at with Microsoft:
"I would go on-site with our Microsoft Premier customers, when I mentioned Windows Defender Antivirus (WD AV), I would hear, Windows Defender?"
You can read his full post here:
Windows 10: Windows Defender (WD) Antivirus (AV) (Yong Rhee's Microsoft TechNet Blog)
http://www.wservernews.com/go/0vf7x2xa/
I still hear something similar from many IT professionals when I tell them we are using Windows Defender AV to protect the PCs in our business -- which are now all running Windows 10 except for one old Windows 7 machine we still need to keep running and which is protected (we hope!) with an older but still supported version of Microsoft Forefront Endpoint Protection.
But is Windows Defender enough? Or should you buy third-party antimalware software and install it on your Windows 10 computers to *really* keep them safe from nasties?
Yong's blog post has some links to industry test results suggesting that Windows Defender scores at or near the top of its competitors in the antivirus stable. But industry tests are one thing, and real live experience with use in business environments is another.
What do you think? Is the built-in Windows Defender AV in Windows 10 devices enough to keep them safe? Or would you recommend another AV product? Why?
Email me at [email protected]
Enjoy!
Mitch Tulloch, Senior Editor
WServerNews goes out each week to more than 500,000 IT pro subscribers worldwide! That's a lot of expertise to tap into. Do you need help with some technical problem or are looking for expert advice on something IT-related? Ask Our Readers by emailing your problems and/or questions to us at [email protected]
Got any IT pro tips you'd like to share with other readers of our newsletter? Email us at [email protected]
I'll bet you didn't know that domain controllers are members of Domain Computers in Active Directory. Willem Kasdorp shows how this can trip you up sometimes with this troubleshooting story on his blog the Online memory of an Active Directory PFE:
http://www.wservernews.com/go/id8z7009/
GOT ADMIN TOOLS or other software/hardware you'd like to recommend? Email us at [email protected]
Watch best practices for private cloud implementation and management with Mike Resseler, Director Product Management, Veeam
http://www.wservernews.com/go/t50ziwzi/
Altaro VM Backup removes the complexities of backing up Hyper-V & VMware. Easy to use, sets up within just 15 mins & comes with the best deduplication in the industry. Download the free copy here
http://www.wservernews.com/go/je3ra5c2/
Open-Shell lets you use Start Menu and Explorer like it's 2000:
http://www.wservernews.com/go/psn4xzeu/
Search Deflector is a small program that redirects searches made from the Windows Start Menu or Cortana to whatever browser and search engine you prefer:
http://www.wservernews.com/go/m43cnb29/
Data Rescue is comprehensive and professional Hard drive recovery software that can recover your photos, videos, documents:
http://www.wservernews.com/go/ajw1bthq/
Last week's factoid and question was this:
Fact: The Education Ministry in Japan is reviewing its ban on students bringing mobile phones to schools.
Question: What about schools in your state or country? Are kids allowed to bring cellphones into class?
Wayne from Western Australia responded to this one:
My youngest is in year 12 at a private school in Western Australia. They have the policy that students may bring their mobile to school, but it is locked in their locker from the start of classes to the end of the day. This way they can carry it on public transport or have it available if they need access to it during the day for emergencies, but they are not constantly tempted to access it. If found with it during the day, they have to have a good excuse, or they lose it for the rest of the day and risk detention. I think this is reasonable.
That sounds reasonable to me too. What about in other countries? Any other readers like to share school policy in their locality? Email me at [email protected]
Now let's move on to this week's factoid:
Fact: A recent study demonstrates how easy it is for price-setting algorithms to learn to collude with one other and keep prices for customers at a disadvantage:
Source: http://www.wservernews.com/go/y5uh3q2q/
Question: Amazon probably uses algorithms to set the prices for many of their products. Are there any things we as consumers can do to counter this and get better prices on Amazon items we want to buy?
