Free Tools, Tips, Tutorials and More

Software News

VMware Fusion and Workstation are Now Free for All Users is an official notice of some welcome news for those interested in leveraging these popular desktop hypervisor products. The paid subscription model has already been suspended, so no-cost usage is now offered for all commercial, educational, and personal users! Thanks for directing us to this news goes to thewhippersnapper4.

Security News

When privacy expires: how I got access to tons of sensitive citizen data after buying cheap domains explains the troubling results of a large-scale privacy investigation related to abandoned domains. Explains, “The article is very much worth the read and well written too… about the possible risks attached with letting domains expire that previously received sensitive data.”

A Newsletter

This Week in Self-Hosted is an e-mail newsletter that goes out each week to summarize the latest self-hosted news, trends, launches, updates, and more.

An eBook

Microsoft 365: The Essential Companion Guide is a new, free eBook from Hornetsecurity designed to help IT admins who run an M365 environment as well as decision makers who want an overview of what to expect when migrating to the cloud. In addition to an in-depth rundown of everything M365 offers, you’ll also find links to additional resources for a deeper dive into the apps most relevant to business.

A Security List

Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog is the home of CISA’s current list of critical system security holes that should be addressed within any organization.

A List

Microsoft Portals is a handy tool that can help a sysadmin find useful resources in the somewhat convoluted Microsoft ecosystem. This community-driven project conveniently lists addresses for the large constellation of MS admin sites in a single, organized location.

Cybersecurity Webinar Library features the latest security-related live webinars and a variety of on-demand content from the experts at Hornetsecurity. This ever-evolving list includes the latest insights, plus in-depth discussion of strategies and best practices for defeating today’s constant barrage of email threats—from phishing scams to data breaches—so you can learn how best to protect your digital assets.

A Training Resource

John Capobianco features videos from a veteran automation expert who has more-recently branched out into the field of AI. John is a respected author and speaker, with an impressive list of honors in the field. sugarfreecaffeine appreciates it for keeping on top of advancements in AI.

Alex Ziskind’s Channel is focused on “unraveling software enigmas” through a growing collection of expert, in-depth tech review videos. We particularly appreciated it “for reviews on ARM based hardware before we start deploying ARM based hardware to users internally.”

BGP Labs allows you to improve your skills using open-source BGP through a series of hand-on configuration experiences on your preferred platform. We explains, “You can set up any topology with any router OS you want, on your own PC… Setting all this up might be a bit of work, but it will certainly pay off.”

Off By One Security is a YouTube channel that features a growing library of mostly livestreamed videos on advanced topics in the area of cybersecurity. Expert host Stephen Sims is a vulnerability researcher and curriculum lead for Offensive Operations at the SANS Institute.

Dean Ellerby MVP offers a large collection of excellent Microsoft-specific training videos, with a special focus on Intune and security content. We found it, “concise, helpful at just the right time in my Intune/Entra journey. And I just want to be his friend.”

SAINTCON showcases expert presentations from the Utah chapter of the Security Advisory and Incident Network Team’s annual conference on tech security instruction and training. Topics covered are targeted toward all levels of security training from the fundamentals all the way to advanced techniques.websi

Learn and Test DMARC is a console designed to help you understand DMARC by displaying the background communication that occurs between servers when SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are validating as an email gets delivered. Also enables you to test how your email is performing.

HowtoForge offers a free library containing thousands of user-friendly Linux tutorials, a forum where you can discuss Linux-related problems, and organized resources on Linux commands.

Khan Academy offers a selection of free computer courses that can help develop your understanding of popular technologies like AI and blockchain, as well as covering some fundamentals like web programming and coding. Courses feature explanatory videos, code examples, and interactive exercises.

Crypto 101 is an intro course on cryptography that includes a video presentation and companion book on systems such as SSL/TLS block ciphers, stream ciphers, hash functions, message authentication codes, public key encryption, key agreement protocols, and signature algorithms.

Network Diagram 101 explains how you can employ 17 specific strategies to create vastly improved network diagrams. You’ll learn how to leverage both your creative and analytical skill sets to produce diagrams that are visually stimulating and technically informative.

Regex Crossword offers a gamified environment for working with regular expressions that’s intended to help you get confident with all those easily forgotten rules. We recommends it as “a fun way to drill regex into your brain.”

CIS Microsoft Intune for Microsoft Windows Benchmarks offers secure system configuration guidelines that were developed through a community consensus process. Explains, “Using Intune to match CIS Benchmarks is really useful and generally good practice.”

SadServers gives you access to a full remote Linux server on which you get to refine your troubleshooting skills by solving a particular problem. Free for personal use, with limits on the number of scenarios and total tries per day. It will give you a task to complete on a real server, or something that’s broken. Then you figure out how to debug it and fix it!

Coursera is an online learning platform with courses from top universities and industry leaders. The catalog of options is designed to provide self-paced training options to suit all skill levels. Explains, “offers free and paid courses on a wide variety of topics, including technology.”

Kevin Wallace Training, LLC is a YouTube channel with hundreds of videos geared toward networking certification and career growth. The primary focus is on CompTIA and Cisco, ethical hacking, automation, and wireless. Appreciates it for learning about advanced networking.

edureka! is a educational YouTube channel loaded with both quick topical summaries as well as in-depth, instructor-led trainings that can bring you up to speed on a surprisingly broad array of tech subjects.

Microsoft Azure Administrator is a free, 96-hour course that teaches how to manage your Azure subscriptions, network traffic, and secure identities; administer infrastructure; configure virtual networking; connect Azure and on-prem sites; implement storage solutions, web apps, and containers; and more.

MyPlayHouse is a YouTube channel focused on the world of high-end enterprise equipment and IT ventures, as well as home-improvement projects that explore technology and sustainable living. Adds, “He’s over in Denmark (or around that area) and regularly messes around with enterprise equipment in his home lab trying out stuff. Some of his videos are about him working on random projects, but he also has a lot of videos where he’s doing troubleshooting with retired hardware he’s gotten, and sometimes he’ll show some newer servers and stuff that vendors will loan him.”

Exercism is a free resource to help you develop your skills in any of 67 programming languages. Allows you to learn by doing, through thousands of fun coding exercises that build your understanding of concepts. “I can’t recommend anything more… for learning languages”

Microsoft Azure Fundamentals is a free, one-day course that MS provides for those seeking foundational-level knowledge on cloud concepts. Covered topics include core Azure services, Azure management, as well as governance features and tools.

Linus Tech Tips is a popular YouTube channel featuring a dedicated team of enthusiasts committed to exploring and sharing insights on consumer technology. This active channel offers well-produced, entertaining videos with an educational focus on a broad array of fascinating tech topics.

Cyberspatial is a YouTube channel dedicated to skill-building cybersecurity education and training offered by industry experts.

Linux From Scratch is an interactive tool that walks you through the process of constructing a personalized Linux system directly from source code. You’ll also find the companion book available as a free download on the site.

Mactelecom Networks is a YouTube channel dedicated to straightforward and informative tech content. You’ll find practical guides on IT-related topics, with a focus on Ubiquiti products, Cisco, and on-site job walkthroughs intended to demystify the implementation process.

Low Level Learning is a YouTube channel dedicated to the world of code and cybersecurity. Features in-depth discussions on programming languages such as C, C++, and Rust, as well as cybersecurity and hacking tips that can help you become able to write better, safer code.

Novaspirit Tech is an interesting YouTube channel offering how-tos, perspectives, and technical information on a wide variety of subjects. The host is a self-described tech-obsessed problem solver who enjoys sharing his discoveries with the aim of helping others.

ByteByteGo is a YouTube channel that offers fascinating video content on topics and trends in large-scale system design, provided by the authors of the popular System Design Interview books.

Simplilearn is a YouTube channel offering training content aimed at IT professionals who want to stay current on evolving technologies and best practices in the field.

Kevtech IT Support is a practical YouTube channel intended for individuals who are looking to forge a career in technology, offered by a guy who had to find his way without guidance.

Brent Ozar Unlimited is a YouTube channel that features videos on how to make Microsoft SQL Server faster. Brent is a MS Certified Master with decades of experience and an impressive list of conference teaching gigs.

Art of Server is an educational channel dedicated, unsurprisingly, to server-related topics. Offers informative video content that addresses some of the common questions and concerns that arise in the server-building community.

PowerCert Animated Videos is a YouTube channel offering insightful, animated explanations on various foundational IT topics, including networking, computer components, and essential concepts. Also includes videos on CompTIA certification. “This channel helped me a lot when I first started. It’s like the best ever.”

BGP for All provides a nice collection of educational videos on the routing protocol that drives data transfer across the Internet and autonomous systems. Helps to explain BGP’s intricate path vector system, rules, filtering, weight, and community attributes.

The Urban Penguin is a YouTube channel loaded with Linux software development guidance and training intended for professionals.

Moore’s Law Is Dead is a YouTube channel providing insightful, unbiased commentary and analysis on what’s going on in the areas of technology, gaming, and computer hardware.

Hussein Nasser is a YouTube channel that offers fascinating discussions on a wide range of software engineering topics, along with lots of practical examples.

Pinal Dave is a YouTube channel filled with in-depth videos on SQL servers and server performance tuning. The material is presented by a subject-matter expert with over 17 years of practical experience, an MS degree, and a collection of well-respected books and courses on the topic to his credit.

John Hammond’s YouTube Channel provides practical cybersecurity education, including the sort of real-world challenges, mistakes, and problem-solving that go with it.

Level1Linux is a YouTube channel that offers a wealth of in-depth tutorials tailored to individuals exploring basic to intermediate level projects with open-source operating systems based around (but not limited to) Linux and FreeBSD.

ThePrimeagen is a YouTube channel focused on enhancing development workflow using Vim, Rust, and TypeScript to optimize project performance. Follow in the footsteps of this skilled Netflix engineer known for his dynamic tmux and Neovim-centered approach.

Level1Techs is an engaging YouTube channel that’s the work of a group of self-described nerds with a passion for technology who are eager to share their vast knowledge and insights. Videos explore innovations in tech, science, and design and their profound impact on our lives.

Craft Computing is an engaging YouTube channel dedicated to homelabs, gaming, tutorials, reviews, news, and other IT-related content. Jeff offers a unique and refreshing perspective on tech topics that brings a bit of fun along with a lot of solid, useful information.

Christian Lempa is an informative YouTube channel that delves into the world of Homelab and Tech Projects. Offers a wealth of educational tutorials focused on DevOps, Automation, Kubernetes, Linux, Docker, and WireGuard that are intended to help viewers deepen understanding of these technologies and their practical applications.

Jeremy’s IT Lab is an educational YouTube channel offering a wealth of knowledge and tutorials on Cisco networking as well as the broader realm of general networking. A comprehensive CCNP ENCOR 350-401 Course is his latest addition to the library, which joins a Complete CCNA 200-301 Course and the Complete CCNA Routing & Switching Packet Tracer Lab Series.

Mental Outlaw is a cool YouTube channel that features entertaining videos designed to “help people become more proficient with programming, scripting, and software in general.” Features in-depth tutorials plus interesting commentary on late-breaking news in the tech world.

Learn Linux TV is loaded with in-depth tutorials, reviews and other instructional content from a passionate Linux expert with decades of experience.

Learn PowerShell Video & Blog Series features operationally focused training broken down by topic, with a corresponding blog post and training video covering the same material—so you can opt for whichever format you prefer. Also allows you to dig into the code and reference examples from the Learn-PowerShell-Code-Examples GitHub repository.

FOA Guide is the official Fiber Optic Association’s online guide to fiber optics, fiber broadband and premises cabling. You’ll find a large library of materials covering everything to do with fiber optics and premises cabling, from basic topics all the way to advanced. Also features links to “Fiber U,” an educational site full of free self-study programs and courses on the use of fiber in communication systems.

Oh Shit, Git!?! is designed to help you get out of the sort of messes that Git makes it easy to get into. Offers plain-language explanations of various problems and how they were resolved, which makes it possible to find answers without knowing the official name of whatever specific issue(s) you need to understand.

Under the Wire is a fun way to learn how to use Windows PowerShell in a variety of situations. This innovative training option was inspired by the Linux CLI wargame, Over the Wire, which owes its effectiveness as a training tool in no small part thanks to the game-style format.

Play with Docker Classroom is a playground for learning how to work with Docker. Provides a free, cloud version of an Alpine Linux VM on which to build and run Docker containers as well as an opportunity for playing with more-advanced features like cluster creation via Swarm Mode.

OverTheWire is an entertaining option for learning about cybersecurity principles and the methods hackers employ to exploit weaknesses. Offers a series Linux command-line games—each focused on a different exploit—so you can truly understand what you need to harden your systems against.

Learn Git Branching is an interactive, visual option for improving your Git skills from beginner through advanced. A set of increasingly difficult levels walks you through step-by-step feature demos and challenges designed to teach how to make the most of this powerful tool. The online sandbox gives you a safe place to practice new concepts.

