Get this in your inbox each week.
Welcome back to IT Pro Tuesday!
We're looking for your favorite tips and tools we can share with the community... those that help you do your job better and more easily. Please reply or leave a comment with your suggestions, and we'll be featuring them in the coming weeks.
As always, we’re updating the full list on our website here. Enjoy.
But on with this week's tools...! Here are the most-interesting items that have come across our desks, laptops and phones this week. Hornetsecurity has no known affiliation with any of these unless we explicitly state otherwise.
A Free Tool
Microsoft 365 Licensing provides an easily navigated view of the frustratingly complex licensing options for Microsoft products so you can figure out what makes the most sense in your situtation. devin_mm finds it to be "a very useful tool for getting to grips with all of the options for Microsoft 365 licenses."
A Blog
Networking Fun is the work of Katherine McNamara, a Cisco Cybersecurity Systems Engineer and author. docmn612 appreciates her book, CCNP Security Identity Management SISE 300-715 Official Cert Guide, as "probably one of the best resources for ISE out there." After years of fielding technical questions, she decided to share some of her expertise with the community through this series of blog posts, which memchenr tells us "is really good too." Spidernik84 adds a recommendation for her YouTube channel, which is “more on the advanced side, but her explanations are clear and concise—a joy to listen to."
A Tutorial
Nornir Introduction is a post that makes it easier to get acquainted with the Nornir framework, so you can plug your automations with less frustration. InternetPersonv6 explains, "Sadly Nornir does not have a lot of great tutorials like Ansible does. [This is] one of the most useful tutorials I've found, which only scratches the surface of what it can do."
Another Free Tool
Crt.sh allows you to enter any identity (Domain Name, Organization Name, etc), a certificate fingerprint (SHA-1 or SHA-256) or crt.sh ID to instantly see details on all its associated certificates. Briancanfixit "recommends this open-source certificate checking website from sectigo.”
A Tip
ITM_ENRON_CALLS shares suggestions on how to properly document a network: "Put descriptions on interfaces and/or use a program to build a visual of your network… include link capacity (1 Gig or 10 Gig link, etc..), traffic flow and model of the switch/router/firewall/other network elements in the paths. This can save you time when troubleshooting an issue to know what each interface is connected to or planning for upgrades."
P.S. Bonus Free Tools
PTP daemon (PTPd) is an implementation the Precision Time Protocol, which provides precise time coordination of Ethernet LAN connected computers. PTPd can precisely coordinate the clocks of a group of LAN connected computers with each other and can achieve microsecond level coordination, even on limited platforms. Our appreciation for the suggestion goes to error404.
Command Line Printer Control provides a set of Windows scripts and instructions for using them that is designed to simplify the job of adding, removing, backing up/restoring and exporting printers. StuPodasso finds that this approach "works beautifully."
Have a fantastic week and as usual, let us know any comments.
