Category Archives: Technology

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Trust Relationship

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How to Fix the error: The trust relationship between this workstation and the primary domain failed

Re-establish trust through PowerShell

In this method, we will re-establish trust between the domain controller and client using PowerShell. You will need to log on using a local Administrator account.

PRO TIP: If the issue is with your computer or a laptop/notebook you should try using Restoro Repair which can scan the repositories and replace corrupt and missing files. This works in most cases, where the issue is originated due to a system corruption. You can download Restoro by Clicking Here

  1. Log on Windows 10 using local Administrator account
  2. Click on Start menu and type PowerShell
  3. Right click on PowerShell and choose Run as Administrator
  4. Press Yes to confirm running as Administrator
  5. Type $credential = Get-Credential and press Enter (add the domain credentials to the variable $credential)
  6. Enter domain admin account and password and then click OK
  7. Type Reset-ComputerMachinePassword -Credential $credential and press Enter (this uses the $credential variable to reset the account)
  8. Close PowerShell
  9. Restart your Windows machine
  10. Log on Windows 10 using domain user account

Windows AD Issues

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Seizing the Operation Master Roles

Active Directory (AD) utilizes Flexible Single Master Operations (FSMO) roles to perform a specialized set of tasks on deployed Domain Controllers (DC).

Depending on the design, these roles could be located on different servers but in a single server all roles need to run from one DC. With a successful disaster recovery plan in place, one can easily recover said AD implementation as detailed in the information below.

Without a disaster recovery plans or running all roles from one DC, while not recommended, is sometimes unavoidable in some smaller sized businesses. The major concern with running all roles off one DC is that the roles cannot be migrated to another server should said server crash. The only way to migrate these roles is by seizing the operation master roles back to a working server.

The 5 Roles

  • Schema Master – one per forest
  • Domain Naming Master – one per forest
  • Relative ID (RID) Master – one per domain
  • Primary Domain Controller (PDC) Emulator – one per domain
  • Infrastructure Master – one per domain

To Seize: Step by Step

  1. Login to the domain controller as Domain Administrator
  2. Create and Administrative Command prompt
  3. Run Command ntdsutil
  4. Type Connections
  5. Type connect to server <FQDN of new role holder>
  6. Type Quit or Q

The seize command is used to seize a single role or all roles.

NOTE: After entering each seize command, a pop up window appears to confirm. Simply enter yes to continue.

seize schema master

​Seize domain naming master

seize RID master

seize PDC

seize infrastructure master

When done Type quit to exit from ntdsutil. The operation master roles should now have been successfully seized to the specified server if no errors were generated.

Create a Bootable USB Flash Drive

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Create a bootable USB Flash drive

Applies To: Windows Server 2016 Essentials, Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials, Windows Server 2012 Essentials

You can create a bootable USB flash drive to use to deploy Windows Server Essentials. The first step is to prepare the USB flash drive by using DiskPart, which is a command-line utility. For information about DiskPart, see DiskPart Command-Line Options.

 Tip

To create a bootable USB flash drive for use in recovering or reinstalling Windows on a PC instead of a server, see Create a recovery drive.

For additional scenarios in which you may want to create or use a bootable USB flash drive, see the following topics:

To create a bootable USB flash drive

  1. Insert a USB flash drive into a running computer.
  2. Open a Command Prompt window as an administrator.
  3. Type diskpart.
  4. In the new command line window that opens, to determine the USB flash drive number or drive letter, at the command prompt, type list disk, and then click ENTER. The list disk command displays all the disks on the computer. Note the drive number or drive letter of the USB flash drive.
  5. At the command prompt, type select disk <X>, where X is the drive number or drive letter of the USB flash drive, and then click ENTER.
  6. Type clean, and the click ENTER. This command deletes all data from the USB flash drive.
  7. To create a new primary partition on the USB flash drive, type create partition primary, and then click ENTER.
  8. To select the partition that you just created, type select partition 1, and then click ENTER.
  9. To format the partition, type format fs=ntfs quick, and then click ENTER. ImportantIf your server platform supports Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI), you should format the USB flash drive as FAT32 rather than as NTFS. To format the partition as FAT32, type format fs=fat32 quick, and then click ENTER.
  10. Type active, and then click ENTER.
  11. Type exit, and then click ENTER.
  12. When you finish preparing your custom image, save it to the root of the USB flash drive.

login Issues

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There are over 300 million fraudulent sign-in attempts to the Microsoft cloud services every day. Cyberattacks aren’t slowing down any time in the near future, and it’s worth noting that most attacks have been successful simple means. It only takes is one compromised set of credentials (user name/password), a legacy or an unpatched application to cause a data breach. This shows how critical it is to ensure password security and a strong authentication process.