A Tip

A timesaving tip:

“I can’t even count the number of times I’ve shadowed another IT person on a client PC trying to install software and do a bunch of admin tasks, with never-ending UAC prompts where they have to enter their admin creds a thousand times.

I have to tell them bro, just open one admin Powershell window and launch everything from there. One UAC prompt and you’re done.”

Some wise career advice:

“Don’t waste your time trying to argue with management about their decisions. Highlight your concerns about the impact their decisions may have—once, in written form [that] you can evidence later. But unless you are asked to do something illegal, it’s far less stressful to just get on with it.”

Offers some wise advice on coping after a big mistake on the job:

“So you learned what not to do, right? And you learned that, if it happens, how to fix it? That’s the important thing here. Mistakes are made all the time. Owning it and learning from it is all you can do. Be humble, take your medicine, and keep on keepin’ on.”

A method for getting the known SSID profiles and password:

Netsh wlan show profiles
Netsh wlan show profile “”nameofprofile”” key=clear”

(run as admin)

Shares a favorite command for message trace with local time:

Get-MessageTrace | Select @{Label=””Received””;E={(Get-Date $_.Received).ToLocalTime()}}

Shares a favorite command to manually force an AD sync when needed:

Start-ADSyncSyncCycle -PolicyType Delta

A favorite mailbox-permission command:

Add-MailboxPermission -Identity [email protected] -User [email protected] -AccessRights FullAccess -AutoMapping:$false < when I want full permission of a user’s mailbox to work with their mailbox in webmail, but don’t want it to appear in my Outlook Desktop App

Some helpful advice:

“Don’t allow user desktop/laptop machines to talk amongst themselves, apart from the minimum required for Teams calls etc. The number of dumb things that just got stopped dead or massively contained by dropping inbound traffic from user machines to other user machines is honestly ridiculous.”

A time-saver preferred by JaJe92 for occasions when the taskbar is unresponsive:

taskkill explorer.exe /f & explorer.exe

to only restart it instead of restarting the whole computer.

How to check any SSL connection, compliments of adrenx:

E.g., openssl s_client -connect ldap.yourdomain.com:636

Shares a helpful shortcut:
.\ on the username at windows login will bring up the hostname of the pc.

And Adds:
.\<YOUR USERNAME> even lets you login with any of the local users. Works super well when you need local admin rights without entering your admin account in front of the users.

Shares a time saver:

Shell loops. You run a loop in the shell with like

for i in {1..50}; do [stuff]; done

And it just does [stuff] 50 times. If you’ve got 50 hosts you want to run some random commands on, just figure out the command line on a test host, add quoting, and wrap it in a for loop. You can add | tee filename.log to capture the output.

For bonus points, use parallel and it all happens at once.

Shares a nice shortcut:
Ctrl-Shift-T will reopen the last tab you closed

Adds:
Ctrl-W closes the tab that’s open

and from pmormr:
Control-Tab and Control-Shift-Tab cycles through your open tabs (forwards and backwards)

Shift right clicking a file gives you the option “copy as path”
Typing the first few letters of the file / directory / key while in explorer will bring you to the file. Works in the registry as well.

Typing
.LOG
At the top of a notepad file (not sure if it works on new windows 11 notepad) makes a time stamp every time you close (assuming you save) the file.

A helpful hint for those getting started with Linux:

“Really internalize the fact ‘everything is a file.’ Knowledge of things like /proc and /sys is invaluable. The ability to take arbitrary text, parse it (awk/sed), and feed it into another program can solve damn near everything.”

A solution-finding strategy suggested:

Adding site:Reddit.com to searches for odd issues with no documentation online.

A favorite Windows command:

• for /l %i in (1,1,254)
• do ping -n 1 – w 10 192.168.0.%i
• Followed by arp -a

will list the IP and MAC addresses of almost everything in the local subnet (192.168.0.[1-254]), including most things that don’t respond to ping. Not as fancy as Angry IP Scanner, but it’s on every Windows system; so quick and easy to use.

Shares some favorite shortcuts:

• appwiz.cpl to open installed apps
• fsmgmt.msc to open file share management
• devmgmt.msc for device manager
• lusrmgr.msc for local user and group

on a new server, type sconfig in cmd and you can do name change, addresses, domain join etc all through command line.

Offers a handy shortcut:

“If you are looking at a folder in Windows Explorer, click into the path box, type cmd, and hit enter. Command prompt opens in that folder.

(Also, it finds an unfixed bug where you can’t access the path box until you go to another folder and come back).”

Shares a discovery:

“Use Bing chat to write short utility scripts for you. Add ‘This is important for my career’ to the end to improve the quality of your results.”

Shares, “one trick I find I need rarely, which makes me look like a wizard and few still remember:Program is ‘open’ but not visible… where is it? huh?

• ALT (hold) – SPACE (context menu open) – X – see if it maximizes. If it does, it’s ok (almost always!)
• Then ALT (hold) – SPACE (context menu open) – R (Restore window back to how it was)
• Then ALT – SPACE – M (this used to be V. I’m sure of it, it’s M now)
• Move the window with the cursor keys, and you’ll find which weird X/Y location it moved over to.

I don’t use it often; but when I do, people are bamboozled, including other techs.”

btc– adds an easier way than using cursor keys, “Once you do ‘alt+space+M’ and use the cursor key once, you can then move your mouse (no clicking) and the window will move with the mouse cursor. Click to release the window. To be fair an even easier way now is just to hold down the windows_key and tap left or right a few times to snap the window over.”

A clever hack for preventing unwanted reboots, compliments of orwiad10:

Shutdown /r /t 315360000
Schedules a reboot 10 years in the future. If you have a reboot scheduled, the api prevents anything non-interactive from rebooting your machine… So stuff like a forced reboot for updates.

A simple keyboard shortcut: “Hold Ctrl to pause task manager sorting.”

A handy shortcut, compliments of ensum: sysdm.cpl in the run diaglog/start menu will open System Properties.

Shares a handy browser shortcut: CTRL + Shift + DEL in Chrome/Edge (maybe FF?) brings you to the clear cache dialog box

This nice shortcut was offered courtesy of bobmonkey07: Win+pause opens “system” so you’re right where you need [to be] for changing computer name/domain.

mmpre shares a helpful hint:

“In notepad++, say you’re working on yaml and need to indent a ton of lines two spaces. Single click on the first line to get your cursor there. Hold down shift + ctrl + alt and single click on the last line.

It selects all of them, and you can do whatever you want to all of those lines at once.”

Shares the following:

Windows 11 will also accept [email protected] with any password as a bypass to their forced online Microsoft Account.

Shares a favorite shortcut:
“The amount of people that don’t know you can use .\ in front of the username to specify a local user account, instead of entering the entire machine name, is too high.”

Shares a handy shortcut:

Control + Win + Shift + B to “restart” your GPU driver. Useful when your monitor stops working/responding or your screen acts up or doesn’t wake.

Shares a simple browser workaround that can sometimes come in handy:In Google Chrome, if you get a https certificate error, you can bypass this by simply typing “thisisunsafe” without the quotes.

A helpful tip from digitaltransmutation on how to get a report that can help with troubleshooting when a Windows system is going to sleep unexpectedly: Use powercfg /sleepstudy and it will give you a reason for every sleep state transition both in and out.

Shares a helpful hint, “A leading space at a bash prompt prevents the command from entering the history. Good for commands which require the password to be entered as an argument.”

Show-Command <any cmdlet>
(e.g. Show-Command Get-Process) will create an UI for any PowerShell command.

A nice way to keep unwanted installs from worming their way into your systems:

I recently added a line to our setup script to disable those “silent” installs from the MS store via reg key…I did this well before HP Smart started this nonsense. It was done because we’d remove some of the other junk apps, and after a reboot or two, they’d get automatically reinstalled.

I changed the registry key on my PC and I do not have that HP Smart app on it.

EDIT TO INCLUDE REGISTRY KEY:

HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ContentDeliveryManager

Set the SilentInstalledAppsEnabled DWORD value to 0 (zero)

A quick hint for Windows admins: “You can set a program or window to a specific size & position by first placing it where and how you want it—then, hold shift and click the X button to close the window. The next time you open it, it’ll be in the same position. This works for Windows Explorer windows, programs, and even things like ‘new messages’ in Outlook.”

A handy shortcut: “In Windows, you can run anything as a specific user by shift + rightclick and choosing ‘run as another user’

There are some caveats, such as the user you’re running as may not have a local user profile, and that may cause issues. When running a program as a different user, things are done in that context—so if you go to save something to the desktop, it will save it to the desktop of the user you’re running as. A great method for running RSAT tools on a non-priviledged computer and account.”

We share a method for replacing an older Windows File Server with new, while keeping all shares and DNS intact:

• “Export [HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanServer\Shares] key from the registry. You want this key and everything under it.
• Detach the data disk (if a VM) and reattach it to the new server and assign the same drive letter, or robocopy the data from the legacy server to the new server into the same drive letter and folder path as the legacy server.
• Remove the legacy server from the domain and ensure the DNS record for it is gone. You’ll want this DNS record pointing at the new server, and this will be done automagically in the next steps.
• Import the key, then run the netdom alias commands in an elevated PowerShell or Command Prompt.

It registers the DNS A record for the alias (legacy server name in this case), registers the additional SPNs, and adds the OptionalNames registry key. No more CNAMEs or manually modified SPNs.

netdom computername <COMPUTER> /add:<ALIAS>
Netdom computername NewFile01 /add:oldfile01.domainname.tld

You can repeat this command as many times as you need to for additional records.

Total downtime in a VMWare environment is less than five minutes, barring any DNS server replication in play.”

Shares news about an underused Office feature: “If you go to this link and turn this on, the portal will be populated (over time) with all of your Office versions, additionally showing workstations that are behind on security updates.

You don’t need Intune for this either, I guess it works based on the UPNs logging into your tenant to the O365 Apps.

You can then also go into ‘Servicing’ > ‘Monthly Enterprise’ > and roll out the latest version to a set amount of PCs (or all) and set a deadline of, say, 1 day to get updated. You probably would not want to do that every month, but there is flexibility.

This may be old news, but I logged onto a dozen different clients and they did not have it turned on, so I guess not a lot of people know about it.”

We shares a suggestion for organizing your documentation:

“Use OneNote as a Knowledge Base! It has so many features that make using it as a KB so much easier than other forms like Word and PDF documents:

• Integrated graphs for excel spreadsheets or stat tracking—Copy/Paste from Excel and it will automatically paste the entire spreadsheet correctly into OneNote
• Built-in OCR for images posted anywhere in OneNote— OCR is native to OneNote, so take a screenshot, and all the words on that screenshot will be searchable!
• Freeform formatting—You can type, draw, insert pictures or shapes, or almost anything anywhere on any page in the entire OneNote.
• Collaboration—No need to share word documents anymore, you can give your team access to the OneNote and everyone can edit it all at the same time!
• Organization—You can organize the KB by topic, section, or any other way you can think of.
• Edit auditing—You can view the most-recent edits, who made them, and when they were made. No more trying to figure out who wrote the wrong thing in a KB!
• Microsoft Teams Integration—You can add it to a Teams chat and access the KB on your phone, tablet, or anywhere else that you have access to Teams.
• And more—Embedded files, links between pages/sections, notifications in each section for new content, the list goes on!

Every company I’ve been with so far had random KB folders full of documents or PDF’s, and I’ve always consolidated it into a OneNote. My coworkers and supervisors have always been impressed with the functionality that the OneNote KB provides, and loved the simplicity of putting everything in one place.”

A Script

How to monitor your UPS with free software + a Raspberry Pi is a simple script that installs Network UPS Tools plus some other packages on a Raspberry Pi or similar Linux system to quickly enable HTTP and SNMP v2c monitoring. Explains it “can make it easy to configure UPS monitoring on a RaspberryPi in a matter of minutes.”

CleanBloat is an easy way to remove all the useless bloatware and superfluous Microsoft Office language versions (except English) from Dell computers.

9 Essential PowerShell Scripts for SharePoint Online Security shares a set of curated, precision scripts for monitoring SharePoint online file activities, external user activities, and online permissions/access.

Connect to All Microsoft 365 Services is a super-easy way to connect 9 essential M365 PowerShell modules. Explains, “[it] effortlessly installs and connects to… Exchange Online, MS Graph, SharePoint PnP, MS Teams, Compliance Center, Azure AD, and more. The highlight? All this can be achieved with just a single cmdlet.”

[BASH] Script to get system specs, including applications is a way to get system (and application) specs on macOS/Linux through a progressive enhancement for neofetch->archey->cat /etc/os-release->uname -a, with “a ton of extra stuff for popular programming languages and other system software (webdevs will probably know them, at least).”

Hierarchical Configuration is a Python library that can analyze the operational configuration of a network device, identify disparities from its designated configuration, and generate the remediation steps needed to bring it into spec with the intended configuration.

PowerShell HTML based Live Ping Monitor creates a live dashboard report for ping on an HTML web page. When you hover on any of the servers in the server list, it will show more information, such as IP address.

