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Windows 10 End-of-Life & Windows 11 Preview : What this means for your business

July 2, 2021by Euclid Networks in Atlanta, How-To, Windows 10, Windows 11, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows XP

Microsoft announced recently that Windows 10’s End-of-Life date is set for October 14th, 2025. As a business owner, the practical impacts of this announcement can be difficult to sort out – but not to worry – Euclid Networks is here to help you sort it out!

October 14th, 2025 will will mark just over 10 years since Microsoft’s Windows 10 operating system was first introduced – we know, we know – we can’t believe it has been that long either. With the recent announcement of Windows 11 however, it’s important to get ahead of the game when planning your long term IT budget, and equipment upgrade paths.

Windows 11 promises to be a meaningful upgrade from 10, more tightly integrating with MS’s cloud service offerings.

The majority of our clients have moved on to Windows 10 for their OS, and are covered by our proactive patching and updating service – but for those who still haven’t, now is the time to make the switch. As Windows 10 and Windows 11 share the same “DNA”, upgrading from 10 to 11 promises to be much simpler than an upgrade from – for example, Windows 7, or Win XP.

Win 10 End-of-Life : What it means for your business

Once Windows 10 reaches its end-of-life, the operating system will no longer receive important security updates, or new features via patches. As it will have reached the end of its cycle, 3rd party software vendors will also begin phasing out their support for the operating system, meaning new versions of those programs will default to Windows 11 as their recommended platform.

As an IT support provider, we can’t stress enough how important keeping current on security updates is, for the protection of your business’ data, and overall network. The #1 avenue for malware and ransomware attacks is through outdated software. Outdated software can potentially cost your business tens, or hundreds of thousands of dollars in remediation and lost revenue.

Ransomware in 2020 : At a glance (source : Nationwide)

» The average enterprise ransom payment is $111,605.

» 205,280 organizations were affected by ransomware attacks in 2019.

» The average cost for victims of ransomware attacks to recover more than doubled in the final quarter of 2019. According to a new report from Coveware, a typical total now stands at $84,116. That’s a little over double the previous figure of $41,198.

Windows 11 : What’s New?

Start Menu : Windows 11 has a new, simplified Start menu. Live tiles are gone, replaced with a list of app icons and recent files. Documents you edit in Office apps on other devices—even devices that aren’t running Windows—will appear as recent files here, too, thanks to Microsoft 365. Don’t have Microsoft 365 yet? We can help – contact us today!

Multi-App & Multi-Monitor Support : Windows 11 also features “Snap Groups”, which helps organize your windows, as you multi-task. Selecting a single taskbar icon will now pull up a group of snapped apps. Also, when using Windows 11 on a tablet, windows that are side-by-side will automatically stack on top of each other when you change the device’s orientation.

Multiple monitors support is improving also, with a “new docking and undocking experience.” When you unplug a monitor, the windows on the monitor will minimize themselves rather than getting in the way. When you reconnect the monitor, Windows will automatically restore the windows to their original positions on that monitor.

Widgets and MS Teams on the Taskbar

Tighter integration with Microsoft 365 and Redmond’s cloud offerings, means integrations with its services like Microsoft Teams and Onedrive will be built directly into the Windows 11 task-bar. We’ve seen iterations of this pop up in the latest Windows 10 updates, but as MS moves forward, expect the benefits of using Microsoft’s cloud offerings for your business to increase!

& More!

Details are forthcoming, but stay tuned – Microsoft has planned to begin rolling out Windows 11 as soon as this fall – expect to begin seeing it on new devices soon.

About Euclid Networks

Euclid Networks is an IT support provider that brings a fresh, proactive approach to your business computing needs. We serve a wide variety of Atlanta area businesses, including Legal Firms, Healthcare Providers, Non-Profits, and Professional Services Providers.

Our experience in the technology industry and dedication to personalized service sets us apart. We’re real people, who care about tech support.

Using a Synology NAS as a Backup DNS Server for Active Directory

June 14, 2020by Euclid Networks in Atlanta, How-To, Networking, Windows 10, Windows 7, Windows Server

As we onboard any new IT support partner, one of our security and network assessment tasks is to validate a client’s server and disaster recovery environment.

