Category: News
Zappify 2.0 Mosquito Reviews-{Zappify Bug Zapper}-Protect Your Home with Zappify 2.0 Mosquito Zapper
Step into the great outdoors with Zappify 2.0 by your side, ready to unleash its power against pesky mosquitoes and other bothersome pests. This innovative device is not just limited to indoor use; it’s also your ultimate defense for outdoor protection. Whether you’re camping, picnicking, or simply enjoying your backyard, Zappify 2.0 is there to keep those unwanted intruders at bay. With its advanced features and effective pest control capabilities, Zappify 2.0 ensures that you can enjoy the fresh air without the constant buzzing and biting of mosquitoes.
Step into the great outdoors with Zappify 2.0 by your side, ready to unleash its power against pesky mosquitoes and other bothersome pests. This innovative device is not just limited to indoor use; it’s also your ultimate defense for outdoor protection. Whether you’re camping, picnicking, or simply enjoying your backyard, Zappify 2.0 is there to keep those unwanted intruders at bay. With its advanced features and effective pest control capabilities, Zappify 2.0 ensures that you can enjoy the fresh air without the constant buzzing and biting of mosquitoes. => (SPECIAL OFFER) Click Here To Order the “Zappify” For The Best Discounted Price Today From The Official Website! => Click Here To Buy Your “Zappify” From The Official Website – Backed By 5-Star Reviews By Happy Customers! Read More
Jira Integration with Microsoft Loop
Happy Thursday Microsoft 365 Insiders!
Feedback in Action! We’re excited to announce the availability of Jira integration with Microsoft Loop! This new feature is designed to help teams manage their projects more effectively by allowing them to interact with Jira issues right within Microsoft Loop.
Huge shout out to Dimple, Product Manager on the Microsoft Loop team, and the rest of the Microsoft Loop team for making this integration happen!
Check out our latest blog post to learn how it works.
Thanks!
Perry Sjogren
Microsoft 365 Insider Social Media Manager
Become a Microsoft 365 Insider and gain exclusive access to new features and help shape the future of Microsoft 365. Join Now: Windows | Mac | iOS | Android
Happy Thursday Microsoft 365 Insiders!
Feedback in Action! We’re excited to announce the availability of Jira integration with Microsoft Loop! This new feature is designed to help teams manage their projects more effectively by allowing them to interact with Jira issues right within Microsoft Loop.
Huge shout out to Dimple, Product Manager on the Microsoft Loop team, and the rest of the Microsoft Loop team for making this integration happen!
Check out our latest blog post to learn how it works.
Thanks!
Perry Sjogren
Microsoft 365 Insider Social Media Manager
Become a Microsoft 365 Insider and gain exclusive access to new features and help shape the future of Microsoft 365. Join Now: Windows | Mac | iOS | Android Read More
Key Mirroring to Azure SQL Database in Fabric Benefits | Data Exposed
Mirroring Azure SQL Database in Fabric is a new, simple, and frictionless way to replicate a snapshot of these source database in Fabric OneLake in Delta tables that keeps the data in sync in near-real time. The key benefits are: 1) Reduced total cost of ownership, 2) Zero code with zero ETL and, 3) Faster time to operational data to derive insights. Learn more in this episode of Data Exposed.
Resources:
View/share our latest episodes on Microsoft Learn and YouTube!
Microsoft Tech Community – Latest Blogs –Read More
TLS server authentication: Deprecation of weak RSA certificates
TLS server authentication is becoming more secure across Windows. Weak RSA key lengths for certificates will be deprecated on future Windows OS releases later this year. Specifically, this affects TLS server authentication certificates chaining to roots in the Microsoft Trusted Root Program. Please read on to learn more about the upcoming changes.
Deprecation of weak RSA key lengths
TLS server authentication certificates are used to verify the identity of the server to a client and to establish secure connections between client and server. So far, you’ve been able to use 1024 bits as the shortest key length for RSA encryption. However, 1024-bit key lengths today provide insufficient security given the advancement of computing power and cryptanalysis techniques. Therefore, they will be discontinued in the last quarter of this calendar year.
Here’s a timeline of the journey toward key lengths of 2048 bits or longer:
2012: Our first advisory encourages moving away from keys shorter than 1024 bits.
2013: The National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST) recommends discontinuing the use of 1024-bit RSA keys.
2016: You’ve been able to follow our Certification Authority Guidance to start implementing longer keys, among other measures.
April 2024: The new recommended standard is available to those in the Windows Insider Program.
Late 2024: 1024-bit RSA keys will be deprecated to further align with the latest internet standards and regulatory bodies.
In the coming months, Microsoft will begin to deprecate the use of TLS server authentication certificates using RSA key lengths shorter than 2048 bits on Windows Client. We recommend you use a stronger solution of at least 2048 bits length or an ECDSA certificate, if possible.
Important
TLS certificates issued by enterprise or test certification authorities (CA) aren’t impacted by this change. Most organizations should not be affected by this change. Still, we recommend following best practices to update your RSA keys.
Microsoft’s definition of deprecation
Generally, when a feature or product is deprecated at Microsoft, it’s no longer in active development and may be removed in future releases of a product or online service. It will continue to be supported until its eventual removal. After removal, that product or feature will no longer be supported and will no longer work. Learn more at Deprecated features in the Windows client.
Why is this key length being deprecated?
If you use Windows or Azure, you know that security is our priority. Microsoft is committed to helping keep your organization protected and productive. As technology advances, weaker key lengths are at risk of breaking. To prevent that scenario from affecting you, we’re taking preventive measures.
Will this change affect the RSA algorithm?