Merge-MailboxFolders.ps1 is a PowerShell script to merge folders within a mailbox (or potentially even move folders and items between mailboxes). Works for multiple folders and can be automated for multiple mailboxes. Handles throttling so it works even with large O365 mailboxes.

Free Tutorials

Identify and Remove Inactive Users in Microsoft 365 walks you through how you can use a PowerShell script to clean up inactive users and help improve security for your M365 environment. Explains how the script can generate a list of inactive users, delete them, remove sign-in blocked inactive users, and more.

Windows Autopilot Beginners Guide is a video that walks you through the steps needed to configure Autopilot from scratch. Covers downloading Windows 11 and prepping the device, creation of an Intune trial account, configuration of Entra ID and the Intune tenant, and Autopilot configuration, plus a demo for Autopilot provisioning.

Understanding Microsoft Entra Licensing With Multiple Tenants aims to clear up some of the ambiguity regarding what and when a user is actually entitled to Microsoft Entra ID Premium in multi-tenant scenarios. We appreciates it for explaining exactly why “you don’t need to license duplicate users across tenants for Microsoft Entra.”

Segment Routing MPLS – Introduction is an informative session recording from the Flood & Learn Networking Broadcast. In this presentation, Jose Liste offers a detailed walk through of the fundamentals of segment routing, which can simplify protocols and help with troubleshooting.

SSL, TLS, HTTPS Explained is a concise video from the authors of the popular “System Design Interview” books that breaks down how these key client/server certificate protocols work. Recommends it as a great resource to help you understand certificates.

Using Wireshark to Solve Real Problems for Real People is a presentation that walks you through detailed case studies that help teach effective packet analysis. Explains, “Wireshark is one tool we use almost every day by most of our groups.

CrowdStrike IT Outage Explained by a Windows Developer provides a concise post-mortem on exactly what led to this week’s global tech mess. Windows expert David Plummer walks you through exactly what happened and why.

Top Enterprise Hypervisors Compared: VMware, Hyper-V, Azure Stack HCI, KVM offers a nice breakdown of the capabilities of the four main virtualization contenders and walks you through the pros and cons of each option for different use cases.

Switching from VMware? Explore XCP-NG, The Open-Source Virtualization Platform is a blog post that covers the latest developments in the XCP-ng platform, new features of Xen Orchestra 6 and XO Lite, the transition from VMware to Vates, the integration of REST API, and advancements in auto-restore health-check timeout.

Automatically Schedule Microsoft Teams Do Not Disturb Presence Based on Outlook Calendar Events walks you through a cool approach that automates changing your DND status based on what’s scheduled on your calendar.

Microsoft Entra joined and hybrid joined devices: Pros and Cons explores the details of Entra joined and Entra hybrid joined devices. As a response to the trend toward enterprise-level hybrid approaches featuring M365, this post digs into what these two options are and how they differ from Entra registered devices.

Modifying XML, JSON, INI configuration files without sed is a detailed blog post explaining an alternative method for adjusting config files, including the relevant code. Favors this approach to using “sed, jq, xmlstarlet, augtool for elegantly modifying config files.”

Introduction About BiDi SFP and BiDi Fiber explains specifically how BiDi SFP works and for what, what fiber it should operate with, and the differences between it and common SFP.

JA4+ Network Fingerprinting explains how to leverage the new modular network fingerprint methods that replaced the JA3 TLS standard, which can be useful in helping protect your network from threats. Explains, “These are TLS Fingerprinting tools which generate TLS Fingerprints from raw network packets.”

How to Build a Custom MacOS Dock is a guide that walks you through how to create a purpose-built onboarding dock for your users. The method has been verified from Sonoma back through Catalina. “I have about 7 different docks I use depending on the lab.”

Fiber Cable Maintenance walks you through the proper cleaning procedures that will keep your fiber cable connections working at peak performance. Offers the reminder, “Keep your equipment clean!”

Using DHCP to Boot WDS to BIOS & UEFI with SCCM is a tutorial that walks you through a setup that allows the booting of both BIOS and UEFI machines from the same WDS environment. Covers DHCP Policies and Custom Vendor Classes.

Prometheus + Grafana + Loki in docker explains exactly how to set up comprehensive monitoring capabilities for your host and containers. Overview on “how to deploy and use prometheus grafana and loki in docker to monitor metrics and logs and have push notifications using ntfy.”

How to Sign an EXE With a Certificate (Easy Mode) is a nice tutorial on how you can use SignTool and SignGUI to simply address your code signing needs.

Automate Microsoft 365 User Offboarding with PowerShell explains how to streamline the user offboarding process using a convenient script that adheres to recommended sysadmin best practices. This approach offers both enhanced security and greater efficiency by eliminating the possibility that anything will fall through the cracks when an employee departs.

Fireship is a YouTube channel that offers a large library of concise and entertaining coding tutorials that can help round out an admin skillset, along with perspectives on the latest technology news. New content covering assorted programming topics is added each week, so there’s always something new to see.

Misha Sv is a YouTube channel featuring some terrific Python programming tutorials that have been shared by a senior data scientist with additional expertise in Python programming and machine learning.

Disabling NTLM Authentication Guide is a blog series on how to navigate the complexities of moving from NTLM authentication to Kerberos—something strongly recommended by both security experts and Microsoft. Provides technical details on how to audit the use of NTLM as well as strategies for how to work with a team to get the job done.

Techworld with Nana features an impressive library of informative tutorials on various useful DevOps topics, with a new video added every other week.

Create an Inactive M365 User Report with Microsoft Graph PowerShell explains how you can assess the accuracy of your M365 user list so you can identify dormant accounts that might expose your tenant to unnecessary risks. Covers how to extract a comprehensive list, including the LastSignInDateTime property and the LastNonInteractiveSignInDateTime property.

Stone Cold Professor is a YouTube channel that can help you learn more about some foundational programming concepts. These screencasts delve into database programming with a focus on MySQL; web programming for PHP, JS, CSS, and HTML; and discrete math/structures.

Fast-Terraform is a repository with a hands-on exploration of Terraform, focusing on IoC techniques in the context of AWS. A series of practical LABs and AWS sample projects covers concepts such as resources, variables, meta arguments, provisioners, dynamic blocks, and modules. It not only simplifies Terraform understanding but also showcases real-world AWS application scenarios.

Tech Pub, hosted by Professor Robert McMillen, offers concise and insightful solutions for tech enthusiasts seeking quick resolutions. This Microsoft Certified Trainer, with extensive credentials including an MBA and over 50 technical certifications, delivers efficient tutorials that effectively address complex problems in a few minutes.

Traversy Media Youtube Channel offers a nice collection of web development and programming tutorials on the latest technologies. Their insightful videos cover classics like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript; advanced frontend frameworks such as React and Vue; and even backend technologies like Node.js, Python, and PHP.

PowerShell.org Youtube Channel is the place to find some insightful talks and presentations for those interested in learning more about PowerShell. You’ll find TechSession webinars, PowerShell Summit session recordings, and other educational content to enhance your understanding and help you improve your skills.

Calculating Optical Fiber Latency explains the method by which you can precisely determine the time delay in any fiber optic waveguide. Also includes a handy downloadable “Optical Fiber Latency Calculator.”

BTNHD YouTube Channel is loaded with how-tos on almost every subject related to Microsoft, VMware and Apple. You’ll also find info on other interesting tech topics, smartphones updates, product reviews and details on configuration and installation of enterprise software.

Windows Powershell Video Series provides the essentials for getting started with scripting in Powershell. Takes you through fundamentals and then works up to intermediate and advanced topics, so there’s a little something to be found regardless of skill level.

Elevate Teams Meeting Privacy with Explicit Recording Consent explains how you can address privacy concerns using a new Teams policy that ensures all participants are willing to be recorded before recording begins.

DeploymentResearch YouTube Channel provides lots of helpful videos on OSD, ConfigMgr (SCCM), MDT, Windows 10 and more—as well as videos related to the popular ‘Deployment Fundamentals’ book series.

Everything you always wanted to know about optical is an updated version of the popular tutorial aimed at network engineers. Covers all the basics of how fiber works, plus details on how to select, install and maintain it.

Wolfgang’s Channel offers videos aimed at making your tech experience more productive and less intrusive. You’ll find how-tos, reviews, and tutorials on open-source software, privacy-friendly services, and other technology topics.

A Free Service

Project TON is a BGP-speaking black hole service that provides a real-time list of internet bad actors for the world. Can be used to block unwanted, malicious or invalid traffic at the perimeter of your networks and offload some of the burden from firewalls and other security systems.

A Cheatsheet

Python Cheatsheet is a nice, one-page reference sheet where you can quickly find all the essentials you’ll need to work efficiently with the Python 3 programming language.

Rico’s Cheatsheets offers an impressive collection of searchable cheatsheets that is intended to help developers find whatever they need quickly. Offers resources on command-line coding, keyboard shortcuts, and more—all organized by category, with subsections for simplicity. We finds it, “so good if you are jumping into something new.”

Nmap Cheatsheet is a comprehensive overview for Nmap and Nessus. Covers usage options for Nmap, scanning command syntax, port specification options, host discovery, scanning types and options, version detection, firewall proofing, output formats and timing options, Nmap scripts NSE, 172.16.1.1 specification and commands.

OSINT Cheatsheet aggregates a truly impressive array of useful OSINT resources—all broken down by category to help you quickly find what you need. Author NotLoBi reports it’s still a work in progress, but you’ll see it’s already pretty comprehensive.

JS CheatSheet features a tidy collection of the key information you need when working with JavaScript.

Ultimate React.js Cheatsheet has organized all the relevant references on building a React application in a single spot. You’ll find not only the correct syntax for functions, but also some helpful pointers and links to relevant tutorials as well.

Tailwind Cheatsheet is a well organized, searchable one-page reference guide designed to help you quickly find all the essential commands required when working with Tailwind.

CSS CheatSheet is a time-saving collection of all the essential details for HTML and CSS programming tasks in a single spot. This compilation of essential tools, markup generators, and practical code examples serves as a handy reference for streamlining css implementation.

SQL CheatSheet is a handy, downloadable 3-page quick reference of the most-commonly used SQL statements.

Linux System Administration Command Cheat Sheet is a quick resource to leverage a variety of OS functionalities, including starting/stopping system services; software installations; and configuring disk partitions, user accounts, and directory permissions.

Cheat.sh provides unified access to the world’s best community-driven documentation repositories. Its simple interface gives access to an impressive range of 56 programming languages, several DBMSes, and over 1000 essential UNIX/Linux commands. Offering StackOverflow-level cheat sheets, it requires no installation and boasts lightning-fast response times. The optional CLI client seamlessly integrates with code editors to eliminate the need for a browser, and the unique ‘stealth mode’ allows for entirely invisible and silent use.

All in One Cheat Sheet is a single-stop reference loaded with helpful information for Linux sysadmins, devops, developers and networkers. You’ll find 156 quick-references, nicely organized with clarifying popups.

Linux Cheat Sheets offers a large selection of concise cheat sheets nicely organized to cover all the various categories of Linux commands, so you can give your Google-fu a rest in finding what slips from your memory.

A Free Tool

For sysadmins delving into firmware analysis, Binwalk is an essential tool for probing binary images to uncover hidden files and executable code. It enables you to identify various components within firmware images by leveraging the libmagic library for compatibility with familiar Unix file signatures. What sets Binwalk apart for you is its custom magic signature file, packed with enhanced signatures tailored for common firmware elements like compressed files, firmware headers, Linux kernels, bootloaders, and extensive filesystems. This makes Binwalk an invaluable ally in our quest to understand and manipulate firmware.

ExifTool by Phil Harvey is a versatile and platform-independent tool that functions as both a Perl library and a command-line application. It allows users to read, write, and edit metadata in a diverse range of file types. Its extensive capabilities make it an indispensable resource for anyone working with file information management.

Maltrail is a powerful tool designed to detect malicious network traffic. It’s built on a combination of publicly available blacklists that include known bad domains, URLs, IP addresses, and user-agent headers. This makes it quite effective for sysadmins to identify threats like malware, botnets, and various types of cyber attacks. Maltrail serves as a valuable asset for sysadmins seeking to enhance their network security posture, providing tools to identify and mitigate malicious traffic proactively.

Aircrack-ng is an essential toolkit for sysadmins, offering a complete suite of tools to fortify WiFi network security. It excels in monitoring with packet capture, allows for aggressive testing through replay attacks and fake access points, and helps assess WiFi card capabilities. With options for cracking WEP and WPA PSK, its command-line interface supports extensive scripting, making it powerful and flexible. Compatible with various operating systems, Aircrack-ng is crucial for any network administrator looking to safeguard their wireless environment effectively.

John the Ripper is the quintessential open-source password recovery tool, a must-have in every sysadmin’s arsenal. With its ability to crack weak passwords, it transforms the daunting task of securing systems into a thrilling challenge. As sysadmins delve into its features, they unveil a world of encrypted mysteries waiting to be broken. This powerful tool not only enhances security awareness but also adds an adrenaline rush, turning routine audits into nail-biting adventures in the realm of cybersecurity.