As part of this assessment, we often find a customer will have a single point of failure with their active directory environment – most small businesses don’t have the resources to afford multiple servers, and often times previous systems administrators will have not had the foresight to follow best practices regarding building server resiliency.

One example of a point of failure with a single-server environment that we see all too often is DNS. In many cases, the Primary Domain Controller (PDC) will serve as the sole internal DNS provider. Meaning, if a power outage occurs, or if a PDC goes down for any reason, the entire office will “lose” internet connectivity – often a costly outage until technical help can arrive!

Many of these clients do, however, have secondary “server”-like devices – NAS units, Linux machines, et cetera. While using these as a “backup” DNS provider is not a best practice, we aim to provide the best tech support we can while utilizing resources a client already has in place – thus saving them money!

In the following, we outline steps to convert a Synology NAS device into a backup DNS server for an Active Directory (Windows Server 2019) environment.

1. Install DNS Package on Synology NAS – straightforward, by opening Package Manager.

2. Set up a “Slave Zone” – Within Synology’s DNS manager, create a slave zone, set domain type to Forward Lookup Zone, and enter your PDC’s DNS information.

3. Set up DNS Resolution and forwarding on the NAS – In the below, we have enabled the resolution service, and also forwarders. In our lab, we actually do have a backup local DNS server (192.168.1.8 here), but also forward on DNS requests to Google (8.8.8.8/8.8.6.6) to allow for internet connectivity during PDC downtime.

4. Configure DNS Forwarding on PDC – On your server, open DNS, select your AD’s forward lookup zone, open properties.

4.1 Under Zone Transfers, ensure Allow Zone Transfers is enabled, to servers listed in the DNS Tab.
4.2 Under Notify – Ensure the same setting is enabled.
4.3 Add your Slave Name Server to the list of configured name servers. Important – ensure your server validates, with a green check once its FQDN is added.

5. Verify DNS records and Zone Transfer has completed – On the Synology DNS Manager, under ‘Zones’, select ‘Edit’ and open ‘Resource Record’ you should find propagated records.

Optional but recommended – repeat steps 2-5 for the Reverse Lookup Zone (EG, 1.168.192.in-addr.arpa) and _msdcs.yourlocal.domain. You *do* have a reverse lookup zone configured, don’t you? =)

6. Add your New DNS Server to DHCP – Don’t forget to configure your DHCP leases to include your new backup DNS server!

7. Test out DNS resolution – Finally, test your new server to ensure it’s resolving external domain names correctly, and test a failure of your PDC by taking it offline. Success!

If this writeup has been helpful to you, please share your comments below. And as always, if you’re looking for proactive managed IT service in Atlanta, Euclid is here to help!

Here’s What We Know About WannaCry / WannaCrypt / Wcry Ransomware

May 15, 2017by Euclid Networks in Atlanta, Networking, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Server, Windows XP

Over the weekend, businesses, institutions, and individuals in 12+ countries have fallen victim to a ransomware program known as “WannaCrypt”, or a variant thereof. For those unaware, WannaCry is fast-spreading form of malware that remotely targets nearby computers running on unpatched or unsupported versions of Windows.

Once infected, computers with this malware being encrypting all the user files they can find on the network, displaying a red ransom note (below) demanding $300 for a decryption key, with the cost increasing as time goes on.

From a technical perspective, the malware spreads via SMB – that is the Server Message Block protocol – typically used by Windows machines to communicate with file systems over a network.

Microsoft released a fix for the exploits (MS17-010, used as a part of its March “Patch Tuesday” release), but unpatched Windows systems remain vulnerable. If you are certain your PCs were updated after March 28th, you should be safe – if you’re unsure and would like to schedule an assessment, please contact us today!

 

Euclid Network’s Partner Update

For current partners of Euclid Networks, our proactive monitoring and maintenance software ensures all computers on service plans have critical Microsoft patches regularly reviewed, whitelisted by our partner NOC, and deployed to our client’s machines. We strongly believe in a proactive approach to IT Support, and ensuring software is up to date on business systems is our top priority.