Email your answer to [email protected]
>> Got an IT conference happening in North America that you'd like to promote in our newsletter? Email us at [email protected]
Nov 4-8, 2019 in Orlando, Florida
http://www.wservernews.com/go/d9xi0005/
Register for your city's Tour event here:
http://www.wservernews.com/go/okhpsmfz/
Microsoft Business Applications Summit - June 10-11 in Atlanta, Georgia USA
http://www.wservernews.com/go/oyl03v4k/
Microsoft DevDays - June 17-21 in Redmond, Washington USA
http://www.wservernews.com/go/jztia6i7/
Microsoft Inspire - July 14-18 in Las Vegas, Nevada USA
http://www.wservernews.com/go/p2d5wkyj/
Microsoft Ignite - Nov. 4-8 in Orlando, Florida USA
http://www.wservernews.com/go/e2tv1bcu/
Infosecurity Europe - June 4-6 in London, England
http://www.wservernews.com/go/zz0h6wxg/
Gartner Security & Risk Management Summit - June 17-20 in National Harbor, Maryland USA
http://www.wservernews.com/go/502kt8ez/
Cyber Security Summit - June 27 in Washington D.C. USA
http://www.wservernews.com/go/ywyrbvrk/
RSA Conference 2019 - July 16-18 in Singapore
http://www.wservernews.com/go/4mb7ya6d/
Cyber Security Summit - July 18 in Seattle, Washington USA
http://www.wservernews.com/go/0eq6g60b/
Black Hat USA - August 3-8 in Las Vegas, Nevada USA
http://www.wservernews.com/go/4kp09wbs/
Cyber Security Summit - August 27 in Chicago, Illinois USA
http://www.wservernews.com/go/01qq8rus/
Cyber Security Summit - Sept. 25 in Charlotte, North Carolina USA
http://www.wservernews.com/go/do4ctnlk/
Citrix Synergy - May 21-23 in Atlanta, Georgia USA
http://www.wservernews.com/go/gml9ojsw/
SharePoint Conference - May 21-23 in Las Vegas, Nevada USA
http://www.wservernews.com/go/jt4vsrgt/
Computex - May 28 to June 1 in Taipei, Taiwan
http://www.wservernews.com/go/iv8zvw05/
Microsoft Azure + AI Conference - ;June 10-13 in Atlanta, Georgia
http://www.wservernews.com/go/zmd1bkt7/
Cloud & DevOps World - June 12-13 in London, England
http://www.wservernews.com/go/2dmtv8ro/
Microsoft Inspire - July 14-18 in Las Vegas, Nevada USA
http://www.wservernews.com/go/59otluf2/
SPTechCon - August 25-28 in Boston, Massachusetts USA
http://www.wservernews.com/go/uw96wxqd/
VMworld - August 25-29 in San Francisco, California USA
http://www.wservernews.com/go/bxq4qymf/
It's gotta be here somewhere! Troubleshooting data availability issues
When you can't access your data, your business is in trouble. Here are some tips to solve any data availability issues that might come up.
http://www.wservernews.com/go/qc3i10xl/
AI or IA? It's time to get intelligent about artificial intelligence
AI stands for Artificial Intelligence. But is there really such a thing? And will it change the job of the IT professional forever, or is it just hype?
http://www.wservernews.com/go/wkmlyg50/
Help for your helpdesk: Using Quick Steps for canned replies in Outlook
Sometimes all you need to do when you get an email in Microsoft Outlook is reply with a canned response. The Quick Steps feature can help you do this.
http://www.wservernews.com/go/y0hhvgi5/
Pay attention: Stop ignoring your network security policy
Developing and maintaining a network security policy for your company isn't exciting, but it's a crucial step to ensure IT assets and data are protected.
http://www.wservernews.com/go/u7pa0vbp/
The World's First Portable Computer (1975) - IBM 5100
It's small, lightweight (55 lbs) and reasonably priced (from $8975).
http://www.wservernews.com/go/duom5flg/
Window Cleaner
When you clean skyscraper windows, this is how you end the work day:
http://www.wservernews.com/go/l2sh5ilk/
Ping Pong - Bernoulli's Principle
Physics is fun! You can try this at home. "Bernoulli's Principle" is also responsible for airplanes to fly!
http://www.wservernews.com/go/9lbtjfp2/
Snow Dogs
In the wintery woods, a descendant of wolves is really in its element, remembers its roots, and gives in to its most basic of instincts ... to GO WILD!
http://www.wservernews.com/go/h7byaa0p/
Clear the Confusion Around Microsoft RDS
Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is often pigeonholed as a session-based virtualization tool. IT can, however, use it for both VDI and app virtualization, as well. Learn more here.
http://www.wservernews.com/go/hknsp73q/
How to Implement a Mobile App Blacklist
Mobile apps aren't always safe, but IT can ensure that end users err of the side of caution with a blacklist. It's simple to create and maintain one with these steps.
http://www.wservernews.com/go/azlxmd2b/
Words to Go: QA Testing Methodologies
Do bottom-up and top-down testing throw you for a loop? In the dark about the difference between black box and functional testing? Print out this handy cheat sheet of testing terms.
http://www.wservernews.com/go/gy3zglsi/
What Does Windows Virtual Desktop Mean to Citrix? Citrix Might Look More Like a Systems Integrator
Citrix is going to be a Microsoft Cloud Solutions Provider and resell Microsoft 365 and Azure compute. Being a combination software vendor/systems integrator can be a great position.
http://www.wservernews.com/go/5kt516v2/
Got feedback about anything in this issue of WServerNews? Email us at [email protected]
Free Tool for Monitoring Exchange Server Status & Performance
|
Mitch Tulloch is Senior Editor of WServerNews and is a widely recognized expert on Windows administration, deployment and virtualization. Mitch was lead author of the bestselling Windows 7 Resource Kit and has been author or series editor for almost fifty books mostly published by Microsoft Press. Mitch is also a ten-time recipient of Microsoft's Most Valuable Professional (MVP) award for his outstanding contributions in support of the global IT pro community. Mitch owns and runs an information technology content development business based in Winnipeg, Canada. For more information see www.mtit.com.
Ingrid Tulloch is Associate Editor of WServerNews and was co-author of the Microsoft Encyclopedia of Networking from Microsoft Press. Ingrid is also manages research and marketing for our content development business and has co-developed university-level courses in Information Security Management for a Masters of Business Administration program.