No. Support for the RSA algorithm itself will not be affected. Rather, the minimum allowable key length for RSA keys used on Windows OS will change to 2048 bits.
Next steps in securing connections between client and server
Do you still use weak TLS server authentication certificates? Try one of these two solutions:
Switch to new TLS server authentication certificates with RSA key lengths of 2048 bits or higher for all your applications or services.
Switch to smaller and faster ECDSA certificates.
If you switch to longer RSA keys and experience issues, you can use the following regkey as a temporary workaround:
certutil -setreg chainminWeakRsaPubKeyBitLength 0xFFFFFFFF
To change your solution to use a different key length, please enable the following:
certutil -setreg chainminWeakRsaPubKeyBitLength <maxkeylength>
where maxkeylength is the maximum size allowed.
When you’re ready to disable this workaround, just set the minWeakRsaPubKeyBitLength value back to 2047.
Important
You should not change the key length unless you’re confident that no keys of the specified length are in use and/or you understand the implications.
Another healthy alternative to strengthening your RSA certificates is switching to ECDSA certificates. For a refresher, see where they fit in the broader Cryptography and Certificate Management. Get started with ECDSA certificates at Cipher Suites in TLS/SSL (Schannel SSP).
Learn more and get more secure
To learn more about complying with the latest internet standards for server-client authentication, please visit:
Deprecated features in the Windows client – What’s new in Windows
RSA key length is increased to 2048 bits for AD RMS in Windows Server 2008 R2 and in Windows Server 2008
Microsoft SDL Cryptographic Recommendations
Certification Authority Guidance
Program Requirements – Microsoft Trusted Root Program
Continue the conversation. Find best practices. Bookmark the Windows Tech Community, then follow us @MSWindowsITPro on X/Twitter. Looking for support? Visit Windows on Microsoft Q&A.
Microsoft Tech Community – Latest Blogs –Read More
Sharepoint Site Theme Color Issue – Group Calendar
I made a SharePoint site and used the Group Calendar “web part” to show upcoming events. When I click on the individual event, a box appears with more information. I can barely read the text because it decided that green on green is legible. So far I see no way to change the theme in order to have contrast between the box background and the text, and no way to edit the “web part” itself to change the colors. Even when I change the entire site theme colors, this is still an issue. Any way to fix this?
I made a SharePoint site and used the Group Calendar “web part” to show upcoming events. When I click on the individual event, a box appears with more information. I can barely read the text because it decided that green on green is legible. So far I see no way to change the theme in order to have contrast between the box background and the text, and no way to edit the “web part” itself to change the colors. Even when I change the entire site theme colors, this is still an issue. Any way to fix this? Read More
Converting a general format to time
When we export data from Power BI it converts the hr:min:sec into a general number, for example if it was 1:15:20 it would export to 11520. Any advice on how to get this to format back into hr:min:sec or possibly have it converted into one of the following: total seconds, total minutes, or convert the total time to a decimal.
When we export data from Power BI it converts the hr:min:sec into a general number, for example if it was 1:15:20 it would export to 11520. Any advice on how to get this to format back into hr:min:sec or possibly have it converted into one of the following: total seconds, total minutes, or convert the total time to a decimal. Read More
Run-Time Error ‘1004’: Method ‘Range’ of object ‘_global’ failed?
I have a macro that is supposed to take a cell (starting with J8), perform the text to columns function (placing the data in 2 columns starting with J8) and then go down two rows (to J10) and performs the same function.
It is intended to continue this process until it reaches an empty cell, but I’m getting this error and can’t figure out why. Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
I have a macro that is supposed to take a cell (starting with J8), perform the text to columns function (placing the data in 2 columns starting with J8) and then go down two rows (to J10) and performs the same function.It is intended to continue this process until it reaches an empty cell, but I’m getting this error and can’t figure out why. Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! Read More
How Do I Resolve QuickBooks Administrator Permissions Needed After Window?
After a Windows update, QuickBooks users often encounter common hurdles that require administrator permissions. This can be frustrating, but understanding why it happens and how to fix it can make your QuickBooks experience easier. In this article, we will delve into the reasons behind “QuickBooks Administrator Permissions Needed After Windows” and offer practical solutions to address it.
Reasons Behind the Requirement:
Several factors contribute to the need for QuickBooks administrator permissions after a Windows update:
Security Enhancements: Windows updates often include security patches and enhancements designed to protect your system from threats. These updates may inadvertently affect permissions related to third-party applications like QuickBooks, necessitating administrator intervention to ensure secure access.System Configuration Changes: Updates to the Windows operating system can introduce changes to system configurations that impact how applications interact with system resources. QuickBooks may require elevated permissions to adapt to these alterations effectively and maintain seamless functionality.Compatibility Challenges: QuickBooks must maintain compatibility with various versions of the Windows operating system. Updates or patches released by Microsoft may introduce changes that affect this compatibility, requiring adjustments within QuickBooks that necessitate administrator permissions to implement.
Solutions:
To resolve QuickBooks administrator permissions needed issue, consider using the following solution:
Run QuickBooks as an Administrator: Right-click the QuickBooks shortcut or executable file and select “Run as administrator” from the context menu. This grants QuickBooks elevated privileges, potentially bypassing permission-related issues.Adjust User Account Control (UAC) Settings: User Account Control is a Windows security feature that can sometimes interfere with application permissions. Lowering the UAC setting to a less restrictive level may reduce permission prompts when using QuickBooks.Verify User Permissions: Ensure that the user account you’re using has the necessary permissions to access and modify QuickBooks files and settings. This includes checking both Windows user permissions and QuickBooks user roles within the application.Update QuickBooks: Ensure you’re using the latest version of QuickBooks, as updates often include bug fixes and compatibility improvements that can address permission-related issues.Reinstall QuickBooks: If other solutions fail, consider reinstalling QuickBooks to resolve persistent permission problems. Remember to back up your company file and important data before reinstalling.