Learning about common vulnerabilities and the single most important action that you can take to protect your accounts from attacks is MFA.

Common vulnerabilities

  • Business email compromise, an attacker can gain access to a corporate email account, through phishing or spoofing, and can use it to exploit a system for many reasons. Accounts protected with only a user account and password are the easiest to compromise.
  • Legacy protocols can create a major vulnerability because applications that use basic protocols, such as SMTP, were not designed to manage Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA). So even if you require MFA for most use cases, attackers will search for opportunities to use outdated browsers or email applications to force the use of less secure protocols.
  • Password Usage, Considering that up to 73 percent of passwords are duplicates, this has been the most successful strategy for many attackers and it’s easy to do. The process of password spray and credential stuffing attacks make it easy to compromise a system. Common passwords and credentials compromised by attackers in public breaches, social media share and tell sessions are used against corporate accounts to try to gain access.

Multi Factor Authentication (MFA)

What you can do to protect your organization

You can help prevent some of these attacks by banning the use of bad passwords through group policies and enabling a stricter password policy, blocking legacy authentication, and training employees on phishing attacks. However, one of the simplest and most effective things you can do is to just turn on MFA. By providing an extra barrier and layer of security that makes it incredibly difficult for attackers to get past, MFA can block over 99.9 percent of account compromise attacks. With MFA enabled, knowing or cracking the password won’t be enough to gain access.

According to the SANS Software Security Institute there are two primary obstacles to companies adopting MFA implementations today:

  1. A misconception that MFA requires external hardware devices.
  2. Concerns about potential user disruption or concern over what may break.

Matt Bromiley, a SANS Digital Forensics and Incident Response instructor, says, “It doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing approach. There are different approaches your organization could use to limit the disruption while moving to a more advanced state of authentication.” These include a role-based or by application approach—starting with a small group and expanding from there. Bret Arsenault shares his advice on transitioning to a passwordless model in Preparing your enterprise to eliminate passwords.

Passwordless authentication technologies are not only more convenient for end users but are extremely difficult and costly for hackers to compromise. Learn more about Microsoft passwordless authentication solutions in a variety of form factors to meet user needs.

Windows super admin

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GodMode is a special folder in Windows that gives you quick access to over 200 tools and settings that are normally tucked away in the Control Panel and other windows and menus. This Mode is most helpful for advanced Windows users that work in IT, or any advanced Windows enthusiasts.

Most customers, will not see a use for having this Mode enabled on their Windows 10 systems. It’s like having your developer settings enabled on your smartphone. If you want to try it out, though, here’s how to enter God Mode in Windows 10.

How to enter God Mode in Windows 10

  1. Make sure your Microsoft system account has administrator privileges.
  2. Right-click on the Windows 10 desktop and “Create a new folder.”
  3. Right-click the the new folder and rename the folder: “GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}” press enter and you’re all set!
  4. Manage to your hearts content!

Next-gen

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Next-gen optical disk holds 10TB of data for 600 years

Scientists from Australia and China have used gold nanomaterials to demonstrate a new high-capacity optical disk able to hold data securely for more than 600 years, while using 1,000 times less power.

“All the data we’re generating in the Big Data era – over 2.5 quintillion bytes a day – has to be stored somewhere, but our current storage technologies were developed in different times,” said lead investigator, RMIT’s Distinguished Professor Min Gu. “While optical technology can expand capacity, the most advanced optical disks developed so far have only 50-year lifespans.