Sysadmins, meet ClamAV—the no-nonsense, open-source antivirus built for those who want control and flexibility. It’s lightweight, fast, and deadly efficient at detecting trojans, viruses, and malware across emails, files, and servers. Whether you’re safeguarding a Linux mail gateway or scanning endpoints, ClamAV gets the job done without the bloat. Plus, with its constantly updated threat database, it stays ahead of the latest nasties. If you need a free, reliable, and customizable security tool, ClamAV is a no-brainer.

Nikto is like having a ruthless web security auditor at your disposal—no fluff, just results. This open-source scanner rips through web servers, uncovering outdated software, misconfigurations, and security holes before attackers do. It’s simple to run, brutally effective, and constantly updated to detect new threats. If you’re responsible for web security, Nikto should be in your arsenal. Run it, review the vulnerabilities, and patch before someone else exploits them.

If you’re in the business of securing web applications, ZAP (Zed Attack Proxy) is a must-have. This free and open-source tool helps sysadmins and pentesters find vulnerabilities before cybercriminals do. It’s easy to use, integrates well with CI/CD pipelines, and provides powerful scanning capabilities for web applications. Whether you’re a seasoned security pro or just getting started, ZAP is your go-to for hunting down security flaws without breaking the bank.

Burp Suite isn’t just a tool; it’s a full-on security workstation for web applications. The Community Edition offers an interactive proxy, scanner, and various manual tools to analyze and attack web apps. While the free version lacks automation, it still provides sysadmins with a deep dive into how data flows through their applications. Want to understand what your web apps are leaking? Fire up Burp and start digging—it’s an essential weapon in any security arsenal.

Cybersecurity isn’t just about firewalls and patches—it’s about understanding human weaknesses. SET is a powerful, open-source framework designed for social engineering attacks. It lets you craft convincing phishing emails, create malicious payloads, and simulate real-world attacks to test your defenses. Whether you’re a sysadmin training employees or testing your own security posture, SET gives you an edge against social engineering threats. If attackers are using it against you, why not beat them at their own game?

Suricata is nothing short of a game-changer for sysadmins when it comes to security! This high-performance, open-source network analysis tool empowers users to supercharge our security measures. Its advanced threat detection capabilities make it a favorite among both private and public organizations, offering a robust solution to protect our assets against increasingly sophisticated cyber threats. We are excited to discover how integrating Suricata can elevate our network defense strategy and streamline our incident response like never before!

Fail2Ban is a powerful and user-friendly security tool that acts as a digital gatekeeper for your system. By monitoring log files and automatically banning suspicious IP addresses, it effectively prevents brute-force attacks and other malicious activities. We appreciate how easy it is to set up and customize, providing peace of mind with round-the-clock protection. With Fail2Ban, we stay one step ahead of cyber threats, ensuring our network remains safe and secure!

Cloudflare WARP is a revolutionary VPN that seamlessly protects your online activities while enhancing your internet speed. Unlike traditional VPNs, WARP focuses on optimizing performance without compromising security. By encrypting your data, it shields your connection from potential threats, allowing you to browse and stream without interruptions. Enjoy a faster, safer online experience on all your devices as WARP intelligently routes your traffic through Cloudflare’s robust network. Experience a new level of internet freedom with Cloudflare WARP, where security meets speed in perfect harmony.

Often referred to as the “Swiss Army Knife” of WAFs, ModSecurity empowers your security team with deep visibility into HTTP(S) traffic, allowing for proactive defense strategies. With its robust rules language and powerful API, ModSecurity enables you to tailor advanced protections to fit your unique needs. Transform your web security landscape and safeguard your applications from vulnerabilities, ensuring a safe and seamless experience for your users.

Pi-hole is a powerful network-wide ad blocker that acts like a sinkhole for unwanted ads and trackers, directly shielding your devices from intrusive online content. For sysadmins, it’s a game-changer—it not only enhances user experience by accelerating web browsing but also reduces bandwidth consumption. With its easy setup and robust blocking capabilities, you can take control of network traffic, ensuring a cleaner and faster browsing experience for everyone in your organization. Say goodbye to annoying interruptions and hello to efficient internet usage with Pi-hole!

SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) is your all-in-one powerhouse for managing SQL infrastructures, whether you’re working with SQL Server or Azure SQL Database. It’s loaded with tools to help you configure, monitor, and fine-tune your databases. With SSMS, you can effortlessly deploy, monitor, and upgrade your app’s data-tier components, all while crafting queries and scripts like a pro. It’s the ultimate toolkit for anyone diving into the world of SQL!

HWMonitor for Windows® x86/x64 is a reliable hardware monitoring program that tracks your PC’s essential health sensors. It provides real-time readings for voltages, temperatures, power usage, currents, fan speeds, utilization rates, and clock speeds. Whether you’re monitoring your system for performance or stability, HWMonitor helps ensure everything is running smoothly by keeping an eye on these critical metrics.

GIMP is a versatile, free image editor that can be valuable for sysadmins. It’s great for creating network diagrams, editing screenshots, and producing visual aids for documentation and training. With its open-source nature and support for plugins, GIMP offers customization options, making it an adaptable tool for sysadmins handling visual tasks within their workflows.

SaltStack, or Salt, is a powerful configuration management and orchestration tool designed for sysadmins who need to take control of complex IT environments. Whether you’re provisioning new servers, making changes to existing ones, or installing software across physical, virtual, and cloud infrastructure, Salt is the go-to solution. With its centralized approach, sysadmins can streamline operations, automate tasks, and manage vast networks efficiently. It’s a must-have tool for keeping systems running smoothly and securely—no matter the scale.

Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTPD32) is an open-source, free software that offers TFTP, DHCP, and syslog servers, making it a versatile tool for small networks. Whether you need to boot devices remotely or configure network devices, TFTPD32 provides a reliable and straightforward solution for sysadmins. Download here.

Managing certificates and keys has never been easier. XCA (X Certificate and Key Management) is a free, open-source tool that simplifies the creation and management of X.509 certificates, RSA keys, and more. Whether you’re running a secure web server or managing client certificates, XCA provides an intuitive interface and comprehensive features to streamline the process.

Keep your data safe with this free, open-source backup software. Duplicati offers robust features such as encrypted backups, incremental backups, and support for various storage destinations including cloud services. It’s easy to set up and configure, ensuring that your critical data is protected without any cost. Ideal for both personal and business use, Duplicati is a powerful tool in your sysadmin toolkit.

Want to keep an eye on your web server’s performance? GoAccess is a real-time web log analyzer that provides an insightful dashboard for monitoring traffic and diagnosing issues. This open-source tool is perfect for sysadmins who need a quick, visual summary of their server’s health and activity, with support for various log formats and customizable reports.

Puppet is an open-source configuration management platform for automating your infrastructure as code. Allows you to define desired system states (like user accounts and security settings) so you can efficiently ensure your entire infrastructure conforms to that standard. We explains it “has the best easy setup [when compared with Salt, Chef, and Ansible]. Need to dedicate servers to host it tho.”

Cacti is a network graphing solution leveraging RRDTool’s data storage and graphing functionality. It offers a fast poller, advanced graph templating, multiple data acquisition methods, and user management features with an intuitive, easy to use interface. Works from smaller LAN installations up to complex networks with thousands of devices.

cnping is a simple, minimal graphical IPV4 ping/HTTP ping utility that comes with searchnet. We recommends it as a “minimal latency testing tool with graphical output.”

MTPuTTY is a small utility that lets you wrap an unlimited number of PuTTY applications in a single, tabbed interface. Lets you continue using your favorite SSH client—but without the trouble of having separate windows open for each instance. Says, “It’s free, but awesome if you are in multiple switches.”

arp-scan is a network scanning tool that uses the ARP protocol to discover and fingerprint IPv4 hosts on the local network. It is available for Linux, BSD, macOS, and Solaris.

EVE-NG Community Edition is a clientless, multivendor network emulation solution that can be run in a completely isolated environment. We adds, “The limitations [of the community version vs. pro] are ok for me. The only thing you need to think about is the connections/cables, but you get used to doing that at the beginning of the lab when everything is still shutdown. Otherwise I have the client side pack for wireshark, which works great.”

Wazuh is an open source, enterprise-ready solution that can monitor infrastructure to detect threats, intrusion attempts, system anomalies, poorly configured applications, and unauthorized user actions. It also provides a framework for incident response and regulatory compliance.

Xfce is a fast, visually appealing desktop environment for UNIX-like OSes. Offers a user-friendly option that won’t consume a lot of system resources. We likes that it “happily runs on anything more powerful than a toaster [and] is meant to be tweaked a million different ways.”

CopyClip is a simple, efficient clipboard manager for MacOS that is accessible directly from the menu bar. Stores your entire copy/cut history, so you can quickly find whatever you need.

SmokePing is an open-source tool for monitoring network latency. Features best-of-breed latency visualization, an interactive graph explorer, a wide range of latency measurement plugins, master/slave system for distributed measurement, a highly configurable alerting system and live latency charts with the most-interesting graphs.

Oxidized is a network device configuration backup tool that serves as a RANCID replacement. It’s lightweight and extensible, with support for more than 90 OS types. We explains, “We used to use Rancid and every time we needed to set it up from scratch, it was a nightmare that took tons of trial and error before we got it working. We switched to Oxidized, it was a breeze to set up, and the UI is way better than rancid also.”

Sipcalc is a simple, advanced ip calculator that offers support for both IPv4 and IPv6.

ISIC allows you to test the integrity of IPv4 and IPv6 stacks and their component stacks (TCP, UDP, ICMP et. al.) through the generation of controlled random packets. A nice option for testing IDS systems.

WinSCP is a nice SFTP and FTP client for Windows with a GUI, integrated text editor, scripting, and task automation. It allows you to copy files between a local computer and remote servers via FTP, FTPS, SCP, SFTP, WebDAV or S3 file transfer protocols.

Tcpreplay is an open-source suite of utilities for editing and replaying previously captured network traffic. Allows you to replay malicious traffic patterns to intrusion detection and prevention systems and web servers.

PingoMeter is a lightweight, portable app to display your ping as taskbar icon. When you mouse over the icon, you can instantly see your ping, with some nice customizeable settings. A convenient way to see real ping times for diagnosing internet connection issues. We appreciates this “small unobtrusive constant ping that runs in the systray for when you need to keep a ping running for whatever reason.”

Global Traceroute enables quick and easy traceroutes, pings, and DNS lookups from most major ISPs. Leverages the RIPE Atlas infrastructure to provide the inbound-path information needed when troubleshooting Internet routing problems.

Draw.io is a free, browser-based diagramming application that’s terrific for creating flowcharts and org charts. It’s available as an online application with optional integration to various cloud storage options.

PuTTY is an open-source SSH and telnet client. While it was originally developed for the Windows platform, the software is available with source code and is developed and supported by a group of volunteers.

GNU Netcat is a Linux networking utility for reading/writing across network connections via TCP or UDP that can help with monitoring, testing, and sending data. This feature-rich network debugging and exploration tool can create virtually any type of connection and is designed to be a dependable backend for direct use or easily driven by other programs and scripts.

Google Postmaster Tools allows high-volume senders to analyze email performance issues and solve Gmail routing problems. Its designed as an easier way explore data and diagnostics, delivery errors, spam reports, feedback loops, and more. We likes it “to see if there are any issues with your domain or sending ip reputation.”

Intune Debug Toolkit provides a simpler, easier troubleshooting experience on devices that are either co-managed or Intune-managed only. We explains, “You can easily install it directly onto your device during phases like OOBE. Say goodbye to the hassle of searching for individual tools—everything you need is now at your fingertips. Happy debugging!”

IPVS implements transport-layer load balancing inside the Linux kernel, so a host can act as a load balancer at the front of a cluster of real servers. Can direct requests for TCP/UDP based services to the real servers, and make services of the real servers appear as a virtual service on a single IP address. Explains, “I used to use it to load balance DNS recursors and it worked perfectly. Combining it with some VRRP implementation such as ucarp or keepalived you can even create a HA setup.”

Hoarder is an open-source, self-hostable bookmarking app that leverages AI to auto tag your files and search through all your links, notes, images, and pdfs. Indexes content for blazingly fast full-text searches.

MobaXterm is a toolbox of all the important remote network tools (SSH, X11, RDP, VNC, FTP, MOSH, etc.) and Unix commands (bash, ls, cat, sed, grep, awk, rsync, etc.) for Windows desktop. Delivered via a single portable exe file that works out of the box. Adds, “I prefer MobaXterm myself over RDM+putty+winscp, it does everything they all do in one.”

containerd is a simple, portable container runtime that can manage the complete container lifecycle of its host system, including image transfer and storage, container execution and supervision, low-level storage and network attachments. Available as a daemon for Linux and Windows.

