RunAs Radio

Back in Las Vegas and in person, this is the Q&A session from the SQL Server & Azure SQL Conference in December 2021.Bob Ward, Anna Hoffman, Buck Woody, Bradley Ball, Tim Chapman, Pedro Lopes, and a host of other great SQL speakers fielded questions from an audience of database professionals and developers - and the questions are wide-ranging! Links:SQL Server and Azure SQL Conference

What's a security audit, and why do you need one? Richard talks to Paula Januszkiewicz about auditing security, technical reviews, and so-called penetration testing. Paula talks about needing outside experts who focus on the scope of exploits out in the world today to help make sure all aspects of your company's systems are reasonably secure - there is no such thing as perfect security! The conversation gets into the details around finding a good auditor, what to expect from them, and what they will expect from you - a good security audit takes time, and is a conversation!Recorded December 21, 2021

Getting your Public Key Infrastructure right can be tricky - and getting wrong can be very bad. Richard talks to Richard Hicks about the right way to go about setting up and operating a PKI infrastructure in your organization. Different from the public certificates you use for websites and servers, Richard focuses on how to use certificates to authenticate and authorize users and devices. Tools like Intune and Autopilot can help you get certificates out to devices and users, as well as bootstrap new equipment security into your infrastructure. There's a lot to learn!Links:Server Certificate DeploymentActive Directory Auto-EnrollmentCertificates in IntuneWindows AutopilotCertificate Connector for Microsoft IntuneHybrid Azure AD Joined DevicesAzure AD Kerberos AuthenticationRichard Hicks BlogImplementing Always On VPNRecorded December 13, 2021

2021 was a tough year for security - how can we do better in 2022? Richard chats with Jess Dodson about working to get better at information security in your organization. Jess talks about the log4j exploit as a great example of "what don't we know" - and the need for a software bill of materials as part of your configuration management database. Having a list of the libraries that internal applications depend on helps you respond in a time of crisis, being able to answer the question "where are we vulnerable?" This leads to a conversation about better DevSecOps - where development, security, and operations all take security seriously and help each other to help the organization succeed!Links:Power AppsAzure SentinelSoftware Bill of MaterialsConfiguration Management DatabaseRecorded December 20, 2021

Happy holidays! Another year, another set of predictions around the life of IT Pros – now in 2022! The pandemic continues to evolve, with new variants appearing and vaccination levels getting high. Will the pandemic still be a significant factor next year? What about back-to-work plans? Or is working-from-home the new normal? The past year was tough on the security side of things with notable ransomware and business-email-compromise attacks – are you prepared? What will we be doing differently in the next year? And how did Richard's predictions from last year stand up to reality? Thanks again for listening!Recorded December 2021

Does your organization need hybrid identities? Richard talks to Sonia Cuff about Hybrid Active Directory, connecting your on-premises Active Directory infrastructure to M365 and Azure. There's essentially no choice in larger organizations - too many identities and applications exist that replicating identities would be a huge problem. But what about a small organization? Sonia talks about folks living in the Small Business Server and Windows Essential worlds that really could make a go of moving entirely in the cloud without hybrid - but it all comes down to applications that the organization needs. The conversation also digs into modern identity using password managers and authenticators - even going passwordless!Links:Azure AD ConnectMicrosoft IntuneAzure ArcMicrosoft AuthenticatorPasswordless IdentityRecorded November 25, 2021

Basic authentication is going away in Exchange Online - how will it impact you? Richard talks to Greg Taylor about the long-planned end of basic authentication support in Exchange Online. Greg talks about the fundamental vulnerability of basic authentication systems like POP and IMAP - and how many systems still use them by default. Too many business email compromise and ransomware attacks happen through an email hack, and getting rid of basic authentication will help. Basic auth goes away in October of 2022, and Greg discusses the many ways that Microsoft is assisting IT Pros to get to secure email protocols running before that happens!Links:iOS 11 Supports OAuth 2Exchange Web ServicesRecorded October 25, 2021

What's your adaptability quotient? Richard chats with Sara Caldwell and Angela Dugan about the ideas behind the adaptability quotient - the ability to respond to change. The pandemic certainly forced a lot of change on a lot of folks - and different people coped with the changes in different ways. Sara talks about thinking about your ability to adapt and strengthening that ability, starting with asking for help where needed. Angela digs into the changes that have happened for her and Sara just recently with the acquisition of their company - more opportunities to adapt! Change is inevitable. It's just a question of what we keep from the past and what we let go of: How are you adapting?Links:Adaptability QuotientMiro3 Cloud SolutionsRecorded October 25, 2021

Christmas Gifts for IT Pros! Richard chats with Joey Snow and Rick Claus about their favorite gift ideas for your favorite IT Pros. Yeah, IT folks are hard to buy for, but here are some stocking stuffers and other gifts you will be excited to receive. Whether it's items that will help you work more effectively, home automation to make living a little easier, or maybe just something geeky and fun, there are many cool things to choose. And if you're an IT Pro listening to this show, share the list of links with your loved ones - maybe you'll get some good stuff!Links:ROG Strix XG32VQLG 49 inch MonitorDell 43 inch 4K MonitorSmartphone Controlled Paper AirplaneRaspberry Pi Zero WEcho Show 15Echo Show 10Amazon AstroSky Lie Laser Galaxy ProjectorHome Assistant BlueGlencairn Glass Leather Travel SetPolaroid OneStep+Anker Nano ProAnker Portable PowerPureportiFixit Repair KitiFixit Magentic Project MatOculus Quest 2Recorded October 29, 2021

Windows 11 Ships! So now what? Richard chats with Mary Jo Foley about her thoughts around the release of Windows 11. Mary Jo talks about how quiet the conversation has been around Windows 11, other than a few bits of outrage like the TPM requirements - which, as it turns out, aren't actually required. Is there a reason to move to Windows 11? Most IT folks seem happy to wait for further updates - there's nothing wrong with Windows 10. Maybe operating system releases just aren't as exciting as they used to be?Links:Upgrading to Windows 11Windows WeeklyAll About MicrosoftRecorded October 22, 2021