Conclusion:
Facing a QuickBooks administrator permissions Needed after Windows update can be frustrating, but with a clear understanding of the problem and a practical solution, you can overcome this challenge with the included solution matter, in this case implementing and staying active with system software updates. You can ensure that the QuickBooks experience
After a Windows update, QuickBooks users often encounter common hurdles that require administrator permissions. This can be frustrating, but understanding why it happens and how to fix it can make your QuickBooks experience easier. In this article, we will delve into the reasons behind “QuickBooks Administrator Permissions Needed After Windows” and offer practical solutions to address it. Reasons Behind the Requirement: Several factors contribute to the need for QuickBooks administrator permissions after a Windows update: Security Enhancements: Windows updates often include security patches and enhancements designed to protect your system from threats. These updates may inadvertently affect permissions related to third-party applications like QuickBooks, necessitating administrator intervention to ensure secure access.System Configuration Changes: Updates to the Windows operating system can introduce changes to system configurations that impact how applications interact with system resources. QuickBooks may require elevated permissions to adapt to these alterations effectively and maintain seamless functionality.Compatibility Challenges: QuickBooks must maintain compatibility with various versions of the Windows operating system. Updates or patches released by Microsoft may introduce changes that affect this compatibility, requiring adjustments within QuickBooks that necessitate administrator permissions to implement. Solutions:To resolve QuickBooks administrator permissions needed issue, consider using the following solution: Run QuickBooks as an Administrator: Right-click the QuickBooks shortcut or executable file and select “Run as administrator” from the context menu. This grants QuickBooks elevated privileges, potentially bypassing permission-related issues.Adjust User Account Control (UAC) Settings: User Account Control is a Windows security feature that can sometimes interfere with application permissions. Lowering the UAC setting to a less restrictive level may reduce permission prompts when using QuickBooks.Verify User Permissions: Ensure that the user account you’re using has the necessary permissions to access and modify QuickBooks files and settings. This includes checking both Windows user permissions and QuickBooks user roles within the application.Update QuickBooks: Ensure you’re using the latest version of QuickBooks, as updates often include bug fixes and compatibility improvements that can address permission-related issues.Reinstall QuickBooks: If other solutions fail, consider reinstalling QuickBooks to resolve persistent permission problems. Remember to back up your company file and important data before reinstalling. Conclusion:Facing a QuickBooks administrator permissions Needed after Windows update can be frustrating, but with a clear understanding of the problem and a practical solution, you can overcome this challenge with the included solution matter, in this case implementing and staying active with system software updates. You can ensure that the QuickBooks experience Read More
Default Teams Notifications for all Users/Tenant
Is there a policy that can be set or PowerShell command to set default Teams notifications for your tenant. Basically, we want to set our default notifications differently than MS has, specifically for the new Calendar notifications in that are now showing in the Activity feed, but it would be nice to customize the default notifications settings for all users.
Is there a policy that can be set or PowerShell command to set default Teams notifications for your tenant. Basically, we want to set our default notifications differently than MS has, specifically for the new Calendar notifications in that are now showing in the Activity feed, but it would be nice to customize the default notifications settings for all users. Read More
Only allow SharePoint Sync on EntraID joined devices
I was wondering if it’s possible to only allow SharePoint libraries to be synced on devices that are joined to EntraID/Intune.
If it is possible, what needs to be done to achieve it?
I was wondering if it’s possible to only allow SharePoint libraries to be synced on devices that are joined to EntraID/Intune. If it is possible, what needs to be done to achieve it? Read More
Pivot Table Formatting
This doesn’t happen all the time, but sometimes when I add fields to a pivot table the formatting will change along with the respective data table. All these numbers were originally right aligned but when I added “Months” into the pivot table the alignment goes all over the place. Feel like this is something simple I have messed up in my settings, but any help is appreciated! (This is fake data in the table)
This doesn’t happen all the time, but sometimes when I add fields to a pivot table the formatting will change along with the respective data table. All these numbers were originally right aligned but when I added “Months” into the pivot table the alignment goes all over the place. Feel like this is something simple I have messed up in my settings, but any help is appreciated! (This is fake data in the table) Read More
Creating Wolfram’s ‘Rule 30’ in Excel with Lambda
Background
Stephen Wolfram’s cellular automaton Rule 30 starts from a scalar – 1 – and with each new iteration checking the bits of the previous iteration, forms a complex pattern resembling certain patterns found in nature.
How can something that simple produce something that complex? It’s been nearly 40 years since I first saw rule 30—but it still amazes me. Long ago it became my personal all-time favorite science discovery, and over the years it’s changed my whole worldview and led me to all sorts of science, technology, philosophy and more.
The Rule Set
p – cell Left of bit being check (If no cell left of the bit checked, default to 0)
q – the bit checked
r – the cell Right of the bit checked (If no cell right of bit checked, default to 0)
The calculation performed on each bit:
XOR(p,OR(q,r))
The formula
I feel no shame in using MAKEARRAY within REDUCE to accomplish this task! The rule set is simple, but the obstacle with Excel is the nature of XOR/OR returning a scalar. I find it easy to ‘check the bits’ by utilizing MAKEARRAY. I toyed with other methods that quickly became contorted and calculated very slowly. I even considered deploying MAKEARRAY recursively (w/o REDUCE) but thought better of it.