Due to the seriousness of this particular outbreak, we are also manually reviewing our partner’s machines to ensure Microsoft security bulletin MS17-010 has been implemented across the board.

Additionally, our Antivirus partner, Webroot, has announced they have deployed preventative measures for this ransomware – and our partners using Dell Sonicwall Firewalls with Comprehensive Gateway Security Suite licenses should rest assured they have another layer of protection, with Sonicwall having discovered this malware and its variants as of mid-April.

 

Your Mitigation Strategies for Ransomware : Backup

In today’s technology environment, having good preventative measures in place is only the first step to having a comprehensive disaster plan in place.

Ideally, you want to have a 3-2-1 backup strategy in place. This means having at least 3 total copies of your data, 2 of which are local but on different physical devices (such as external storage drives) and 1 of which is offsite – preferably cloud based, with versioning capabilities.

If you don’t have a backup strategy in place, or want to re-evaluate your current plan, please contact Euclid Networks for a consultation!

If you’re unsure of how to assess your current needs, just consider your ability to recover from the following scenarios:

  1. All your files become corrupted (or encrypted) and replicated to your backup devices before anyone realizes.
  2. You have backup on one machine or server which is protected, but envision other devices that can communicate with your machine, and how they might be affected by the spread of malware.
  3. Envision a scenario where all your physical devices have been stolen, or your home or business is subject to fire or flood.

Resilience against all of the above scenarios is not difficult, but it takes careful planning, and continually reassessing your technology environment!

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How to : Quickly open a command prompt at a location using the Windows Explorer address bar

March 7, 2014by Euclid Networks in How-To, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows XP

Ever needed to quickly open a command prompt at a particular location on your hard drive? In the regular course of providing tech support for our Atlanta business partners, we use this quick trick on an almost daily basis.

Simply type ‘cmd’ into your address bar, and voilà – a command prompt at your computer’s current location – in this case c:\Windows.

2014-03-07 tech support command prompt

 

Ridiculously simple, but something many folks don’t know! You can also open any number of other programs in the same manner – the address bar functions in basically the same way as the search dialog in the Windows 7 start menu.

If we’ve helped you out, we’d love to hear from you in the comments below.

How to : Fix duplicate pinned taskbar icons in Windows 7

February 3, 2014by Euclid Networks in How-To, Windows 7

A common and annoying problem with Windows 7’s “Pin to Taskbar” feature, is when an application accidentally gets pinned multiple times. You might have run into this issue, resulting in a taskbar that looks something like this :

duplicate taskbar icons

In this screenshot, there are two yellow VMWare icons. The program was launched using the icon on the left, but when it opens, it creates a second duplicate icon on the taskbar. Annoying!

How to remove duplicated pinned taskbar icons :

Taskbar icons get duplicated when a shortcut is pinned to the taskbar, rather than the program itself. The solution is to find and remove the extra shortcut. The most straightforward way to do this is simply to right click and “Unpin” all the icons for the program in question, launch the program via the Start Menu, and then right click the running program on the taskbar to re-pin it.

Sometimes we’ve run into situations where this doesn’t resolve the problem. There’s usually a hidden shortcut that is being referenced by the running program. In this case, the solution is to “Show Hidden Files” in Windows Explorer, and navigate to the system path for taskbar shortcuts. This path is : C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\TaskBar – there you can attempt deleting the shortcut manually, and re-adding it once again.

Helped you out? Have questions? Let us know in the comments below!

Windows Update / Windows Defender gives error 0x8024401C

December 17, 2013by Euclid Networks in Atlanta, Networking, Windows 7, Windows 8

We see this error typically when there is a network connectivity problem between Windows Update or Windows Defender, and Microsoft’s servers. This problem can occur even when the machine in question has access to the internet, if there is a problem with the windows firewall, erroneous proxy settings, or a corrupted Windows Update database.

