Microsoft confirms KB5036893 and KB5036892 patches break VPNs

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Microsoft’s recent patches, KB5036893 and KB5036892, released April 9th, 2024, has been impacting VPNs for both Windows 10 and Windows 11 machines.

This issue affects all currently supported versions of Windows: Windows 10 21H2 and 22H2; Windows 11 versions 21H2, 22H2, and 23H2; and Windows Server 2008, 2008 R2, 2012, 2012 R2, 2016, 2019, and 2022.

Microsoft is working on a fix, but it seems to be impacting VPN connections backed by TPM certificates.

To uninstall the update, press the Start button and search for ‘Settings’. On the screen that appears, click on ‘Windows Update’ and find and tap on the ‘Update history’ option. Here, you will see a list of installed updates. If you are on Windows 11, find the KB5036893 update and uninstall it. However, those on Windows 10 will have to find and uninstall the KB5036892 update.

Alternatively, Use the command DISM /online /get-packages to find the name of the April update package (specifically the LCU “cumulative” package) and use the DISM/Remove-Package command line option to begin the uninstall process. Detailed instructions are listed at the bottom of Microsoft’s KB5036893 support page.

VDI infrastructure

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) adding security to your organization

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Virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) has many benefits (among them):

  • A scalable infrastructure: Virtual desktops have become more appealing due to the cloud. By using adaptable infrastructure to provide resources as needed, the consolidation of the full VDI desktop infrastructure onto a host server lowers overall costs because businesses don’t have to purchase or maintain the necessary hardware.
  • Management structure: The virtual desktop infrastructure allows administrators to patch, maintain, and modify all virtualized desktops simultaneously. As a result, there is no need to repair and maintain the entire network of desktop computers on an individual basis. Moreover, in the event of a major disruption, the data center has all information backed up and supported.
  • Enhanced Security: VDI desktop services allow organizations to preserve and protect their sensitive information because the data isn’t stored on the users’ individual devices but within the data center. If the employee’s laptop, desktop, or other device is compromised, the hacker cannot access the organization’s data. Of course, the effectiveness of the security will depend upon the IT team’s vigilance regarding system management, and the authentication process for the remote users has to be rigid and scrupulously maintained.
  • Improved user experience. Employees are allowed to use the device of their choice in the manner of their choice, making the remote working experience easier and more convenient.
  • Lower cost. The overheads for maintaining legacy hardware will be lowered considerably due to the reduced need to upgrade and maintain in-office hardware.

Our team, in conjunction with our skilled engineers at GCSIT, can help your organization plan, procure, implement and support your VDI solution.

Forte binary

What the heck is DKIM and DMARC?

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Microsoft NCE (New Commerce Experience) and how it will impact your organization

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Microsoft is releasing the details of the Microsoft NCE (New Commerce Experience) on January 10th, 2022.

This is a price increase for Microsoft 365 and a change in the commitment process.

– January 10, 2022: Microsoft will launch the general availability of NCE for Modern Work and Dynamics 365 for indirect partners to offer to CSP re-sellers. Microsoft will also offer two time-bound promotions to incentivize users via their reseller partners, to migrate to NCE.

These promos are:

 5% off annual subscriptions January through March 2022 

Monthly subscriptions will be available at annual pricing from January through June 2022.  

So, this would require you to sign up with your reseller and change from a month-to-month contract to an annual contract. There is an option to stay month-to-month, but there is a 20% premium fee!

– March 1, 2022: There will be a price increase for the following products: 

Enterprise:  
Office 365 E1: $10 (from $8)

Office 365 E3: $23 (from $20) 

Office 365 E5: $38 (from $35) 

Microsoft 365 E3: $36 (from $32) 
 

SMB: 
Microsoft 365 Business Basic: $6 (from $5) 

Microsoft 365 Business Premium: $22 (from$20). 

Please note Microsoft is NOT changing pricing for Microsoft 365 E5, Microsoft Business Standard, or the Frontline SKUs.

– March 10, 2022: All new subscriptions for Modern Work and Dynamics will be required to be procured through the NCE Platform.

  

– July 1, 2022:  All renewal subscriptions for Modern Work and Dynamics will be required to be procured through NCE Platform. Pax8 will no longer allow partners to renew customer subscriptions on CSP legacy. 

– October 1, 2022: Incentives only available for NCE transactions (through MCI). 

  

– July 2023:  All non-migrated client subscriptions must be moved to the New Commerce Experience.  

  

What Does This Mean for You?

Moving to the New Commerce Experience will help you prepare for future growth thanks to improved revenue predictability, reduced licensing complexity, multiple term options, and features that enable new sales capabilities and operational efficiencies. You can expect: 

Term Options 

– Monthly term options at 20% premium – if you want to stay on month-to-month, there is a 20% premium in cost.

– Annual term options; upfront or monthly payments 

– Tri-annual term options; upfront, annual, or monthly payments  

– Cancelation period is now 3 days, including day of purchase. There will be a full refund issued if canceled on day 1, and a pro-rated refund if cancelled on days 2 and 3. 

Windows 365: Windows 365 subscriptions will only be available via the monthly term offer on NCE. Windows 365 subscriptions will not be subject to the 20% premium for monthly terms at this time.  

Nonprofit and Education: Nonprofit and Education licenses will not be offered on NCE at this time. Non- Profit and Education products will not be affected by the price increases in March.  

Cyber-Security Insurance and Requirements

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Cybersecurity insurance requirements

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Cisco drives that operate for 40k hours will cease to function

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Cisco just announced a new Field notice regarding Defect ID CSCvt55829 which is an industry wide firmware index bug.

Under normal operation, after 40,000 power-on hours (4.5 years), the SSD will report that 0 GB of available storage space remains. The drive will go offline and become unusable.

These drives were used in the following C-Series products and there is a firmware upgrade to resolve the issue.  For more information you can go to the Field Notice FN – 70545.

 

UCS Manager based B and C-Series Software Release Software Downloads
Release 4.1(1c) and later

VMware code execution flaw CVE-2021-21972

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There is a newly disclosed code-execution vulnerability in VMware vCenter.  VMware was quick to release a patch (within a day) and it can be found here.

The severity of this vulnerability as well as the fact that there are exploits available for both Windows and Linux servers, kicked off a flurry of mass scanning for vulnerable vCenter Servers.

Code execution, no authorization required

CVE-2021-21972 allows hacker with no authorization to upload files to vulnerable vCenter servers that are publicly accessible over port 443, researchers from security firm Tenable said. Successful exploits will result in hackers gaining unfettered remote code-execution privileges in the underlying operating system. The vulnerability stems from a lack of authentication in the vRealize Operations plugin, which is installed by default.

The flaw has received a severity score of 9.8 out of 10.0 on the Common Vulnerability Scoring System Version 3.0. Mikhail Klyuchnikov, the Positive Technologies researcher who discovered the vulnerability and privately reported it to VMware, compared the risk posed by CVE-2021-21972 to that of CVE-2019-19781, a critical vulnerability in the Citrix Application Delivery Controller