Wolfram30
=Lambda(n,LET(
width, n * 2 – 1,
counter, SEQUENCE(n),
iterate, LAMBDA(previous, i,
LET(
pad_with_zero, EXPAND(0, , n – i, 0),
iteration, IF(i = 1, HSTACK(pad_with_zero, i, pad_with_zero), TAKE(previous, -1)),
bitcheck, LAMBDA(row, col,
LET(
start, n + 1 – i,
bits, i * 2 – 1,
end, start + bits,
left, IF(col = 1, 0, INDEX(iteration, , col – 1)),
center, INDEX(iteration, , col),
right, IF(col = width, 0, INDEX(iteration, , col + 1)),
IF(AND(col >= start, col <= end), N(XOR(left, OR(center, right))), 0)
)
),
bit_array, MAKEARRAY(1, width, bitcheck),
next, IF(i = 1, iteration, bit_array),
VSTACK(previous, next)
)
),
DROP(REDUCE(0, counter, iterate), 1)
))
I welcome all formula solutions (PQ, too, if you can pull that off). Please no VBA or AI contributions.
BackgroundStephen Wolfram’s cellular automaton Rule 30 starts from a scalar – 1 – and with each new iteration checking the bits of the previous iteration, forms a complex pattern resembling certain patterns found in nature. How can something that simple produce something that complex? It’s been nearly 40 years since I first saw rule 30—but it still amazes me. Long ago it became my personal all-time favorite science discovery, and over the years it’s changed my whole worldview and led me to all sorts of science, technology, philosophy and more.-Stephen WolframThe Rule Setp – cell Left of bit being check (If no cell left of the bit checked, default to 0)q – the bit checkedr – the cell Right of the bit checked (If no cell right of bit checked, default to 0) The calculation performed on each bit: XOR(p,OR(q,r)) The formulaI feel no shame in using MAKEARRAY within REDUCE to accomplish this task! The rule set is simple, but the obstacle with Excel is the nature of XOR/OR returning a scalar. I find it easy to ‘check the bits’ by utilizing MAKEARRAY. I toyed with other methods that quickly became contorted and calculated very slowly. I even considered deploying MAKEARRAY recursively (w/o REDUCE) but thought better of it.Wolfram30
=Lambda(n,LET(
width, n * 2 – 1,
counter, SEQUENCE(n),
iterate, LAMBDA(previous, i,
LET(
pad_with_zero, EXPAND(0, , n – i, 0),
iteration, IF(i = 1, HSTACK(pad_with_zero, i, pad_with_zero), TAKE(previous, -1)),
bitcheck, LAMBDA(row, col,
LET(
start, n + 1 – i,
bits, i * 2 – 1,
end, start + bits,
left, IF(col = 1, 0, INDEX(iteration, , col – 1)),
center, INDEX(iteration, , col),
right, IF(col = width, 0, INDEX(iteration, , col + 1)),
IF(AND(col >= start, col <= end), N(XOR(left, OR(center, right))), 0)
)
),
bit_array, MAKEARRAY(1, width, bitcheck),
next, IF(i = 1, iteration, bit_array),
VSTACK(previous, next)
)
),
DROP(REDUCE(0, counter, iterate), 1)
)) I welcome all formula solutions (PQ, too, if you can pull that off). Please no VBA or AI contributions. Read More
Update UserProfile properties for other user using powerautomate
Hi Team,
i am trying to update the profile properties for other users using the Rest API (/_api/SP.UserProfiles.PeopleManager/SetSingleValueProfileProperty) using HTTP it is throwing the below error
This operation requires you to be managing your own data or have administrator privileges
Please do needful
Thanks
Hi Team, i am trying to update the profile properties for other users using the Rest API (/_api/SP.UserProfiles.PeopleManager/SetSingleValueProfileProperty) using HTTP it is throwing the below error This operation requires you to be managing your own data or have administrator privileges Please do needful Thanks Read More
HELP! I need msiserver to install a particular application. How do I get it?
I have a couple of application I need to install that require msiserver to install. Msiserver does not exist on my pc. I saw a webpage that suggested downloading a zip file named msiserver.reg. The instructions say to run it to merge it into my registry. Is this safe to do?
I have a couple of application I need to install that require msiserver to install. Msiserver does not exist on my pc. I saw a webpage that suggested downloading a zip file named msiserver.reg. The instructions say to run it to merge it into my registry. Is this safe to do? Read More
Unleash the Power of Insights: Azure Resource Graph Power BI Data Connector Now Generally Available
Reach Us & Stay Updated
For questions and direct feedback with this feature, you can reach us at Azure Resource Graph PMs (argpms@microsoft.com)
Share Product feedback and ideas with us at Azure Governance · Community
For announcements, please bookmark the Azure Governance Tech Community Blog and then follow us @AzureGovernance on X (previously known as Twitter)
Microsoft Tech Community – Latest Blogs –Read More
Using the Microsoft Purview Audit Search Graph API
We recently shared the news about the upcoming release of the Microsoft Purview Audit Search Graph API, a new feature that is currently in Public Preview and will be Generally Available by June 2024.
The new API available through Microsoft Graph would allow to programmatically search and get relevant audit logs with improvements in search completeness, reliability, and performance This API is an improved option compared to the existing PowerShell cmdlet, Search-UnifiedAuditLog.
In this blog, we will demonstrate how we can use the API to get the DLP Rule Matches across all the workloads.
Step 1: Register a client application in Microsoft Entra ID using the default options and capture the Application ID (client ID) and Tenant ID –> Link
Step 2: Generate the Client Secret and capture the value –> Link
Step 3: Grant the AuditLogsQuery.Read.All Permissions by following the below steps:
Navigate to the app in Entra ID – Click on API Permissions under Manage
Remove the existing permissions if any
Click on Add Permission – Under Microsoft API’s select Microsoft Graph – Applications Permissions – Expand AuditLogsQuery – Select AuditLogsQuery.Read.All – Add Permissions
Grant the admin Consent
Note – Global Admin role is needed to Grant the Consent (Permission Reference – Microsoft Graph permissions reference – Microsoft Graph | Microsoft Learn)
Step 4: Setup Microsoft Graph Beta Security Module.
