Recast’s Endpoint Management Recap – January 2022

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

This is the first edition of the Recap in 2022 and it is a very special edition because it’s not the only first for me in 2022. My wife and I welcomed our son, Truwitt, earlier this month and he was the first baby born in 2022 at our local hospital! I wanted to share this exciting news with you because it’s the personal relationships that our community builds that remind us there are people and families behind the technology.

Now, let’s get back to business. In this edition of the Endpoint Management Recap, I’m going to focus on Configuration Manager and client health. Please 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.

• ConfigMgr and Client Health
• Events / Conference News
• Microsoft Product Announcements
• Hardware Vendor Updates (Tools / Security / Features)
• Community Tools / News
• Recast Updates

The beginning of every year seems to be a great time to take a close look at your environment, so why not start today? My good friend, Garth Jones, has an extensive guide, Configuration Manager Maintenance Tasks, to help you get started. This guide was made even better, in my opinion, with the addition of a new OS section. 😉 I’ve included steps and helpful links to some of my favorite community tools. Make sure you check it out!

If there is another maintenance task tip or community tool that you’d like us to know about, please contact us at @GarthMJ and @GWBlok.

• Northwest System Center User Group – January 28
• Milwaukee Systems Management User Group – February 3
• Unpacking endpoint management: Cloud attach revisited – February 4
• Cloud Management Community – February 8
• Microsoft Spotlight User Group – February 16. Top 10 free tools for Intune and ConfigMgr by Dean Ellerby (MVP).
• Windows Office Hours – February 17
• Dallas/Fort Worth System Management User Group – March 14
• Nordic Virtual Summit – March 16 – 17
• MMS 2022 at MOA – May 2 – May 5. Speaker submissions are now open.
• 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.” There are still a couple left this year, so take advantage of them!

‍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]

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

• KB12819689 – Connected cache update for Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager version 2111
• KB12959506 – Client update for Configuration Manager current branch, version 2111
• [Updated Post] Co-Management of Windows Updates Workloads
• State messages in Configuration Manager

ConfigMgr Tech Preview [What’s New Page]

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

• Announcing general availability of vulnerability management support for Android and iOS
• Microsoft Configuration Manager in the cloud: small group office hours – SIGN UP
• Manage devices with Intune Overview
• Support Tip: Final disablement of TLS 1.0 and TLS 1.1 in Intune
• Support tip: Unblock Windows “Set up for Work or School” enrollment

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

• Windows Client
  • Out-of-band update to address issues after installing the January Windows update – An out-of-band update has been released to address issues related to VPN connectivity, Windows Server Domain Controllers restarting, Virtual Machine start failures, and ReFS-formatted removeable media failing.
  • Windows – GPO – Why you shouldn’t set these 25 Windows policies
    • Spoiler: Most have to do with updates and restarts.
  • Windows 10 or Windows 11 GPO ADMX – Which One To Use For Your Central Store?
• Windows 365 – [W365Community]

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

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 Connect for MEM (at admin.hp.com) went live on January 10. HP Connect is designed around BIOS management for HP commercial systems releases since 2018 and is capable of creating policies managed by Microsoft Endpoint Manager/Intune… It will do BIOS updates, BIOS settings changes and compliance, and BIOS security, including managing HP Sure Admin authentication via cryptographic keys, or via passwords (not necessarily the most secure).
• HP Repo Downloader blog/script (posted to GitHub) is updated to better manage the ability to support customer-specific Softpaqs for use by HP, by use of model? platform ‘flag’ files containing the names of the required additional Softpaqs (https://developers.hp.com/hp-client-management/blog/script-hp-image-assistant-repositories).

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

‍Lenovo  [Enterprise Tools Landing Page][Blog Site]

The Lenovo Commercial Deployment Readiness Team has consolidated our documentation on Lenovo tools, docks, BIOS, etc. on our new site:  https://docs.lenovocdrt.com.

We have also moved the Think Deploy Blog from blogspot.com to a new site:  https://blog.lenovocdrt.com.

An RSS feed link is available on the site. Some articles from the previous blog site have been moved over and the rest will be kept available on the old site as an archive.

Microsoft [Surface]

Laptop SE and Windows 11 SE shipped and is available for education customers in some regions.

