Following the announcement that Apple has deprecated QuickTime rather than patch the disclosed vulnerabilities, I needed to get the plugin removed from across my organization. I wrote up a quick PowerShell script to search the Registry for the uninstall string and remove QuickTime while logging the process to my server. I then took this script and assigned it through Group … [Read more...]
Amazon offers new monthly subscription options to Prime, Prime Video
Amazon has begun offering its Prime membership as a monthly subscription in addition to the original annual option. This move is a change of pace for the e-retailer who previously offered Amazon Prime as a one-size-fits-all bundle, which includes free two-day shipping, Prime Photos storage, Prime Video, Prime Music, and the Kindle Owners' Lending Library. The change also … [Read more...]
Evaluating the Cisco Meraki MX64 firewall
I was a little familiar with Cisco Meraki products since exploring their free MDM tools over two years ago. Now, I am checking out the hardware offerings in their firewall line for a client's needs. Setting up a trial with the Meraki MX64 was pretty prompt and painless as far as these things go. I am currently in the middle of that two week trial. The MX64 is the smallest of … [Read more...]
Uninstall QuickTime from Windows, Apple deprecates product rather than patch it
Two vulnerabilities in Quicktime for Windows have been reported since November 2015. Apple has decided to deprecate QuickTime for Windows rather than update it with a patch for these vulnerabilities. This incidently kills off the .mov format on Windows with this end-of-life. While QuickTime for Windows will continue to work, it is highly recommended to uninstall the unsupported … [Read more...]
Avast causes blue screen of death on Windows 8.1 for months
In late December 2015, an update to the Avast antivirus began causing daily blue screens of death on Windows 8.1 computer. I first became aware of the issue after a client that uses Avast complained of nearly daily BSoDs on most computers. This happened shortly after I had put in place the Registry settings to control the Windows 10 upgrade prompts and Get Windows 10 (GWX) … [Read more...]