Install the Microsoft.Graph.Beta.Security Module and import it using the below cmdlets:
Install-Module Microsoft.Graph.Beta.Security
Import-Module Microsoft.Graph.Beta.Security
Connect to Microsoft Graph using the below cmdlet. Enter Client_ID and client_secret in the password prompt:
$ClientSecretCredential = Get-Credential -Credential “Client_Id”
Connect-MgGraph -TenantId “Tenant_Id” -ClientSecretCredential $ClientSecretCredential
Install the Microsoft Graph PowerShell SDK | Microsoft Learn
Step 5: Declare the Parameter and create the audit log query.
Run the below commands to provide the input parameters, replace the values as needed.
$params = @{
“@odata.type” = “#microsoft.graph.security.auditLogQuery”
displayName = “DLPRuleMatches-EXO/SPO/Endpoint”
filterStartDateTime = [System.DateTime]::Parse(“2024-04-02T11:23:34Z”)
filterEndDateTime = [System.DateTime]::Parse(“2024-05-02T11:23:34Z”)
operationFilters = @(
“DLPRuleMatch”
)
}
You can add more filters/parameters as needed. The supported parameters are mentioned in the below articles:
Create auditLogQuery – Microsoft Graph beta | Microsoft Learn
New-MgBetaSecurityAuditLogQuery (Microsoft.Graph.Beta.Security) | Microsoft Learn
Run the below command to Create an Audit Log Query and capture the Id value.
New-MgBetaSecurityAuditLogQuery -BodyParameter $params
The search job would take some time to complete based on the input parameters and the output. You can run the below command to check the status of the search Job.
Get-MgBetaSecurityAuditLogQuery -AuditLogQueryId “ID Value captured in previous step” | select status
Get-MgBetaSecurityAuditLogQuery (Microsoft.Graph.Beta.Security) | Microsoft Learn
Step 6: Once the search is complete you can run the below command to get export the output as JSON.
Get-MgBetaSecurityAuditLogQueryRecord -AuditLogQueryId 79badea7-e869-4206-942e-99ef759260f5 | ConvertTo-Json -Depth 100 | Out-File -Encoding UTF8 -FilePath c:tempDLPRuleMatches.json
Get-MgBetaSecurityAuditLogQueryRecord (Microsoft.Graph.Beta.Security) | Microsoft Learn
Hope this article helps you in your Microsoft Purview journey!
Microsoft Tech Community – Latest Blogs –Read More
Introducing Plans on Microsoft Learn
At Microsoft Learn, we recognize the importance of continuous learning and skill-building. The skills portfolio that professionals need to thrive in today’s workplace is significantly different than it was a few years ago. According to the World Economic Forum Future of jobs 2023 report, the skills required for a job role are expected to change by 44% in the next five years.
We know that you’re seeking to build in-demand technical skills to stay ahead in your career, and it can be hard to figure out how to get started learning a new skill or technology. We also know that organizations need to move at the speed of today’s technology, and it’s challenging for team leads and trainers to find the right guidance and content to skill up their teams. Additionally, team leads are also looking for new ways to monitor and encourage the progress of individuals, all of whom learn at their own pace.
Accelerate learning with Plans
Today we introduce Plans on Microsoft Learn, which help learners, teams, and organizations accelerate the achievement of their learning goals using curated sets of content combined with milestones and automated nudges to keep learners focused and motivated. With Plans, you can progress through carefully structured curricula to build new skills, making the most of the high-quality content on Microsoft Learn. Experts who are familiar with Microsoft technology can create new Plans. (For detailed instructions on how to create Plans, check out Overview of Plans.) Team leads and others who are responsible for building skills in their organization can copy and administer existing Plans.
Some of the key features of Plans include:
Learning outcomes. Clear learning outcomes specify the skills that a Plan is designed to help build.
Milestones of content. Thoughtfully created milestones of Microsoft Learn content across a wide variety of training and resources, along with the recommended number of days to complete them.
Optional email prompts. These reminders help keep learners on track with their skill-building goals (for learners who opt in to receive emails from Microsoft Learn).
Tracking and reporting. Plan creators and team leads can invite individuals or groups of learners to work through a Plan that includes progress tracking and reporting.
Stay on track with Plans
If you’re a learner looking to deepen your understanding of specific technologies, expand your skill set, or even take your career in a different direction, we’ve got you covered with Plans, which combine the most relevant content for specific technologies and business scenarios.
When you find a Plan you like, select Start and work through it at your own pace or finish in the recommended number of days per milestone. Along the way, if you opted in to receive emails from Microsoft Learn, you receive helpful email nudges to keep your momentum going. (To opt in, in your Microsoft Learn profile, go to Settings and then provide your preferred email in Manage email preferences.) As you progress through the Plan, take breaks when you need to. To pick up where you left off in a Plan, select Resume. Plans that you’ve started and those that you’ve completed are listed in your Microsoft Learn profile. To learn how to start and complete a Plan, check out the video Plans on Microsoft Learn: Learner Perspective.