Hardening-Audit offers a collection of scripts to automate the process of auditing against and deploying in accordance with CIS benchmarks. Author adds, “[it’s] laser-focused on just Windows devices or just CIS standards so I can try and stay on top of updating things.”

ClipCascade is a lightweight, open-source utility for syncing the clipboard across multiple devices. Automatic syncing ensures seamless clipboard sharing between all your devices, while privacy is covered via end-to-end encryption.

jsonparse is a simple JSON parsing library that allows you to extract what’s needed from key:value pairs. Author describes it as “a simple way to extract out exact data from JSON. Useful for working with API’s that return large nested JSON…”

mmproxy is a lightweight TCP proxy that allows you to retain real client source IP addresses when building an application level proxy. It sits near the application, receives the proxy-protocol enabled connections from the load balancer, spoofs the client IP addresses, and sends traffic directly to the application. From within the application, the traffic will appear as if it originated from the remote client.

Snort is an open-source intrusion prevention system that uses a series of rules to define malicious network activity and find packets that match—generating alerts for users. Can be deployed inline to stop problem packets.

Zulip is a well-organized chat app that’s designed for distributed teams of any size. Conversations are labeled by topic, so you can easily read each thread. SleepingProcess explains, it’s the closest “to slack features, can be selfhosted… it has a free tier as well.”

DANE SMTP Validator is a quick online resource that can help with inspection and validation of the DANE TLSA records for the inbound SMTP of a domain. Reports it to be “Great for testing DANE.”

RawHTTP is a fast, safe approach that can help with the investigation of suspicious links. Just submit the questionable link, and the site will look it up and show what the destination page looks like, along with its HTTP information.

AutoIt is a BASIC-like scripting language for automating the Windows GUI and general scripting. It automates tasks through a combination of simulated keystrokes, mouse movement and window/control manipulation.

openDCIM is designed for simple, complete data-center asset tracking. Offers support for multiple rooms, management of space/power/cooling, basic contact management and integration into existing business directory via UserID, fault tolerance, computation of center of gravity for each cabinet, and more.

IMUNES is an integrated, multiprotocol GUI-based network emulator/simulator to help with specification and management of virtual network topologies. Offers lightweight, real-time IP network topology emulation/simulation at gigabit speeds, with thousands of virtual nodes on one physical machine.

Chezmoi is a simple, secure way to manage your dotfiles across multiple different machines. Features include templates, password manager support, importing files from archives, full file encryption, and running scripts.

CleanupMonster is a script for easily removing and organizing the objects in your AD according to your desired criteria. Author MadBoyEvo explains, “[it’s] a PowerShell module that helps cleaning stale/dead computer objects in Active Directory. Dead servers, clusters, workstations -> all of it.”

Claude AI is a business-focused, next-gen AI assistant for tasks involving language, reasoning, analysis, coding, and more. Adds, “[it] does really well with coding… the free version is usually more than enough to get me usable code and enough troubleshooting if I can’t figure it out myself.”

IIS Crypto allows administrators to enable or disable protocols, ciphers, hashes and key exchange algorithms on Windows Server 2008, 2012, 2016, 2019 and 2022. It also updates the registry using the settings recommended by Microsoft and updates the cipher suite order in the same way as the Group Policy Editor. Lets you create custom templates for different servers, which will work with both the CLI & GUI versions as well as their own built-in templates.

Stirling-PDF is a locally hosted web application for working with PDF files. This secure, private tool creates no outbound calls for tracking or record-keeping, ensuring complete control and privacy. Offers features like splitting, merging, converting, and more. Adds, “We are looking into deploying these tools for our non-licensed users (whom may need something like that 3/4 times a year and a license of acrobat isn’t worth it).”

Angry IP Scanner is an open-source network scanner for Linux, Windows, and Mac. It can detect open ports and perform actions on them (as permitted), such as viewing shared files, accessing web/FTP server, pinging, and launching Telnet. Also shows some details about detected computers.

The Judge is a handy online AI tool that can assess the tone of a block of text and suggest a suitable response. It’s a quick way to be sure you aren’t misinterpreting what someone else has written or save you from sending out something that will cause trouble. We appreciates it “for responding to dumb emails. Check if I’m coming off crass or not.”

New Recovery Tool to help with CrowdStrike issue impacting Windows endpoints covers the details on how to make use of Microsoft’s own recovery tool, including detailed recovery steps for Windows client, servers, and OS’s hosted on Hyper-V.

Foreman is an open-source tool for managing physical and virtual servers throughout their lifecycle. Offers an easy way to automate repetitive tasks, deploy applications, and proactively manage servers, on-premise or in the cloud. Includes it in the list of “software I can’t live without.”

Dockge is a reactive self-hosted Docker compose.yaml stack-oriented manager with a single-page interface for logs, YAML editor, terminal, and container controls. Explains, “I’m migrating my services onto a new server and decided to try Dockge [because Portainer was] really slow at deploying, restarting, stopping etc containers/stacks and it didn’t give feedback on what was happening… Dockge responds instantly and brings up the terminal and container logs for easy debugging. Makes managing services so much easier.”

PipeWire is a Linux audio/video solution that provides a low-latency, graph-based processing engine for audio and video devices. Its powerful security model makes interacting with a/v devices from containerized applications easy, with seamless support for PulseAudio, JACK, ALSA, and GStreamer.

WirePlumber is a modular session/policy manager for PipeWire with a plugin framework and an API that allows you to extend the WirePlumber daemon, to write management or status tools for PipeWire and custom session managers for embedded devices.

TruffleHog is a scanning tool that digs through your code repositories to locate any vulnerable secrets, passwords, or sensitive keys that might be used to facilitate a security breach.

k9s is a terminal based UI that’s designed to interact with Kubernetes clusters in order to make it easier to navigate, observe, and manage deployed applications. It continually watches Kubernetes for changes and offers subsequent commands to interact with observed resources.

Zellij is a terminal workspace with the base functionality of a terminal multiplexer that also allows users to extend it and create a personalized environment with panes laid out exactly as desired when they start the app. Says, “Nowadays i suggest trying Zellij over tmux. It’s pretty cool especially for newstarters.”

Graph Explorer is a developer tool for learning about Microsoft Graph APIs. Lets you try out APIs on the default sample tenant to safely explore capabilities and work out app functionality. Includes helpful features such as code snippets (C#, Java, JavaScript, Go, and PowerShell), Microsoft Graph Toolkit and adaptive cards integration, and more.

asdf allows you to manage multiple runtime versions from one CLI tool and command interface. Offers a large ecosystem of existing runtimes and tools, with a simple API, backwards-compatibility, and a GitHub Action for use in CI/CD workflows. Advises the new Mac user, “If you intend on using Python, I would recommend against installing it from Homebrew and go for something like asdf to manage different versions. You can use it for other things too; e.g., Go, Terraform, Ruby, etc.”

Sidder is a simple way to manage User Profile Disks on the .net 4.8 Framework. The tool was designed as a quick option for identifying which User Profile Disk belongs to which Domain User and performing basic administrative tasks.

NTTTCP is a simple Windows tool for benchmarking network bandwidth and throughput performance. We finds it useful for troubleshooting network problems.

LocalSend is an open-source, cross-platform file-sharing tool that works without a central server. Public source code, end-to-end encryption, and peer-to-peer transfer address security concerns, while the simple interface requires no registration and features no ads and no tracking.

Hiren’s Boot CD includes pretty much every utility you need to recover a dead OS or accidentally deleted or lost files—all on a bootable disk. Notes that it’s “being updated again, and that just makes me feel good.”

Iamroot DNS Lookup is an online tool for resolving domain names. Supports the most-common record types and performs secondary lookups on any references in the returned DNS records. Author explains, “MX Toolbox has a lot of excellent tools, but for basic DNS lookups, I had a really hard time finding any basic and simple tool with low-key results. So, I actually made my own.”

SoftPerfect Network Scanner is a universal IPv4/IPv6 scanner that can ping, scan ports, and discover shared folders. Includes flexible filter and display options. Adds, “It is robust, extensible, and updated on a regular basis. You can also integrate NMAP for Windows into it. Yea, NMAP for Windows, I said it, flame me.”

Centro 365 is a browser extension that makes it easier to find the info you need on Microsoft Azure and 365. Explains, “My work consists 95% working in the 365 suite—in all of the sections. And being a small IT staff in a non-profit, it’s hard to keep up with the weekly changes MS are doing to naming and placement of stuff. Leads to my useful tool on a daily basis, an extension for my browser, which basically is just a drop down with the different sections and subsections. Clicking it and you go to the right url for it.”

Mermaid is an online flowchart and diagrams editor that was designed to keep tech documentation current. Explains, “For documentation with diagrams, I tend to use Mermaid, which can be used in Markdown in VS Code and is also supported by Obsidian.md.”

WizTree helps you quickly find the files and folders using the most disk space on your hard drive. Rather than searching the drive and checking each file to determine size, WizTree gets its information straight from the NTFS Master File Table—which means it happens almost instantaneously. We finds it does the same thing as WinDirStat, but much faster.

Page Countster is a small, portable application for reporting on network printers. Provides a super fast, easy way to access info and interact with all the connected printers. Says, “For printers, I prefer an old freeware utility, Page Countster. Automatically picks up just the printers and a host of other info about them in an incredibly lightweight utility.”

Capture2Text is a simple, multi-platform OCR solution that creates a keyboard shortcut to grab text from your screen and save it to the clipboard. Includes support for a large array of languages, including a translation feature.

Rufus is a utility for formatting and creating bootable USB flash drives that works with MRB/GPT and BIOS/UEFI—and is noticeably faster than other tools.

Password Safe is a highly secure, open-source password manager for maintaining an encrypted user name/password list. Works on Windows 7 and later.

Podman is a secure, open-source solution for managing containers, pods, and images. This fast, lightweight solution works with containers and Kubernetes from the local environment, and is compatible with other OCI-compliant container formats including Docker. Reports, “we ditched Docker for Podman.”

Ventoy allows you to create bootable USB drives for ISO/WIM/IMG/VHD(x)/EFI files. Copy multiple files at once, and Ventoy will give you a boot menu to select them. Adds, “though this has it’s quirks, it’s handy when it works.”

Blender is a cross-platform, open-source 3D graphics application for modeling, animation, simulation, rendering, compositing and more. An API for Python scripting also allows you to customize the application and write specialized tools. Can be a powerful tool for creating impressive presentations, training videos, and more. Adds, “Blender is becoming a top-tier respected 3d software tool used in corporate settings.”

IntelBurnTest helps to simplify the use of Intel’s powerful Linpack program—a tool that can bring even the world’s most-powerful CPUs to the brink. thelanranger considers it an essential sysadmin tool.

Everything is an incredibly fast command-line search engine for Windows that instantly locates files and folders by name. By indexing only file and folder names, it generally takes a few seconds to build its database. 1000% better than the built-in Windows search —one of these apps that once you use it, you can’t go back.

CodeLobster is a cross-platform IDE that streamlines and simplifies the PHP development process. Autocompletes the names of functions, arguments, tags, and their attributes for PHP, HTML, JavaScript, TypeScript, Node.js, and Python. Also includes an internal PHP debugger that automatically detects your current server settings and configures corresponding files.

removebg is a simple, AI-powered online image editor that specializes in removing the background from any image. You can quickly make any background transparent or transform it to white, depending on the need. Adds, “Anytime I needed to remove the background from images, really found this web tool handy.”

RoboCopy GUI is a nice visual interface for RoboCopy that offers job queuing, monitoring, and logging. Lets you easily add jobs to a queue, adjust settings, analyze what needs copying, and monitor the jobs as they run. Can even parse existing RoboCopy command lines to populate the GUI settings. Explains, “If you are looking for a GUI to use with RoboCopy, then take a look here—regularly updated and available from the Microsoft Store.”

389 Directory Server is an open-source, hardened, high-performance LDAP server for Linux. This horizontally scalable solution has been extensively tested with sanitization tools, a rich feature set of fail-over and backup technologies, and a database size that is limited only by available disk space.

Capsule VPN allows you to securely access resources from a Windows Phone via a full layer-3 VPN tunnel. Offers SSL support, a variety of authentication methods, connection persistency upon device roaming, and auto connection attempts after session expiry or device reboot.

Glary Utilities is an all-in-one solution that offers powerful one-click cleaning for an individual computer to boost speed and help fix errors, crashes, and freezes.

UltraVNC is a powerful, intuitive remote access tool for displaying and controlling the screen of another computer (via internet or network) from your own screen.

RDS-Shadow allows you to remotely view and control another user’s active session on a Remote Desktop Session Host server, without requiring admin rights.

Rocketchat is a customizable, open-source communications platform designed with a focus on data protection. Facilitates real-time conversations among team members or customers, regardless of how they connect with you.

Bitbucket is a Git-based source code repository hosting service with a best-in-class Jira integration and built-in CI/CD. Provides a single spot where teams can plan projects, collaborate on code, test, and deploy.