“Our technique can create an optical disk with the largest capacity of any optical technology developed to date, and our tests have shown it will last over half a millennium. While there is further work needed to optimise the technology – and we’re keen to partner with industrial collaborators to drive the research forward – we know this technique is suitable for mass production of optical disks, so the potential is staggering.”

The world is shifting from Big Data towards Long Data, which enables new insights to be discovered through the mining of massive datasets that capture changes in the real world over decades and centuries.

Internet of things

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Internet of Things 

Are you ready for the new “Internet of Thing” (IoT)?

The Internet of Things is the networking of all physical devices such as, your vehicle/s, any home appliances and other devices with electronics embedded, various software programs, sensors, actuators, and connectivity with enabled devices that connect to the Internet and can exchange data, creating opportunities for unlimited direct integration of our physical environment into a greater computer-based system or cloud based systems.  This could increase efficiency in certain environments, economic benefits in others and reduced human intervention everywhere. Good or bad, this technology is spreading fast, people are looking for IoT developers (good as it creates jobs) and of course bad as we do not comprehend the full impact of what is to follow.

The competition has started between Google Home and Amazon Echo has started and we will see great strides in the development of these two platforms.  Both Amazon Echo and Home function as a source of entertainment, a personal assistant and a smart-home controller, but are listening to and monitoring your every word, a single word from you will get it started up and responding to your every command. They have voice recognition as the primary input method, starting music, a TV or any of the IoT devices connected within your home. With the latest IP V6 protocol that is being implemented to connect devices there will be approximately 4000 ip addresses available to each person on earth. Now that’s a lot of devices to connect.

Online Fraud

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Online Fraud

Online fraud costs public billions but still not a police priority!

Why you ask, and so do I.

In this day and age, when everything is about profit one would think that it was worth investing in proper securities to protect not only their clients but also their profits.

  1. It seems that it is cheaper to insure than to protect (no losses incurred by the organization that has been a victim). Losses are carried by their clients, we pay the added cost of the insurance premiums.
  2. Bill Gates said many years ago that it was his vision to see a computer on everyone’s desk to make life easier, has that happened?
    1. Yes: we have a computer on most peoples desk, well in our hand now.
    2. No: it has not made life any easier, to the contrary it has made life more difficult and controlling.
  3. It has opened up a whole new arena for the criminal and no matter what you think that you can do about it, you are wrong. There will always be someone that creates something that is meant for the good of all and someone that will pull it apart and find the flaws and weaknesses to invade your privacy and steal from you.

“The overall cost of all forms of fraud in 2016 was £10bn to individuals and £144bn to the private sector, arising from almost 2m cyber-related fraud incidents”, just think of the cost of goods today compared to just a few years ago, do you really think that this could have been possible without our wonderfully connected world? I believe not.

Another factor that comes into play is the new currencies, digging for (mining) for crypto currencies, getting nothing and calling it the new currencies of the world. One ore two people are making millions and millions are loosing money in the process by actually purchasing this nothing with our last few coins that we have.Fraud it is everywhere, keep your eyes peeled and be on your guard.

And we thought that the old gangster day’s were bad, Open your eyes and look around people.

Artificial Intelligence

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Artificial Intelligence

How do you feel about Artificial Intelligence (AI)?

The big names in technology are so divided over AI, some good and some bad. What has normal technology done for you over the past 40 or so years?

43 years ago Bill Gates stated that he wanted to improve the quality of life by putting a computer on everyone’s desktop, since then we have almost achieved this goal. I believe that life has not got any better but worse, people stopped using their brain to store telephone number, address and a lot of other secondary information like birthdays and other related days, and moved this information to the cloud where it is being mined by every creepy person out there. In the past bank robberies were few and far between, now banks are being hacked and being defrauded every day, all good so far!

Internet security is a multi billion dollar business, and someone has to pay for this. Money is being moved around the world at incredible speeds and being used to launder money from high profile criminals.

Most people were safe from personal fraud, now things are speeding up and just being on the internet is posing a risk, Phishing attacks, personal information being stolen and used to create dummy people and drain peoples accounts of all of their hard earned cash.

And the list goes on, more security programs, better hackers to crack the new security, governments using the digital environment to monitor and track your every move.

And now AI, what is next? What do you think?