Make our Plans your Plans
As a team lead or trainer, when you find a Plan that’s a good fit for the skill development goals of your organization or learning community, make it your own—just copy and publish it. (On the Plan page, in the header, select Copy and then follow the instructions.) You can edit and customize the Plan before you publish it. After you publish a Plan, you can invite individual learners or learning groups to it. When a learner starts a Plan, that Plan can no longer be edited. This control helps to ensure that learners have a reliable skill-building experience. You can track learner progress in the reporting, both as a summary and as a downloadable report. Plans that you’ve copied or created are listed in your Microsoft Learn profile. To learn how to administer Plans that you own, check out the video Plans on Microsoft Learn: Team Lead Perspective.
Explore a growing library of Plans
Our library of Plans on Microsoft Learn will continue to grow as more experts create them. To get started with Plans today, explore Microsoft Learn Career Paths, where we have specially curated Plans for 15 career paths. Plus, discover Microsoft Learn for Organizations, where 8 Plans cover the latest technology-related topics and training for teams, including skill-building for Microsoft’s AI apps and services. We look forward to sharing more news and updates about Plans in the coming weeks.
Microsoft Tech Community – Latest Blogs –Read More
New developments in Microsoft Entra ID Protection
In the Microsoft Digital Defense Report 2023 (MDDR), we shared that on average, there are 11 token replay detections per 100,000 active users in Microsoft Entra ID each month. In addition, there are approximately 18,000 multifactor authentication (MFA) fatigue attempts observed per month.
The latest developments in Entra ID Protection help you reduce the risks of these attacks by making it easier to deploy risk policies, understand their impact, and protect your organization from emerging threats.
Here are the highlights:
Deploying Entra ID Protection just became easier with Microsoft-managed policies in your environment and an impact analysis workbook.
You can now investigate and remediate compromised users faster with help from Copilot and expansion of self-remediation to hybrid users.
You can also fine-tune the Machine Learning (ML) algorithm by providing feedback and identify and block token theft and suspicious actions taken by an attacker within Entra ID with new detections.
Keep reading to learn more!
Deploy with ease and confidence
Microsoft managed policies and impact analysis workbook
Identity and access management is a huge responsibility requiring diligence and expertise. Between policies across identity, infrastructure, network, devices, apps, and data—and weighing the impact to end users and security—there’s a lot on your plate. To help with this, we have two exciting updates so you can get started with protecting your users faster and easier.
As we announced in November, Microsoft-managed Policies will enable some of our most valuable Conditional Access polices by default in select tenants, including requiring end users to perform MFA when we detect high risk to their sign in. This policy blocks attackers and allows your users to self-remediate their risk. We’re enabling Microsoft-managed policies slowly and deliberately to make sure we can incorporate your feedback and maximize value for you. Learn more about our approach to managed policies in our documentation.
We know that changes to how your users authenticate into resources require thoughtful consideration, and it’s helpful to know how the changes will affect your unique environment. Our new Impact analysis of risk-based access workbook will help you see the precise impact of turning on risk-based Conditional Access Policies so you can enable a new policy with confidence. The workbook uses historical sign-in data to allow you to immediately see the impact the policy would have had, with no report-only policy required. You can try out the new workbook here.
New dashboard generally available
In July, Entra ID Protection launched a new dashboard that presents risk insights for your tenant at a glance. We’re excited to announce today that this experience is now generally available and is the default landing page of ID Protection. The dashboard will give you a better understanding of your tenant’s security posture through key metrics, graphics, and recommended actions to improve your organization’s security posture.
In general availability, the attack counts in the Attacks Graphic are also now clickable, and you can easily navigate to them in the Risk Detections report to further investigate. The Risk Detections report has this new “Attack type” column, showing the primary attack type based on MITRE ATT&CK techniques for the detections. This further empowers your admins and SOC teams to understand the risks and take actions accordingly. See the risk detection to MIRTE ATT&CK type mapping in our documentation.
Investigate and remediate efficiently
On-premises password reset remediates user risk of compromise (general availability)
Our new feature to allow on-premises password changes to reset user risk is now generally available for Entra P1 and P2 customers. This feature allows hybrid customers to include their users in risk-based Conditional Access polices that require user password remediation. If you were waiting for GA to enable this feature, now is the time to do so to make user risk policies easier to manage. Visit Remediate risks and unblock users in Entra ID Protection to learn more.
User Risk Investigation Copilot in public preview
Learning more about a user’s risk level and recommendations on how to mitigate a user’s risk is easier than ever with the introduction of the User Risk Investigation skill in Microsoft Entra, which is available in public preview as a part of Copilot for Security. This skill summarizes the risk history of the user, how to remediate risk for that user, and how to scale and automate response and remediation to identity threats.
Improved Threat Prevention and Remediation Capabilities
Over the past few months, multiple new detections have been introduced to Entra ID Protection that protect against new and emerging attack vectors, like anomalous graph usage, token theft, and attacker in the middle (AitM) attacks. In addition, hybrid tenants can now be confident that user risk is resolved when a password is reset on-premises, and all tenants can benefit from our new functionality that takes your feedback into account when determining if an event is risky.
Suspicious API traffic detection (general availability)
When entering an environment, attackers often search for information about users and tenant configuration to prepare for further exploitation. ID Protection will now change a user’s risk level if we observe them making an abnormally high number of calls to MS Graph and AAD Graph compared to that user’s baseline, which will help identify both compromised users and insider threats scavenging for intel.
Detecting token theft in real-time and post-breach
With token-based attacks on the rise, you need detections that help you identify and protect against this emerging threat. Two new detections in ID Protection help you do this. Our industry-first Real-time Anomalous Token Detection automatically disrupts token replay attacks in real-time when paired with a risk-based Conditional Access for sign-ins.
We have also built an offline detection that extends coverage of Microsoft 365 Defender’s Attacker in the Middle signals. This detection will flag the impacted user with high risk to prompt the configured Conditional Access user risk policy, allowing customers to confirm or dismiss the risk on the user. The session token is also revoked in cases where Continuous Access Evaluation is enabled.