Scintilla is a source code editing component with the usual text editing features as well as highly useful capabilities for editing and debugging source code. Features include support for syntax styling, error indicators, code completion and call tips; selection margin can contain markers like those used in debuggers to indicate breakpoints and the current line; and better styling choices. Adds, “I have IDEs for 6 languages built into this completely portable.”

Prometheus SNMP Exporter exposes SNMP data in a format that is perfectly mapped for Prometheus. It translates the hierarchical data structure of SNMP to work with the Prometheus n-dimnensional matrix, thus eliminating the need to manually go through data.

Intunewin Build and Extract is a tool that allows you to either build a new Intune Win32 application or extract the content from one that already exists. The author has written detailed instructions in this blog post.

PSDiscoveryProtocol allows you to capture and parse CDP and LLDP packets on local or remote computers as well as adding port information to the SCCM Hardware Inventory on Win10.

Hyperglass is an open-source network looking glass that offers a faster, easier, more-secure way to provide unattended visibility into a network for customers, peers, and other network operators. Found it “relatively easy to configure and deploy.”

PowerCSR is a Powershell-based GUI that quickly generates a CSR and Private Key file using OpenSSL. Author ReproDev explains, “after banging my head against the wall quite a lot with the command line version freezing or just force closing, I created a tool in Powershell to create the initial CSR and a 2048-bit key… Enter your details for the domain, organisation and the rest, then click Generate CSR”

OMNeT++ is a C++-based library designed for constructing network simulators, with a focus on modularity and extensibility. FalsePhoenix likes it for simulating a large number of simultaneous connections to wifi so you can make sure you won’t have problems during an event.

reStructuredText facilitates the extraction and formatting of comments and information from Python programs, similar to Javadoc for Java or Plain Old Documentation for Perl. Finds it a nice option for keeping internal documentation current over time.

Flowpipe is a cloud scripting engine designed for easier automation and workflow integration. It facilitates connections between different cloud environments, essential personnel, and crucial data. Utilizing the standard DevOps configuration language, HCL, Flowpipe enables you to construct intricate and highly parallel workflows in a declarative style.

Tasks is an open-source to-do list/reminder tool that integrates with popular platforms like Outlook, Thunderbird, and Apple Reminders. Features filters, tags, lists, infinite-depth subtasks, and manual sorting and works with most productivity systems. Offers offline functionality, self-hosting, and end-to-end encryption for privacy.

HeidiSQL is a widely-used database solution designed to be easy to learn with straightforward data management and structure editing. It provides users the ability to view and modify data from popular database systems, including MariaDB, MySQL, Microsoft SQL, PostgreSQL, and SQLite.

Apprise is a lightweight, versatile notification tool for popular platforms including Telegram, Discord, Slack, Amazon SNS, Gotify, and more.

Tianji is an open-source application that seamlessly combines website analytics, uptime monitoring, and server status tracking into a single, lightweight tool.

NDI Core Suite offers a comprehensive set of tools and plugins to set up, test, and manage NDI workflows, with intuitive simplicity for beginners and robust customization options for advanced users.

Doxygen generates documentation from annotated C++ sources, including C, Objective-C, C#, PHP, Java, Python, IDL (Corba, Microsoft, and UNO/OpenOffice flavors), Fortran, and VHDL to some extent. Extracts documentation directly from source files, making it easy to maintain consistency between all your code and documentation. Automatically generates dependency graphs, inheritance diagrams, and collaboration diagrams.

Net-SNMP is a comprehensive suite of applications designed to implement SNMP v1, v2c, and v3 across IPv4 and IPv6 networks. Offers command-line tools for retrieving, manipulating, and displaying information from SNMP-capable devices, a graphical MIB browser, a daemon for receiving SNMP notifications, and an extensible agent supporting a wide array of MIB information modules—plus a versatile library with C and Perl APIs for developing custom SNMP applications.

DomainMOD is a self-hosted, open-source PHP application for centralized management of domains and internet assets. It offers a Data Warehouse framework that’s compatible with servers running WHM/cPanel, enabling the import, analysis, and generation of reports on live web server data within the application.

CryPing is a simple command-line network connectivity test tool that expands on the conventional ping command with the ability to ping specific ports; check the status of HTTP, SMTP, POP3, or NNTP services; timestamp output for prolonged monitoring; and set audible alerts for success or failure.

GoBGP is an open-source Border Gateway Protocol implementation that leverages the power of multicore processors and the simplicity of Golang’s concurrent programming. Facilitates seamless integration with other software through RPC APIs, while also providing a CLI for traditional configuration adjustments.

Alerta is a scalable alert management tool that can serve as a big upgrade from using email as an alert console. Accepts alerts from standard sources like Syslog, SNMP, Prometheus, Nagios, Zabbix, Sensu, and netdata.

FRRouting is an open-source Internet routing protocol suite tailored for Linux and Unix. Supporting a comprehensive range of protocols, including BGP, OSPF, RIP, IS-IS, PIM, LDP, BFD, Babel, PBR, OpenFabric, and VRRP, and with experimental backing for EIGRP and NHRP, FRR integrates with native Linux/Unix IP networking stacks.

Homarr is a server management tool designed for efficiency and ease of use, offering a convenient and centralized hub for streamlined access and control. Offers straightforward installation and versatile deployment options, providing a sleek dashboard to consolidate all your apps and services.

RedHat Keycloak is an Identity and Access Management tool. Features include user federation, robust authentication methods, user management, and fine-grained authorization.

KasmVNC offers heightened security, improved compression, and seamless encoding through a web-based client, enabling access to the Linux server’s desktop from any web browser without the need for client software installation.

Element is an open-source instant messaging client built on the Matrix protocol, offering users features such as end-to-end encryption, file sharing, and voice/video calls. The self-hosted version accommodates up to 200 users at no charge, providing a budget-saving secure and collaborative communication platform.

Libre Hardware Monitor is a utility that reports on a computer’s temperature sensors, fan speeds, voltages, load, and clock speeds. Thanks to Vallamost for noting last week’s hardware monitoring tool (Open Hardware Monitor) appears to have been abandoned by the devs. Fortunately this fork is actively maintained.

Bufferbloat Test checks for a software issue with networking equipment that causes spikes in Internet latency during uploads or downloads. The latency of your internet connection is compared with results of latency tests taken while running a download test and an upload test to detect the issue.

Open Hardware Monitor tracks critical system metrics, including temperature sensors, fan speeds, voltages, load, and clock speeds. Monitored data can be displayed in the primary application window, a customizable desktop gadget, or the system tray.

WifiInfoView is a utility that scans for nearby wireless networks and displays key information. Listed data includes network name, MAC address, PHY type, router info, signal quality, and more.

SignTool allows you to securely sign, verify, and timestamp files. It comes bundled with the Windows Software Development Kit to address file integrity and security needs.

gping is a souped-up version of the traditional ping utility that graphs network latency for multiple hosts as well as execution time for commands, with the option of custom colors.

Snipaste is a straightforward snipping tool that conveniently allows you to pin screenshots back onto your screen. Offers a nice array of features, like converting clipboard text or color information into floating image windows, zooming, rotation, flipping, translucency, and click-through functionality.

WindTerm is a versatile, cross-platform client solution for SSH, Telnet, Serial, Shell, and SFTP connections. Features include color-coding, text folding, outlining, auto-completion, lightning-fast performance, and extensive scrollback history. Also supports cursor control with mouse input and easy text selection.

Komorebi is a tiling window manager designed as an extension for Windows 10+ that seamlessly integrates with Microsoft’s Desktop Window Manager. Allows users to efficiently manage application windows, virtual workspaces, and display monitors via a CLI that can be used with third-party software like AutoHotKey. It prioritizes non-intrusive modifications to the OS and desktop environment by default, while giving users the freedom to implement any desired changes through their own configuration files..

Group Policy Attribute Search is a Microsoft website that allows you to run full-text searches through all existing Group Policies. Offers filters that can search for the policies that are supported by certain platforms, so you can check to see what is properly supported by all the platforms in your network. You can also limit the search by the Microsoft Office Group Policy and User Policy Settings.

OpenBMP is a monitoring system designed to work with any compliant BMP sender. Uses PostgreSQL for primary data storage, with RIBs state maintained plus full history for every changed BGP update. Features include centralized BMP collection, real-time topology monitoring, BGP and route security, looking glasses, route analytics, traffic engineering analytics, BGP pre-policy What-Ifs, IGP topology analysis, and more.

Hexinator is a versatile hex editor designed to handle files of any size. Features extensive customization options and advanced search capabilities. Simplifies the identification of strings within binary files, considering length and text encoding, and provides a Data Panel for decoding common data types.

Intune Device Details GUI is a Windows PowerShell-based tool that enables Intune administrators to efficiently access and visualize device data in a single interface. Displays the utilization of Azure AD Groups and Intune filters in Application and Configuration Assignments to help admins understand device targeting and potential assignment issues.

Ping Tracer is a network diagnostic tool that systematically pings all network hosts along the route to a specified destination, to help troubleshoot network problems.

Containerlab is a CLI tool to simplify working with container-based networking labs. Allows you to initiate containers, establish virtual connections between them to configure customizable lab topologies, and manage the lab lifecycle. Offers support for a wide range of network OSes, accommodating various node scales, TLS certificate management, lab orchestration, and deployment functionalities.

Weathermap is an extension for LibreNMS that enables users to easily construct network maps that provide a clear visualization of network traffic flow rates in order to help admins optimize performance and troubleshoot.

PDF Tool provides an easy way to edit pdf files directly on your device—so you can be sure to keep the data secure.

Visual Syslog Server is an open-source Windows application for receiving and displaying syslog messages that can be helpful when configuring routers and Unix/Linux-based systems. Offers a live message view that features message switching, color highlighting, filtering, and customizable notification and action settings.

GNU Emacs is a versatile, open-source text editor that offers extensibility and customization—a sort of self-documenting real-time display editor.

Quicktype is a speedy way to transform JSON data into well-structured, type-safe code in any programming language. Can help simplify the process of generating models and serializers from JSON, schema, or GraphQL—for secure, efficient data handling.

MAC Vendor Lookup offers accurate, up-to-date vendor information from the IEEE Standards Association database. Allows you to submit up to 1000 requests per day through HTTP GET/POST requests, without the need for registration or API keys.

Bpytop is a resource monitoring tool designed for Linux, OSX, and FreeBSD systems. Offers a convenient window on CPU usage, memory consumption, disk and network activity, and running processes.

ChatGPT Prompt Generator is a clever tool for simplifying the prompt-creation process. Just describe the desired prompt in basic terms and the role you want ChatGPT to simulate, and it will quickly create a well-written prompt to achieve your stated aim.

AstroGrep is an open-source, high-speed search utility for Windows that locates files or text using regular expressions. Features include concurrent searches across various file types, recursive directory exploration, contextual line selection, and the ability to customize results.

LUMU Free provides real-time detection, analysis, and response capabilities to identify hidden threats that may have slipped past your defenses. Features include network-level visibility, 45-day data retention, and up to 5 metadata collectors.

Pinkie is a collection of network troubleshooting tools with an intuitive user interface. Offers pinging of multiple hosts, automated forward/reverse DNS lookups, and traceroute functionalities. Results can be conveniently saved to disk or copied to the clipboard, and traceroute supports both overall and per-hop copying, with right-click access to the last hop. Also includes a subnet calculator, ping sweep, port scanner, and TFTP server with support for RFC 1783 and 1784.

Vector is an open-source, high-speed solution for constructing observability pipelines. This featherweight tool seamlessly gathers, reshapes, and directs logs and metrics to allow effortless collection, transformation, and forwarding to your vendors. Delivers speeds up to tenfold greater than any comparable alternative.

Roboshadow stands as a comprehensive cyber platform, seamlessly integrating essential components from cyber audits and penetration testing into a user-friendly, well-supported environment. With its free tier, organizations of all sizes can access a daily cyber governance report, to effortlessly foster heightened cyber awareness.

ChatPDF allows you to seamlessly converse with your PDFs, receiving answers that directly cite the source location within the document. Accommodates various languages for both input and output. A free account includes 50 daily questions and the capability to upload up to three 120-page/10MB file uploads.

SSHFS offers a solution for connecting to SSH servers through a network filesystem client. Enables users to seamlessly mount remote filesystems, without any server-side requirements.

foobar2000 is an advanced Windows audio player that offers compatibility with an impressive list of formats. Features include gapless playback, flexible interface customization, advanced tagging, and conversion among various audio formats.

MISP is an open-source solution to streamline the acquisition, retention, distribution, and collaborative exchange of critical cybersecurity indicators and threats.

WinCDP is a helpful utility that leverages Cisco’s CDP to provide an elegant solution to the perennial dilemma, “Where does this cable, uplink, or port lead?” CDP operates at the Data Link Layer to expose crucial insights about directly linked Cisco devices, such as IP addresses, OS versions, which switch you’re connected to, and the specific port in use.

