Recast’s Endpoint Management Recap – February 2022

Welcome to the Recast Endpoint Management Recap, February 2022 – by Gary Blok.

We are fortunate to have an Endpoint Management community that is very supportive of one another, so in this edition of the Endpoint Management Recap, I want to focus on some of the community tools that we can’t live without. Do you have a favorite? Please let me know and, remember, if you want me to include a community event or blog post, please reach out to me on Twitter.

I’ll also be updating you about the usual list of items, so use the quick links below to get to what you need first.

• Community Tools Update
• Events / Conference News
• Microsoft Product Announcements
• Hardware Vendor Updates (Tools / Security / Features)
• Community Tools / News
• Recast Updates

Last year, I had the privilege of showcasing some incredible community tools and talking to the people behind those tools in a series of webinars. You can find all of this information in the ConfigMgr Community Tools area of Recast’s ConfigMgr Docs, or you can go straight to the ConfigMgr Community Tools Webinar Series.

This year, as I look back, I see how innovative our community is, so I needed to update what I had. There was so much great content, and since I didn’t want to overload this newsletter, I wrote a new blog post, Community Tools and Tips – Update 2022. Please check it out.

If there are other community tools that you’d like me to know about, please contact me @gwblok.

• Dallas/Fort Worth System Management User Group – March 14
• Nordic Virtual Summit – March 16 – 17
• Windows Office Hours – March 17
• Modern Endpoint Management Summit 2022 – April 7 – Register on LinkedIn
• MMS 2022 at MOA – May 2 – May 5
• ViaMonstra Office Hours – Community – Every Wednesday. “This is your chance to join us every week for Q&A and roundtable discussion on anything related to Windows deployment, MDT, ConfigMgr, or Microsoft Intune. We bring the experts; you bring the questions.”

Please note, after the product name, there are several standard links to product specific landing pages, YouTube channels, or related content. As I find more items that are handy to be associated with a product, I’ll append them on. I’ll often reference past Endpoint Recaps just for those different links.

‍Products:

Microsoft Edge Browser (Based on Chromium Engine): [Landing Page][What’s New Page][RoadMap Portal]

Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat Protection – [Landing Page] [Resource Hub]

Microsoft 365 [Landing Page] [Roadmap] [Tech Community] [Youtube Channel][ODT Release]

• Support tip: Several Office settings in Settings catalog may need parent settings enabled

‍ConfigMgr [What’s New Page] [Tech Community] [Virtual Hub][MS Q\A][Reddit][Feedback]

• VMSS based CMGs and the Cloud heavy ConfigMgr – Part 1 | Part 2

ConfigMgr Tech Preview [What’s New Page]

• 2201 – Personal highlights: custom icon support for task sequences and packages, LEDBAT support for software update points, and Improved notice for content on task sequence media.
  • Microsoft Blog Release
  • A closer look at content distribution status – Niall C. Brady (@ncbrady)
• 2202 – Personal highlights: delete collection references, pre-download content for available software updates, and ADR scheduling improvements for deployments.
  • Delete collection references – Niall C. Brady (@ncbrady)

Intune [What’s New Page] [Tech Community] [Feedback] [Overview][YouTube Channel]

• Microsoft Tunnel Deployment Guide v2

Windows [Landing Page] [Tech Community][Release Information][PowerToys][YouTube Channel]

• Windows Server
  
• Windows Client
  • Bringing you closer to what you love with new experiences in Windows 11
    • Amazon Appstore preview available in the U.S., Taskbar improvements and two redesigned apps: Media Player and Notepad.
• Windows 365 – [W365Community]

Security Alerts and Info [Microsoft Security Portal – Security Update Guide]

February was a quiet month from our vendors. They let me know that they are all busy, but there is nothing they are ready to announce or talk about at this time.

I had quite a few communications with Dell (private emails with the Dell Command Team) over an issue with the Dell Command Update tool. I was able to point out an issue with their catalog’s XML that was published on February 14, so they then rolled back to an older version. [Some Details in Public Tweets] Dell also said I can start to expect regular updates for the Endpoint Recap, starting next month, as they are working on adding some personnel to the team.

I also connected with HP and am testing some future functionality they are working on for HPCMSL. That is my favorite vendor tool. HP also let me know about a very important change coming to their products, so read more about it in the link provided in the HP area.

I’m only listing changes. If you want a more complete list of their tools, check out the previous month’s posts.

For a full list of tools, blog posts and information about the vendors, check out the ConfigMgr Manufacturers’ page.

** Much of this information is provided directly from the vendor, so when you see “we” think of it as, “Vendor Name,” and not Recast Software.