You can learn more about our new detections at What are risk detections?
Admin feedback on detections trains our ML
We hold our detections in Entra ID to a very high standard, but occasionally we do issue a false positive detection. You can now help train our ML models by acting on risky sign-ins. You can confirm a sign-in as risky, safe, or dismiss risk. Each of these will send information back to our ML model and optimize future detections for your organization. You can learn more about giving Entra ID Protection risk feedback here.
We hope your organization can benefit from these new detections and features and that you will revisit the positive impact that risk-based Conditional Access can have on your organization’s security.
Thanks, and let us know what you think!
Alex Weinert
Read more on this topic
Microsoft Entra adds identity skills to Copilot for Security – Microsoft Community Hub
Remediate User Risks in Microsoft Entra ID Protection Through On-premises Password Changes – Microsoft Community Hub
Act now: Turn on or customize Microsoft-managed Conditional Access policies – Microsoft Community Hub
Learn more about Microsoft Entra
Prevent identity attacks, ensure least privilege access, unify access controls, and improve the experience for users with comprehensive identity and network access solutions across on-premises and clouds.
Microsoft Entra News and Insights | Microsoft Security Blog
Microsoft Entra blog | Tech Community
Microsoft Entra documentation | Microsoft Learn
Microsoft Entra discussions | Microsoft Community
Microsoft Tech Community – Latest Blogs –Read More
AKS Edge Essentials: A Lightweight “Easy Button” for Linux Containers on Windows Hosts
Hello, Mike Bazarewsky writing again, now on our shiny new ISV blog! My topic today is on a product that hasn’t gotten a huge amount of press, but actually brings some really nice capabilities to the table, especially with respect to IoT scenarios as we look to the future with Azure IoT Operations. That product is AKS Edge Essentials, or AKS-EE for short.
What did Microsoft have before AKS-EE?
AKS-EE is intended to be the “easy button” for running Linux-based and/or Windows-based containers on a Windows host, including a Windows IoT Enterprise host. It’s been possible to run Docker-hosted containers on Windows for a long time, and it’s even been possible to run orchestrators including Kubernetes on Windows for some time now. There’s even formal documentation on how to do so in Microsoft Learn.
Meanwhile, in parallel, and specific to IoT use cases, Microsoft offers Azure IoT Edge for Linux on Windows, or EFLOW for short. EFLOW offers the Azure IoT Edge container orchestrator on a Windows host by leveraging a Linux virtual machine. That virtual machine runs a customized deployment of CBL-Mariner, Microsoft’s first-party Linux distribution designed for secure, cloud-focused use cases. As an end-to-end Microsoft offering on a Microsoft platform, EFLOW is updated through Microsoft Update and as such, “plays nice” with the rest of the Windows ecosystem and bringing the benefits of that ecosystem while allowing running targeted Linux containers to run with a limited amount of “ceremony”.
What does AKS-EE bring to the table?
Taking this information all into account, it’s reasonable to ask “What are the gaps? Why would it make sense to bring another product into the space?” The answer is two-fold:
For some ISVs, particularly those coming from traditional development models (e.g. IoT developers, web service developers), the move to “cloud native” technologies such as containers is a substantial shift on its own, before worrying about deployment and management of an orchestrator. However, an orchestrator is still something those ISVs need to be able to get to scalability and observability as they work through their journey of “modernization” around containers.
EFLOW works very, very well for its intended target, which is Azure IoT Edge. However, that is a specialized use case that does not generalize well to general application workloads.
There is a hidden point here as well. Windows containers are a popular option in many organizations, but Linux containers are more common. At the same time, many enterprises (and thus, ISV customers) prefer the management, hardware support, and long-term OS support paths that Windows offers. Although through technologies such as Windows container hosting, Windows Subsystem for Linux, and Hyper-V allow for running Linux containers on a Windows host, they have different levels of complexity and management overhead, and in some situations, they are not practical.
The end result of all of this is that there is a need in the marketplace for a low-impact, easily-deployed, easily-updated container hosting solution for Linux containers on Windows hosts that supports orchestration. This is especially true as we look at a solution like Azure IoT Operations, which is the next-generation, Kubernetes-centric Azure IoT platform, but is also true for customers looking to move from the simplistic orchestration offered by the EFLOW offering to the more sophisticated orchestration offered by Kubernetes.
Besides bringing that to the table, AKS-EE builds on top of the standard k3s or k8s implementations, which means that popular Kubernetes management tools such as k9s can be used.
It can be Azure Arc enabled, allowing centralized management of the solution in the Azure Portal, Azure PowerShell, or Azure CLI. Azure Arc supports this through an outgoing connection from the cluster to the Azure infrastructure, which means it’s possible to remotely manage the environment, including deploying workloads, collecting telemetry and metrics, and so on, without needing incoming access to the host or the cluster. And, because it’s possible to manage Windows IoT Enterprise using Azure Arc, even the host can be connected to remotely, with centrally managed telemetry and updates (including AKS-EE through Microsoft Update). This means that it’s possible to have an end-to-end centrally managed solution across a fleet of deployment locations, and it means an ISV can offer “management as a service”. An IoT ISV can even offer packaged hardware offerings with Windows IoT Enterprise, AKS-EE, and their workload, all centrally managed through Azure Arc, which is an extremely compelling and powerful concept!
What if I am an IoT Edge user using EFLOW today?
As you might be able to determine from the way I’ve presented AKS-EE, one possible way to think about AKS-EE is as a direct replacement for EFLOW in IoT Edge scenarios. The AKS-EE Product Group is finishing guidance on migrating from EFLOW to AKS-EE and it will be published as soon as it is completed.