ThrottleStop is a compact solution for identifying and resolving the CPU throttling techniques some laptop models use—like clock modulation and multiplier reductions—to manage power consumption, maintain lower temperatures, or accommodate power limitations posed by the adapter. Offers a range of options designed to counter throttling, plus a monitoring panel that provides real-time insights into the operational status of individual CPU threads.

klogg is an open source multi-platform GUI application to search through all kinds of text log files using regular expressions. It’s a fork of the no-longer-maintained glogg project designed for speed and to provide a clear view even in huge, cluttered files.

TheHive is a versatile open-source solution for streamlining the investigation and prompt handling of security incidents. Seamlessly integrates with MISP to facilitate the transition from event analysis to investigation initiation, enabling efficient synchronization and export for collaborative threat detection and response. Moreover, coupling TheHive with Cortex empowers security professionals to efficiently analyze up to hundreds of observables.

KNOPPIX is a bootable Live system, offering an extensive range of GNU/Linux software, automatic hardware detection, and broad support for various peripherals like graphics cards, sound cards, SCSI, and USB devices. Can serve as a reliable Linux desktop, an educational CD, a rescue system, or even a platform for commercial software demos. Operates without the need for hard disk installation and its on-the-fly decompression enables the CD to accommodate an impressive 2 GB of executable software (or over 9 GB on the DVD “Maxi” edition).

qBittorrent is a reliable, open-source alternative to µTorrent with a similar user interface. Features an extensible search engine for simultaneous searches across multiple Torrent search sites with category-specific requests. Supports Bittorrent extensions, such as Magnet links, DHT, PEX, and encrypted connections, while also providing advanced control over torrents, bandwidth, and IP filtering. Available on all major platforms and presented in almost 70 languages.

NirCmd offers a convenient, efficient means of performing a collection of tasks without the need for a user interface. This small, command-line Windows utility enables seamless Registry manipulation, INI file editing, internet account dialing, VPN network connections, system restarts, and computer shutdowns, as well as other functionalities for streamlining operations.

Charles is a powerful web proxy and monitor designed to run on your local computer. Once the web browser or other applications are configured to access the web through Charles, you can record and view all incoming and outgoing data. The enhanced visibility simplifies the process of debugging and provides advanced features such as SSL proxying, bandwidth throttling, AJAX debugging, AMF support, request repetition and editing, breakpoints for intercepting and modifying requests or responses, and even validation of HTML, CSS, and RSS/atom responses using the W3C validator.

Mail PassView is a compact, straightforward password-recovery tool designed to unveil essential account information from most major email clients. The user-friendly interface displays the following fields for each account: Account Name, Application, Email, Server, Server Type (POP3/IMAP/SMTP), User Name, and Password.

wallabag is a versatile self-hosted application designed to effortlessly save and organize web pages, keeping online content organized and readily accessible. With its intuitive GUI, users can conveniently store and categorize articles, allowing for easy retrieval whenever you’re ready to read later on.

Sergei Strelec’s WinPE is a great WinPE build with a truly enormous list of software that covers all areas. Includes tools for diagnostics, backup and recovery, drive utilities, DOS programs, networking, Win installation and more.

Invoke is a versatile Python library that streamlines the management of shell processes and facilitates the organization of executable Python code into easily invokable tasks via a CLI interface. Offers a robust feature set while maintaining a straightforward and elegant API. Features include namespacing, task aliasing, hooks, and parallel execution.

Scoop is a streamlined command-line installer for Windows that aims to provide a hassle-free installation experience by eliminating permission popups, GUI wizard-style installers, and excessive clutter caused by multiple program installations. Automatically handles dependencies and performs additional setup steps as needed.

CodeGPT is a Visual Studio Code extension that seamlessly integrates the OpenAI API to provide AI-driven coding capabilities. Effortlessly generate code snippets and get natural language responses directly in your editor—to help write new code, seek clarifications, debug, and refactor.

Raycast is an incredibly fast launcher designed exclusively for MacOS. Seamlessly accomplish tasks, perform calculations, and share frequently used links—with its included calculator, quicklinks, snippets, advanced window management, as well as an extensive library of over 1000 customizable extensions and developer tools. It’s like Spotlight on steroids, as it can be used as a starting point for practically anything.

Raindrop is a highly capable, all-in-one bookmark manager. Oliver explains, “installs as a browser extension, desktop app, and phone app. Anything which has the option to share, you can share to raindrop… has a ton of cool features such as:

• Making an offline, indexed copy of whatever you’ve sent it. Not everything allows offline copy. BUT, if you search a raindrop for a keyword or phrase contained in the body of something you’ve saved, it will return that bookmark in the results.
• Gives you the option to embed specific raindrop collections (folders containing things you’ve saved). Illustrating: You save an article to the appropriate collection. That new article shows up on a landing page you’ve created for clients. Consider this for exploits, outage alerts, etc.
• Tagging things you’ve saved—these are similar but different than collections. Tags are easy to add to whatever, as when you put a comma it automatically makes a new tag.
• API and other extensibility. ‘Save every youtube video I like,’ ‘save every tweet I like’
• The offline & indexed version Raindrop makes can also, somehow, get around (most?) paywalls. You can share these offline copies using a perm link generated by raindrop.”

SyncML Viewer presents the SyncML protocol stream between the Win10 client and the management system and adds some extra parsing to extract details that can aid your analysis. Uses ETW to trace the MDM Sync session, tracing what the client actually sends and receives. Can be very handy to troubleshoot policy issues, verify OMA-URIs and data field definitions, or get confirmation about queried or applied settings.

Alfred is a macOS app that offers hotkeys, keywords, text expansion, search, and other custom actions to control your Mac.

Mattermost offers a secure, open-source solution for seamless collaboration throughout the software development lifecycle. Tailored to cater to technical and operational needs, it easily integrates with a wide range of third-party developer tools—to streamline development and engineering workflows. With self-hosted and private cloud deployment options, coupled with access to the source code, you have complete control over the data via a shared, adaptable, and extensible platform designed specifically for your team.

Redo Rescue offers bare-metal backup and restore in just a few clicks. Can restore an identical version to a blank new drive in minutes or preserve drive layout and restore data to a different area of the target drive.

PoshCode is a “jacked up” version of Lee Holmes’ PowerShellCookbook module on Show-Object that displays a tree view of any piped-in object in a GUI just like showwindow. From the GUI display, you can click through all the properties of the object to see details.

HFS is a fast and easy way to access or share files directly from your disk across the internet, without imposed restrictions on space or bandwidth. Transfer begins immediately without first uploading to a server, and you can see all activities in real-time. Automatically tries to detect any problems and suggest solutions.

SnakeTail is a tail utility for Windows log files capable of monitoring “large” text logs and event logs (without the need for admin rights). Features support for MDI, tabbed, and floating window modes; saving and loading entire window session; highlighting based on keywords; jump to bookmarks; service stop/start from the tail window; search; display simple process stats in the window title bar; and more.

Karabiner-Elements is a keyboard customizer for MacOS that allows you to adjust things to your liking, plus includes cool features for creating device-specific modifications that alter the behavior of function keys and setting up complex modification rules.

poudriere is a powerful port/package build and test system with a focus on package production and bulk building for FreeBSD. This easy-to-use, parallelized solution relies solely on the base system and can build the entire portstree. Supports building packages for different FreeBSD versions, and ensures compatibility with any package management tool by organizing packages in an identical layout to official mirrors.

Microsoft IAS/NPS Log Viewer/Interpreter streamlines the analysis and interpretation of log files generated by the Internet Authentication Service and Network Policy Server, which can be helpful when investigating authentication and authorization issues in infrastructure.

Cosmos is a secure all-in-one, self-hosting solution that incorporates reverse-Proxy, authentication server, container manager, identity provisioning and SmartShield security technology.

Loss Budget Calculator is a Fiber Optic Association system design tool that calculates the sum of the average losses of all components, including fiber optic attenuation, connector loss, and splice loss.

UnnaturalScrollWheels is a MacOS app that allows you to invert the scroll direction for physical scroll wheels while maintaining the normal function for trackpads.

Locust is an open-source load testing tool that allows you to define whatever user behavior you like, and then swarm your system with millions of those users simultaneously.

winevdm enables you to keep old Windows programs on life support by running 16-bit Windows (1.x, 2.x, 3.0, 3.1, etc.) on a 64-bit Windows system.

LocalAI is a self-hosted, OpenAI-compatible API that allows you to run language learning models locally or on-prem using consumer-grade hardware without the need for GPUs. This RESTful API supports multiple model families that are compatible with ggml format.

ShredOS Disk Eraser provides a way to securely wipe disks for all Intel 64-bit processors as well as other vendors with compatible 64-bit chips.

Hidden Bar is a simple tool that lets you tidy your MacOS screen. It divides the menu bar into two parts: Hidden and Shown, so you can organize what you see based on what you frequently access.

TableTalk is a cutting-edge tool that uses AI to map out a database in a way that allows queries to be entered using natural language. Enables users to generate SQL queries, perform table operations, and pull information without an understanding of syntax. Currently in beta and available for free.

PasswordSolution enables you to assess password quality of AD users and create password-expiration notifications via customizable rules that allow you to define who gets which email and when.

Aigur is a generative-AI building assistant that makes it easy to create multi-user applications to manage pipelines, user plans and security. Choose among predefined pipelines or define the backend logic with a visual pipeline editor, and then each node in the pipeline will generate customizable code. Provides a simple API for managing users’ flows, offers predefined integrations for popular generative AI engines, a choice of security strategies and analytics. Currently free while in beta and will remain free for personal use thereafter.

TRex Stateless GUI is a graphical user interface for TRex. Allows you to connect and manage TRex instances up to TRex v2.87—with the ability to preview all ports along with their status and statistics; assign traffic to a specific port and start the traffic; update the bandwidth and multiplier options on the fly; a dashboard to view the port details, stream details, latency details, global statistics and charts; logger view to preview server messages and advanced logger view to see all the JSON requests sent to the server and its responses.

Excel Formula Bot is an AI-powered tool that enables you to create complex Excel formulas using everyday language. Can both generate a formula from your description as well as explain what a given formula does—including VBA, SQL and regex, apps scripts and more. Free version includes 5 formula requests per month.

WANulator is a testing tool that simulates different user access line speeds and assorted internet issues such as delay or packet loss. Allows you to easily test and optimize the performance of your network applications in different scenarios and for any protocols.

Nautobot is an open-source, extensible, flexible network source of truth and automation platform with lots of nice features that can integrate with network automation solutions. Offers GraphQL and native Git integration, REST APIs, webhooks and a plugin system that can be used to create network automation apps.

Double Commander is a cross-platform file manager that takes what’s nice about Total Commander and builds in some new features. Offers two panels side-by-side with a tabbed interface, configurable button bar and custom columns; support for Unicode as well as Total Commander WCX, WDX and WLX plug-ins; multi-rename tool; extended search function with full text search in any files; built-in viewer for hex, binary or text; internal text editor with syntax highlighting; and more.

Git Extensions is a more-intuitive way to manage your Git repositories in Windows. Its standalone interface serves as an effective, CLI-free means to control Git. Preferred by us, because “SourceTree hides and shortcuts too much git functionality.”

FreeScout is an open-source, self-hosted version of HelpScout that offers complete privacy and control through a PHP/MySQL application that’s easy to deploy. This powerful-yet-lightweight help desk and shared inbox can serve as a nice free alternative to Zendesk/HelpScout for providing efficient customer support.

Far Manager is a text mode tool that helps you manage files and archives in Windows, with color highlighting and sort groups. Provides a simple, intuitive interface for viewing files and directories; editing, copying and renaming files; color highlighting and sort groups and more. Multi-language, easily configurable and extensible via a library of plugins.

NAV (Network Administration Visualized) is a device/vendor-agnostic monitoring program that features a customizable dashboard, extensive statistical overviews, on-the-fly configuration as well as full traceability of users and equipment.

TrueNAS allows you to build a professional-grade storage system for data-intensive applications. Features user-friendly access to the self-healing OpenZFS filesystem—with built-in RAID, powerful data management tools and the ability to automatically detect and repair silent data corruption and bit rot.

Night Eye is a tool that can enable dark mode on any website. Analyzes the colors on each page and converts them intelligently to provide a smooth and consistent dark mode, with no bright spots or flashes.

Ásbrú Connection Manager helps to organize your remote terminal sessions and automate repetitive tasks. Offers a simple GUI for managing remote connections, scripting possibilities; configurable pre/post connection local command execution, list of commands for local execution, and list of conditional executions on the connected machine; KeePassX integration; ability to connect via Proxy server; cluster connections; tabbed/windowed terminals and more.

Sydi is an open-source tool that assists with documenting your network. It collects data from servers and network equipment and then generates a report that is intended to serve as a foundation to more-easily create good documentation.

NTFS Permissions Reporter is a user-friendly way to generate reports on the permissions for Windows file servers that can go all the way down to the directory tree—so you can view which groups and users have access to certain directories. Results can be filtered by your specific criteria, and reports can be exported to file.