For Windows 8, or 8.1, Microsoft has an automated tool that can help check on the status of the database, and in some cases resolve the issue outright. This tool can be found at : Microsoft Source : http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/windows-update-error-0x8024401c

If this automatic tool fails to resolve the problem, attempt the following :

WindowsUpdateFailed-Troubleshooting-Steps

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  1. Open an Elevated Command Prompt
  2. Type “SFC /scannow” – this will check your windows system files for corruption and repair if possible. If corruption is found, troubleshoot further into hardware failure issues.
  3. Bring up a control panel, and select internet options
  4. In internet options, select “connections”. On the connections screen select “LAN Settings”
  5. Ensure under LAN Settings, the ‘Automatically Detect Settings’ box is checked.
  6. Hit OK, exit out. Reboot if needed, and attempt to update windows again. Problem should be resolved.

How To : Open an “Elevated Command Prompt”

December 17, 2013by Euclid Networks in How-To, Windows 7, Windows 8

Elevated command prompts are often used to carry out tasks with full administrator rights to your computer. In most cases, you will not want to execute programs with administrator rights, as it opens your system up to security vulnerabilities. Typically you would want to check with your network support professional for help before proceeding with the below.

Windows 7

  1. Open Start Menu
  2. In search box, type ‘cmd’
  3. Right click the CMD program, and select ‘Run as administrator’

how-to-open-elevated-command-prompt

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Windows 8

  1. Open search screen, using start menu or ‘Charms’ on right hand side of the screen
  2. In search box, type ‘cmd’
  3. Right click the ‘Command Prompt’ program, and select ‘Run as administrator’

how-to-windows-8-elevated-command-prompt

Deleting files from old Offline File Cache in Windows 7 or XP

December 10, 2013by Euclid Networks in Networking, SBS 2008, Windows 7, Windows Server, Windows XP

As network support providers, we frequently come across come across scenarios where a computer on a business domain has a user profile that has old Offline File Cache data in it. Typically, the user account has moved to a new domain, or is pointing to an old server path, no longer in use. This can happen if the user account has redirected folders enabled on the My Documents or Desktop folders – and the server is no longer in use, or unreachable. This can result in low disk space, or in many cases, duplicate files.

You also may need to delete your offline file cache if you are receiving the error message : “Unable to merge offline changes on \\server_name\share_name. The parameter is incorrect.” in your sync center.

Fortunately, the fix is relatively simple.

Windows 7

Open an elevated command prompt (Start -> type CMD in search box -> Right Click, Run as Administrator)

type : “REG ADD “HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\CSC\Parameters” /v FormatDatabase /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f”

Reboot computer – the Client Side Cache will be cleared on your next login.

THIS WILL DELETE ALL CACHED OFFLINE FILES – DATA WILL NOT BE RECOVERABLE, ENSURE YOU HAVE BACKUPS IN PLACE.

Microsoft’s Notes :

Make sure that files are synchronized before you add this registry entry. Otherwise, unsynchronized changes will be lost.
The actual value of the new registry key is ignored.
This registry change requires a restart. When the computer is restarting, the shell will re-initialize the CSC cache, and then delete the registry key if the registry entry exists.

Windoes 7 Reference : http://support.microsoft.com/kb/942974

 

If you have Windows XP, follow this procedure : http://support.microsoft.com/kb/230738

Windows won’t start after Microsoft Update installation

October 17, 2013by Euclid Networks in Atlanta, Hardware & Drivers Issues, SBS 2008, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Server, Windows XP

Windows won’t start after update installation

This is a common problem we run in to while providing IT support with older computers. After applying a Microsoft Update patch, windows will partially boot, or not boot at all. Most of the times, windows will boot to its start screen, with a message similar to the below :

“Configuring Windows updates… 90% complete… Do not turn off your computer.”

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How to : Move Mozilla Thunderbird Profiles to a new (or different) computer in Windows 7

August 20, 2013by Euclid Networks in Atlanta, E-Mail, How-To, Thunderbird, Windows 7

Moving profiles for the Thunderbird e-mail client is a pretty common task we have to do for support partners who get a new office computer, and use Thunderbird. Thankfully, unlike Microsoft Outlook, Thunderbird profiles are relatively easy to copy over between computers – thanks Mozilla!

Step 1 : Copying over your existing Thunderbird profile.

Thunderbird profiles are stored at : %APPDATA% \Thunderbird\Profiles\<Profile name>\

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