HP  [Enterprise Tools Landing Page] [Community / Blog Site] [Outlet Site]

• !! HP Commercial PCs – USB-C PD Controller change: February 2022 | HP® Customer Support !!
  Effective January 30, 2022, HP is introducing new USB-C Power Delivery (PD) controllers on select commercial notebook models. The new hardware will require Audio driver updates on HP commercial notebooks with Windows 10 and Windows 11 operating systems.
  • What is changing? – To mitigate the industry-wide supply constraints and beginning as of January 30, 2022, HP will begin shipping G8 EliteBook and ProBook notebook PCs with alternatively sourced USB-C Power Delivery (PD) controllers. While there is no change in functionality, the addition of USB-C PD controller alternatives will require an updated HP (UEFI) BIOS, an updated audio driver, and a change to platform information stored in Windows Management Interface (WMI).
  • Twitter Thread

Dell  [Enterprise Tools Landing Page] [Refurbished Sale Site] [Outlet Site]

‍Lenovo  [Enterprise Tools Landing Page][Blog Site]

Microsoft [Surface]

One more note, I do my best to provide Twitter accounts with the blog posts. I do this to provide credit where credit is due, and so you can then follow them yourselves to stay in the loop as things are coming out and ideas are being discussed on Twitter.

Podcasts / Blog Series / Video Blogs‍

• [Documentation Series] Beyond the Microsoft docs, a ConfigMgr overview:
  • Task Sequence Steps In-Depth
  •  Community Tools
• [YouTube Channel] Let’s Chat: PowerShell – Jordan Benzing (@JordanTheITguy)
• [YouTube Channel] MECM World – Yagnesh Malaviya (@YagneshMalaviya)
• [YouTube Channel] Intune Training Series [@OnPremCloudGuy and @AdamGrossTX]
• [YouTube Channel] Namaste Techies [@anoopmannur and @Hoorge]
• [YouTube Channel] MEM – tips and tricks – Mattias Melkersen – (@MMelkersen)
• [YouTube Channel] Deployment Research | ViaMonstra Office Hours
• SSO to domain resources from Azure AD Joined Devices – The MEGA Series – Part 4 – Configure the Network Policy Server – Ben Whitmore (@byteben)

Blog Posts

 Cloud Tech

• Investigation with Defender for Endpoint, Investigation Package , Part 1 – Joe Anich (@trk_rdy)
• Existing Windows Business device wasn’t automatically upgraded to Windows Enterprise – Rudy Ooms (@mister_mdm)
• Proactive Remediation script: notify users for low disk space and help them to see what takes up space – Damien Van Robaeys (@syst_and_deploy)
• Microsoft Defender Application Control and the unwanted reboot – Gerry Hampson (@GerryHampson)
• Software updates issue – access denied – Gerry Hampson (@GerryHampson)

ConfigMgr

• Easily Download SCCM Driver Package For Lenovo HTMD Blog – Jitesh Kumar (@jitesh8092)
• How to uninstall or remove an SCCM Secondary site – Benoit Lecours (@benoitlecours)
• How to Quickly Build a Basic Home Lab – Branden Hammann (@BrandenHammann)
• MEMCM Cloud Management Gateway migration options – Jörgen Nilsson (@ccmexec)
• Configuration Manager – Azure AD App Secrets – Liam (@Systems_Liam)
• 4 ConfigMgr Error Lookup Tools Translate SCCM Error Codes – Prajwal Desai (@PrajwalDesai)

 Other SysAdmin Info

• The overhead of Edge on Windows 11 (and 10) – Michael Niehaus (@mniehaus)
• Windows 11 includes new BCD PowerShell cmdlets – Michael Niehaus (@mniehaus)
• Characters and Emojis in PowerShell – Patrick Gruenauer (@pewa2303)
• Remove built-in Teams app and Chat Icon in Windows 11 during a Feature Update via SetupConfig.ini and SetupComplete.cmd – Martin Bengtsson (@mwbengtsson)
• Monitor your Windows 11 Feature Updates with Custom Action Scripts and notifications send to Microsoft Teams – Martin Bengtsson (@mwbengtsson)

Tool Updates

• OSD PowerShell Module (OSDCloud) – Several feature enhancements and bug fixes. – David Segura (@SeguraOSD)
• Cloud LAPS 1.1.0 – Updated Release from 1.0.0 with additional features. – The Team msendpointmgr.com
  • Client-side event logging sending to Log Analytics.
  • Portal update with additional details for audit logging.
  • Analytics and monitoring workbook.
• ConfigMgr Documentation Script – Now with GUI! – Paul Wetter (@PaulWetter)

• Right Click Tools: 4 Part Webinar Series – Join Recast’s Solution Engineer Marty Miller and Technical Customer Support Engineer Courtney Baty in several deep dives of Right Click Tools’ Dashboards and Automation platform.
  
  March 3 – Device Insights – Register Now!
  March 16 – Automation in Action
  April 5 – Software Updates
  Past Event – Security and Compliance
• Introducing Recast’s New Technical Documentation Site
• How to Remove Outdated Content from the CCM Cache Folder
• Microsoft Endpoint Manager Resources
• Community users now have access to the Defender and Defender Exclusion functions of the Remote Windows Security tool in Right Click Tools version 4.8. Download the latest release and try it out!
• If you or someone you know is looking to make a huge impact at a fast-growing company, take a look at our job postings and apply today.
• Follow us on Twitter @RecastSoftware to hear the latest.

‍Thank you for checking out Recast’s Endpoint Management Recap – February 2022. Stay tuned for more helpful content coming your way next month.