Open-Shell-Menu is a collection of utilities that can return some of your favorite features to newer versions of Windows. Revel in the glory of classic-style features like a Start menu for Win 7, 8 & 10; tool and status bars for Windows Explorer; title and status bars for Internet Explorer.

Curl Converter enables you to easily convert curl commands for use in Ansible, C, C#, ColdFusion ML, Clojure, Dart, Elixir, Go, HAR, HTTP, HTTPie, Java, JavaScript, JSON, Kotlin, MATLAB, Node.js, Objective-C, OCaml, PHP, PowerShell, Python, R, Ruby, Rust, Swift or Wget.

RustDesk is an open-source remote desktop solution that offers full control of data. This TeamViewer alternative works out-of-the-box, with no configuration necessary. Can use the public rendezvous/relay server or self host on your own equipment for maximum privacy.

LunaPic is a simple, straightforward online photo editor with a surprisingly good collection of fonts, filters and truly handy effects like transparent background. Requires no signup, login, or install.

HedgeDoc is a web-based, self-hosted, collaborative markdown editor. This open-source option allows a team to easily share ideas on notes, graphs and presentations in real-time.

domain.Glass is a web-based lookup tool with transparent domain info “from AAAA to WHOIS.” Includes the DNS record, IP address hostname, and WHOIS lookup.

Akvorado is a flow collector for Netflow/IPFIX and sFlow that enriches the data with interface names and geo information, and then exports the results or lets you browse them via a web interface.

Kimai is a pro-grade, web-based time tracker that can handle hundreds of users, generate reports, create invoices and more. This open-source tool includes a long list of useful advanced features like 2FA, customizable roles and permissions, multiple timezones and budgeting.

Watchtower is a tool for automating Docker container-based image updates that allows you to update the running version of a containerized app through the Docker Hub or your image registry. You just push a new image to the hub/registry, and that image is pulled down automatically. Then your existing container is properly shut down and restarted, preserving whatever options were selected during initial deployment.

ChoEazyCopy is an intuitive GUI for Microsoft’s RoboCopy tool that enables you to easily create full mirror duplicates of file structures—including subdirectories and files, if desired—while preserving all the associated file info like date and time stamps, ACLs and more.

Cryptgeon is an open-source, self-destructing note sharing service. Ensures security by storing data only in memory rather than writing to the disk and keeping the encryption key away from the server so it cannot be used to decrypt your notes.

KeeWeb is an open-source password manager that’s compatible with KeePass. This cross-platform tool is available for browser and desktop and doesn’t require any server or additional resources.

privacy.sexy is a cross-platform, open-source tool for enforcing privacy and security best practices. Features hundreds of scripts, transparency, reversibility, extensibility, portability and more.

Sysinternals Live allows you to execute Sysinternals tools directly from the web without needing to find and manually download anything. You just enter the tool’s Sysinternals Live path into either Windows Explorer or a command prompt using live.sysinternals.com/<toolname> or \\live.sysinternals.com\tools\<toolname>. Considers this a can’t-live-without-it tool: net use <driver letter> \\live.sysinternals.com\tools

Ultimate Windows Utility is a tool for debloating and tweaking a Windows install. Features four main sections: install, debloat, features & old panels, and windows updates.

Excalidraw is an open-source virtual whiteboard that allows you to sketch diagrams that seem hand drawn. Offers a collaborative mode, export of diagrams to PNG and SVG formats, and saving locally in JSON.

Unstoppable Copier enables you to recover files from disks with physical damage like bad sectors, scratches or errors when reading data. Attempts to recover every readable piece and reassemble the file, which for most file types, can make it useable despite some parts being unrecoverable.

zoxide is a replacement for the common cd command that is designed to offer more-efficient navigation. It tracks which directories you use most frequently, so you can switch to them in just a few keystrokes. Works on all major shells.

Aquasnap is a Windows tiling window manager with a few cool features not found in other window-management tools.

Yori is an open-source “DOS but not DOS” prompt that runs .cmd files and batch files for those that prefer CMD over bash shell commands. Offers the following enhancements: live autocomplete suggestions, Ctrl+to select values, improved tab completion, file matching, beyond MAX_PATH support for “DOS,” rich text copy, backquote support, background jobs, alias, which command, hexdump, lines, touch and more.

nsnotifyd monitors a set of DNS zones and will run a command when any of them change. Unlike cron, the script will run as soon as the zone changes instead of only at fixed intervals.

A Podcast

Veritasium features fascinating science and engineering videos of experiments, expert interviews, cool demos, and discussions on a wide variety of scientific topics.

NosillaCast is a weekly technology discussion with interviews and information on freeware, shareware, open source tools, and more. Hosted by engineer Allison Sheridan, who retired from aerospace to focus on podcasting full-time. stimj explains, “[it’s a] blend of consumer and enterprise focus, but does a good job when they cover enterprise in the “Security Bits” segment, and it does have chapters so you can skip right to it – but be prepared for a heavy pro-Apple bias).”

MSP Cyber Roundtable offers targeted discussion on how to sell cybersecurity programs effectively. Each episode features a special guest explaining different ways to leverage compliance and highlight value for customers. Explains, “It’s focused on cybersecurity for MSPs, with experts sharing valuable insights.”

K12 TechTalk Podcast delves into trending topics that are relevant to tech professionals who work in the education system. Adds, “Chris, Josh, and Mark have great banter and talk from experience as head of IT in their respective schools.”

5 Bytes Podcast covers the week’s highlights in enterprise IT as well as useful sysadmin resources like scripts, tips, tricks, and more. Extremely concise, with episodes running roughly 5-7 minutes. Says, “[It’s] great… Enterprise IT/End User Computing focus. One of the few that is still appointment listening for me.”

Late Night Linux is a weekly look at what’s happening with Linux and the wider tech industry. You’ll hear about all the latest news and releases as well as broader issues and trends in FOSS.

Packet Protector is a new offering from Packet Pushers that covers the latest security headlines as well as delving into tech and strategic insights on a wide range of essential networking topics. Says, “[it] gets into good security day-to-day operational stuff without getting quite as ranty as Steve Gibson.”

Let’s Talk Azure is a show that features a couple of expert tech consultants chatting about Azure and whatever related news items have caught their attention. Each episode focuses at length on a different Azure topic. Explains, “[I] met one of the hosts at MSignite, and they genuinely love teaching people about all things azure.”

Code Comments is focused on exploring the difficulties faced by teams as they implement new technologies, and how things worked out once the transition is finished when the wins/losses can be assessed. Hosted by Jamie Parker, a Product Manager for Observability at Red Hat with over 20 years of tech experience.

Security Cryptography Whatever delves into security topics from the specific angle of engineering and real-world events. You’ll hear interesting discussions among hosts David Adrian, Deirdre Connolly, and Thomas Ptacek, as well as with expert guests from the worlds of business, academia, and government.

GoTime features weekly, unscripted conversations within the Go community. Discussions cover a range of topics such as cloud infrastructure, distributed systems, microservices, Kubernetes, Docker, and of course, Go itself.

Dissecting Popular IT Nerds is a podcast intended for visionary leaders who seek to leverage IT as a “business force multiplier.” Learn how IT executives are navigating the corporate landscape, propelling career growth, shaping user experiences, and building a nice work/life balance along the way.

A Website

The Verge shares a wealth of content on technology and how it can be leveraged in more-human terms. You’ll find breaking tech news, a growing collection of detailed reviews, in-depth feature articles, as well as fascinating investigations.

This Week in Self-Hosted offers a weekly e-mail newsletter summarizing the latest self-hosting developments, occasional blog articles, a directory of self-hosted applications and software, and a podcast that features interviews with self-hosted developers and content creators.

HotHardware offers a window into the machinery side of all the next generation products that will be shaping the industry. You’ll find tons of reviews, late-breaking news, and articles featuring in-depth analysis of cutting-edge technology.

Phoronix is a great way to stay on top of all the latest info about Linux and open source. You’ll find tons of reviews on hardware of all types, current news affecting the open-source community, performance benchmarks, and a community tech forum.

ESnet Fasterdata Knowledge Base offers detailed solutions for improving network performance and troubleshooting. Includes sections on network architecture, host tuning, network tuning, data transfer tools, network performance testing, and wireless and 5G networking for science.

Notionplates is a website offering a large collection of both free and paid Notion templates that can help jumpstart the setup process, so you can streamline your workflow without wasting time reinventing the wheel.

Dark Reading features comprehensive discussion on the latest cyberthreats and the technologies used to fight back. Offers current and in-depth information on cybersecurity threats and vulnerabilities, technology and trends, events and resources—all nicely organized into topical categories.

All Infosec News gathers all the latest news, blogs, podcasts and other pertinent information on cybersecurity, infosec, cryptography, privacy and threats to create an ever-current overview for IT pros. Appreciates it for keeping up with the latest vulnerabilities and security threats.

9to5Linux is a comprehensive online resource that covers the latest news, reviews, and tutorials in the world of Linux and related open-source software. Provides up-to-date information on the most-recent Linux distributions, software updates, security patches, and more.

LinuxToday offers the latest news and loads of helpful technical information for the Linux admin, with an international community of contributors focused on solving problems that range from personal computing all the way to enterprise-level IT operations.

Server World is simply described as a “nice website with a lot of procedures documented… a goldmine of information.”

The Record brings you the latest cybersecurity news and exclusive interviews with cyber-focused leaders, policymakers and researchers as well as some experts who typically operate in the shadows.

The Brutalist Report is a stripped-down, to-the-point news site that brings you the latest tech stories without a hint of the graphical clutter or annoying popups that typically assault the sensibilities of those who preferred simpler times. Appreciates this source for “The day’s headlines delivered to you without bullshit.”

Network World offers serious domain expertise on the enterprise data center, including the latest networking, storage, servers and virtualization technologies. Provides insights intended to help data center managers with decisions related to building out agile infrastructure and extending networks for the IoT.

Silent Install HQ provides a nice library of info on silent installs and unattended command line switches. The site is the work of a 17-year veteran of application packaging, software deployment and desktop automation in the enterprise world. Includes detailed knowledge on best practices as well as practical how-to guides.

A Blog

The Lonely Administrator is a well-known blog authored by Jeffery Hicks, focusing on PowerShell and Windows system administration. It provides valuable insights, tips, and resources for IT professionals looking to improve their PowerShell scripting skills and manage Windows environments more effectively. The Lonely Administrator will be an excellent addition if you’re curating a list of blogs or resources for system administrators, especially those interested in automation and scripting.

Noted is loaded with articles related to Home Lab, Self Hosting, Security, as well as free and open-source software.

Daniels Networking Blog is the work of senior network architect Daniel Dib, who offers lots of helpful content for those seeking to improve on their networking skills. Offers specific resources on CCIE and CCDE certification topics as well as general engineering and architecture information. clear_byte says, “I like this blog a lot.”

Techdirt offers insight on the latest legal challenges in technology as well as related business and economic policy issues. You’ll find articles on intellectual property, patent, data privacy, civil liberties, and copyright issues.

Hackaday delivers a daily dose of the innovative reimagining of technology through technical expertise and ingenious problem-solving. You’ll find a diverse array of info on hacks through community contributions as well as in-house original content. whetu likes the feed as a means to keep up to date.

Last Week in AWS provides an efficient way to keep tabs on important news about Amazon’s cloud ecosystem. Chief cloud economist Corey Quinn consolidates key topics in amusing blog posts that are as enjoyable as they are informative.

The Zero Day Initiative offers a convenient window into what’s being identified by the world’s largest vendor-agnostic bug bounty program. It’s a nice way to stay current on the most-interesting happenings within the security space.

Explained from First Principles is designed to clearly introduce readers to the topics of number theory, email, and the internet with articles intended to foster a foundational understanding that can serve as a starting point for acquiring deeper expertise. Appreciates the section on email, which is “very nice and vendor agnostic. All the mailserver tickets gravitate to me now.”

WinRAR flaw lets hackers run programs when you open RAR archives explains a significant security concern within this widely employed file archiver utility for Windows. This vulnerability can enable remote assailants to execute arbitrary commands on a system, and it hasn’t gotten as much attention as it probably should.

Mike Galvin’s blog shares a growing archive of interesting technical solutions and documentation on the author’s original scripts and utilities. Mike is a longtime tech veteran with expertise in server and desktop OS deployment, group policy, AD and scripting.

MSP Automator is a technical blog focused on helping MSPs to do their work more efficiently. Posts are in-depth and detailed, with a good number of screenshots to help you follow along. You’ll also find scripts, tutorials and some nice reviews.

imab.dk shares the tech musings of one Martin Bengtsson, a 17-year veteran of the Microsoft product world. You’ll find relevant thoughts, ideas and real-world scenarios in the areas of Microsoft Endpoint Manager, Configuration Manager, Intune, Office 365, Azure, Windows and more.

A Book

Automate the Boring Stuff with Python teaches you how to quickly write Python programs that do in minutes what would take hours by hand—with no programming experience required. Covers Python basics, its library of task-specific modules, input validation, tutorials on automating Gmail and Google Sheets, tips on automatically updating CSV files.