IT

4sysops

1. Upgrade Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2019 (free) to Windows Server 2025 Hyper-V role
   Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2019 is a standalone product that allows you to virtualize your environment at no cost. In this post, you will learn about the options available to upgrade to the paid Windows Server 2025 Hyper-V role.

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2. Zapier MCP Server: Automate every web service with an AI
   Zapier is a cloud-based automation platform that lets users connect and automate workflows between thousands of web services without coding. Recently, Zapier announced support for Anthropic's MCP standard. MCP is an open protocol that allows AI models to interact with external tools, data sources, and services, and it's now also supported by OpenAI, Microsoft, and Amazon. In this post, I share my experiences with Zapier's MCP server.

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3. AI-powered anomaly detection with ManageEngine Ransomware Protection Plus
   Cyberattackers are evolving their tactics and developing more sophisticated ransomware. Advanced AI-driven security solutions are needed to provide the defense mechanisms to detect and remediate ransomware threats. Ransomware Protection Plus is a new solution from ManageEngine that provides a multi-layered defense against ransomware.

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4. Disable NTLM authentication on Windows Server 2025
   With Microsoft’s decision to deprecate NTLM (NT LAN Manager), it’s time to disable NTLM authentication on Windows Server 2025 and move toward more secure alternatives. NTLMv1 has already been removed in Windows Server 2025 and Windows 11, version 24H2, signaling the beginning of NTLM’s end. Given the protocol’s vulnerabilities—like pass-the-hash attacks—organizations should begin transitioning to stronger authentication methods such as Kerberos, the preferred protocol in Active Directory environments.

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5. Automate merging your code changes with the updates of an open-source project using Git in a Bash script
   AI enables administrators to adapt complex open-source projects easily to their environment. If the project is not hosted on GitHub or other version control platforms, it becomes tedious to merge your changes into the open-source software whenever the maintainer updates their project. The Bash script I discuss in this post uses Git to automate merging your code changes into a new version provided by the maintainer of an open-source project lacking version control.

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6. Using Windows Terminal Chat with GitHub Copilot
   Terminal Chat enables the integration of GitHub Copilot, Azure OpenAI, and OpenAI's AI services into Windows Terminal Canary. Through this experimental feature, you can request assistance from an AI for your PowerShell commands and directly execute the AI's recommendations in the terminal.

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7. Encourage Warp AI to collaborate with GPT-4o Search
   In my previous post, I explained how to use the OpenAI library to augment your AI-powered terminal. Today, we will build on this enhancement and encourage two AIs to collaborate on IT tasks in the Warp terminal. Warp includes strong AI capabilities, though it currently only supports models lacking search features. As a result, you're using models with outdated IT knowledge. With a few tweaks, you can make Warp AI prompt GPT-4 Search to bypass the cutoff date of the Warp models.

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8. DFS-R: Troubleshooting replication problems for SYSVOL and Netlogon
   Domain controllers rely on DFS Replication (DFS-R) to synchronize the contents of SYSVOL and Netlogon across the network. This process ensures that group policy objects (GPOs) and logon scripts remain consistent across all DCs. While troubleshooting DFS-R issues can be complex, several built-in tools can help diagnose and resolve problems efficiently.

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9. AI-powered administration in the terminal without cutoff date using OpenAI GPT-4o Search in PowerShell and Warp
   The GPT-4o Search model offers search engine functionality similar to ChatGPT Search or Perplexity when accessed via the OpenAI API. With the free OpenAI Python Library, you can enhance your terminal AI by adding online search features, overcoming the limitations of LLM cutoff dates, and eliminating the frustration of outdated instructions. This post will guide you on installing the OpenAI Python library and using it conveniently in Windows PowerShell, Warp, or any other terminal.

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10. Install IIS and PHP 8.x on Windows 11 and Server 2025 (Core)
    PHP is still available on Windows despite Microsoft no longer providing support for version 8.x. It can be integrated as a script engine into Internet Information Services (IIS), either through the graphical IIS Manager or via PowerShell, which is especially useful for Server Core installations.

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