One more note, I do my best to provide Twitter accounts with 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] Lets Chat: PowerShell Getting Started EP1 – Jordan Benzing (@JordanTheITguy)
• [YouTube Channel] MECM World – Yagnesh Malaviya (@YagneshMalaviya)
  • Devices Stuck in Waiting for Maintenance Window
  • FIX for CCMSETUP install error code 0x87d00227
• [YouTube Channel] Intune Training Series [@OnPremCloudGuy and @AdamGrossTX]
• [YouTube Channel] Namaste Techies [@anoopmannur and @Hoorge]
• [YouTube Channel] MEM – tips and tricks – Mattias Melkersen – (@MMelkersen)
• [New Blog] – Figure-IT-Out – Lots of posts from Love Arvidsson (@LAFigure_IT_Out)
  • PS – Phased Deployment using only one Deployment
  • ConfigMgr – Change package Distribution Priority
  • MECM – Using Set-BIOSConfig.ps1 in configmgr’s “Run Script”
  • Powershell – Get PackageID Executionhistory _State
  • MECM – PS – Dynamic* HP BIOS Config
  • MECM – PS – Get Unique CN from .MIF’s
  • Powershell – App – Add Network Printer
  • MECM – Set custom device properties using CM AdminService / RestAPI
  • Powershell – Get SQL Server information
  • MECM – Using a Configuration baseline to check PackageID deployment state

Blog Posts

 Cloud Tech

• Patch Tuesday and how to deal with those additional OOB updates when you configured some nice Windows Update for Business (WufB) rings – Rudy Ooms (@ooms_rudy)
• Give non-local admin users the possibility to update Apps on their own – Rudy Ooms (@ooms_rudy)
• Using Proactive Remediations to downgrade Windows10 21H2 – Paul Winstanley (@SCCMentor)
• Intune Device Configuration Report – Jitesh Kumar (@jitesh8092)
• Monitoring Windows Autopilot deployments with Azure Logic Apps and Adaptive Cards for Teams – Peter van der Woude (@pvanderwoude)
• Getting started with filtering and selecting Microsoft Intune data via Microsoft Graph – Peter van der Woude (@pvanderwoude)
• Windows Autopilot hybrid join toast notification solution – Paul Winstanley (@SCCMentor)
• Use custom compliance settings in Microsoft Intune to require Windows Hello enrollment – Martin Bengtsson (@mwbengtsson)

ConfigMgr

• Use CMPivot Query to Find WSUS Server Details in SCCM – Prajwal Desai (@PrajwalDesai)
• I updated Configuration Manager in production to version 2111 last night – Martin Bengtsson (@mwbengtsson)
• Enable SCCM Maintenance Mode for Distribution Point DPs Clients Primary Server – Anoop C Nair (@anoopmannur)
• Small utility script to test ConfigMgr management points – Anthony J. Fontanez (@ajf8729)
• Win10 In-place upgrade with Symantec Encryption Desktop installed (My Experience) – Rahul Jindal (@rahulj1906)
• Fix Kerberos Error 0x80090342 SCCM Endpoint Protection Policy Deployment Issues – Deepak Rai (@Deepakrai2007)
• How to Add device to collection using task sequence- troubleshooting – Eswar Koneti (@eskonr)
• How to Improve Network Efficiency with Delivery Optimization and ConfigMgr -Thomas Marcussen (@MarcussenThomas)
• Automatic Deployment Rule – Update ID Translation – Jordan Benzing (@JordanTheITguy)

 Other SysAdmin Info

• Learn some #PSCloudScript Basics on using internet #PowerShell scripts – David Segura | MVP (@SeguraOSD)
• I had the chance to poke around in a new portal called “HP Connect for MEM” – Jeroen Burgerhout (@BurgerhoutJ)
• FIX Windows Upgrade Failed Error Code 0x4005(16389) – Jitesh Kumar (@jitesh8092)
• Moving virtual machines from one hyper-v server to another? Niall C. Brady (@ncbrady)
• Profile PowerShell Functions – Jeff Hicks (@JeffHicks)
• Learn how to enable Hardware Accelerated GPU Scheduling in Windows 11 – Prajwal Desai (@PrajwalDesai)
• Preinstalling Windows Terminal on a Generalized Windows Image – BeholdenCypress

Tool Updates

• ConfigMgr Client Connectivity Status Report – Trevor Jones (@SMSagentTrevor)
• Windows Startmenu Creator Tool – Updated for Win11 – Nicklas Ahlberg (@AhlbergNicklas)
• IntuneManagement with PowerShell and WPF UI – Micke Karlsson (@Micke_K_72)

• Right Click Tools: 4 Part Webinar Series – February 2, March 3, March 16 and April 5. Over the next three months, 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. See how several dashboards help bring data to your fingertips that is otherwise buried in the depths of Configuration Manager and take action on the results from inside the console.
• How to Manage Devices with the Active Directory Cleanup Tool
• How to Remove Content from Distribution Points with Right Click Tools
• 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!
• We are hiring! 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 – January 2022. Stay tuned for more helpful content coming your way next month.