Conclusion
Hopefully, this short post gives you a better understanding of the “why” of AKS-EE as an offering and how it relates to some other offerings in the Microsoft space. If you’re looking to evaluate AKS-EE, the next step would be to review the Quickstart guide to get started!
Looking forward, if you are interested in production AKS-EE architecture, FastTrack ISV and FastTrack for Azure (Mainstream) have worked with multiple AKS-EE customers at this point, from single host deployments to multi-host scale-out deployments, including leveraging both the Linux and the Windows node capabilities of AKS-EE and leveraging the preview GPU support in the product. Take a look at those sites to learn more about how we can help you with derisking your AKS-EE deployment, or help you decide if AKS-EE is in fact the right tool for you!
Microsoft Tech Community – Latest Blogs –Read More
The appearance of infinity in the problem with finding the minimum of a function
I want to find the so-called "efficiency" of a function, defined as the ratio of the difference of the absolute values of the maximum and minimum to their sum. My very simple code is as follows
function z=cur_phi_T_0
x=-2*pi:0.001:2*pi;
r1=1;r2=1;
phi0=1.90132; theta0=1*pi/2;
I1=cos(x/2).*atanh(sin(x/2));
I2=cos((x+2*phi0)/2).*atanh(sin((x+2*phi0)/2));
I3=cos((x+2*theta0)/2).*atanh(sin((x+2*theta0)/2));
I_sum=(I1+r1*I2+r2*I3);
I_min=min(I_sum)
I_max=max(I_sum)
eff=(I_max-abs(I_min))/(I_max+abs(I_min))
plot(x,I_sum,’LineWidth’,3)
grid on
set(gca,’FontName’,’Times New Roman’,’FontSize’,34)
xlabel(‘phi’,’FontName’,’Times New Roman’,’fontsize’,34,’fontweight’,’b’);
ylabel(‘I’,’FontName’,’Times New Roman’,’fontsize’,34,’fontweight’,’b’);
set(gca,’XTick’,-pi:pi/2:pi)
set(gca,’XTickLabel’,{‘-pi’,’-pi/2′,’0′,’pi/2′,’pi’})
end
However, for theta0=pi/2 , I suddenly get infinity for the minimum of the function, even though the plot does not contain infinity.
At the same time for a very close value theta0=0.99999999*pi/2 everything works fine.
What is the reason for this strange behavior?
Update. And how to avoid singularity in calculations?I want to find the so-called "efficiency" of a function, defined as the ratio of the difference of the absolute values of the maximum and minimum to their sum. My very simple code is as follows
function z=cur_phi_T_0
x=-2*pi:0.001:2*pi;
r1=1;r2=1;
phi0=1.90132; theta0=1*pi/2;
I1=cos(x/2).*atanh(sin(x/2));
I2=cos((x+2*phi0)/2).*atanh(sin((x+2*phi0)/2));
I3=cos((x+2*theta0)/2).*atanh(sin((x+2*theta0)/2));
I_sum=(I1+r1*I2+r2*I3);
I_min=min(I_sum)
I_max=max(I_sum)
eff=(I_max-abs(I_min))/(I_max+abs(I_min))
plot(x,I_sum,’LineWidth’,3)
grid on
set(gca,’FontName’,’Times New Roman’,’FontSize’,34)
xlabel(‘phi’,’FontName’,’Times New Roman’,’fontsize’,34,’fontweight’,’b’);
ylabel(‘I’,’FontName’,’Times New Roman’,’fontsize’,34,’fontweight’,’b’);
set(gca,’XTick’,-pi:pi/2:pi)
set(gca,’XTickLabel’,{‘-pi’,’-pi/2′,’0′,’pi/2′,’pi’})
end
However, for theta0=pi/2 , I suddenly get infinity for the minimum of the function, even though the plot does not contain infinity.
At the same time for a very close value theta0=0.99999999*pi/2 everything works fine.
What is the reason for this strange behavior?
Update. And how to avoid singularity in calculations? I want to find the so-called "efficiency" of a function, defined as the ratio of the difference of the absolute values of the maximum and minimum to their sum. My very simple code is as follows
function z=cur_phi_T_0
x=-2*pi:0.001:2*pi;
r1=1;r2=1;
phi0=1.90132; theta0=1*pi/2;
I1=cos(x/2).*atanh(sin(x/2));
I2=cos((x+2*phi0)/2).*atanh(sin((x+2*phi0)/2));
I3=cos((x+2*theta0)/2).*atanh(sin((x+2*theta0)/2));
I_sum=(I1+r1*I2+r2*I3);
I_min=min(I_sum)
I_max=max(I_sum)
eff=(I_max-abs(I_min))/(I_max+abs(I_min))
plot(x,I_sum,’LineWidth’,3)
grid on
set(gca,’FontName’,’Times New Roman’,’FontSize’,34)
xlabel(‘phi’,’FontName’,’Times New Roman’,’fontsize’,34,’fontweight’,’b’);
ylabel(‘I’,’FontName’,’Times New Roman’,’fontsize’,34,’fontweight’,’b’);
set(gca,’XTick’,-pi:pi/2:pi)
set(gca,’XTickLabel’,{‘-pi’,’-pi/2′,’0′,’pi/2′,’pi’})
end
However, for theta0=pi/2 , I suddenly get infinity for the minimum of the function, even though the plot does not contain infinity.
At the same time for a very close value theta0=0.99999999*pi/2 everything works fine.
What is the reason for this strange behavior?
Update. And how to avoid singularity in calculations? plotting, infinity MATLAB Answers — New Questions