Automating Sysmon installation and configuration with PowerShell

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Introduction

In today’s fast-paced digital world, quick response to security incidents is crucial. Sysmon (System Monitor) from Microsoft’s Sysinternals suite is an essential tool for detailed system monitoring and security analysis. However, traditional installation can be time-consuming, especially in urgent situations.

This blog post introduces a PowerShell script that automates the download, extraction, and installation of Sysmon, along with applying a pre-configured setup. This rapid deployment ensures your systems are monitored and protected within minutes, enhancing your incident response capabilities and maintaining a strong security posture.

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The new Outlook is preinstalled on Windows 11 (23H2 and later) and this is how you uninstall it using PowerShell and Microsoft Intune

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Introduction

Following up on my previous post about the new Outlook client, I want to share a quick update. The new Outlook now comes preinstalled on Windows 11 version 23H2 and later. In this post, I’ll provide a PowerShell script to help you uninstall it automatically across your devices using Microsoft Intune.

More details on the preinstalled new Outlook:  Control installation and use of new Outlook – Microsoft 365 Apps | Microsoft Learn

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Prevent users from switching and migrating to new Outlook using PowerShell and Microsoft Intune

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Introduction

The new Outlook transitioned from preview to general availability (GA) in August 2024. If you’re using Microsoft 365 apps for Enterprise (formerly known as Microsoft Office) on the current channel, you might be automatically switched from the classic Outlook to the new Outlook starting January 2025, unless you take action now!

I’m already leveraging some comprehensive PowerShell scripts to manage parts of the registry within our environment, so it didn’t take long for me to add the necessary registry keys and values to:

  1. Remove the toggle to switch to the new Outlook.
  2. Prevent future automatic migration to the new Outlook.

In this post, I’ll share the PowerShell script I’m using to prevent users from migrating to the new Outlook if your environment isn’t quite ready for it. If the script seem too complex for your needs, let this post serve as both inspiration and a reminder about the new Outlook.

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I was troubleshooting a missing Microsoft 365 add-in in Outlook and this was the solution

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Introduction

In this brief post, I will share the solution to a recurring issue within our environment where a Microsoft 365 add-in (also known as an integrated app) deployed from the Microsoft 365 admin center was frequently missing in Outlook.

The custom integrated app in question is deployed by uploading an add-in manifest to the Microsoft 365 admin center. From there, it is assigned to either the entire organization or a selected group of users.

In this instance, the add-in manifest was updated with a new version. However, the changes were not properly reflected in Outlook for our users.

It appears that Outlook does not effectively clear cached content from the add-in. Therefore, it is recommended to manually clear this cache if any issues arise.

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Encrypt your files located in Desktop, Documents and Photos in Windows 11 24H2 using Personal Data Encryption and Microsoft Intune

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Introduction

In an era where data breaches and cyber threats are increasingly common, protecting your personal files has never been more important.

With the release of Windows 11 24H2, Microsoft has introduced enhanced features for personal data encryption, making it easier than ever to secure your sensitive information.

This blog post will guide you through the process of encrypting your files located in Desktop, Documents, and Photos using Personal Data Encryption and Microsoft Intune.

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Using Microsoft Intune to safeguard Windows: Associate certain file types to open in Notepad

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Introduction

In today’s digital landscape, safeguarding your organization’s IT infrastructure is more critical than ever. One effective strategy to enhance security is by configuring certain file types to open in Notepad, preventing potentially malicious code from executing.

In this blog post, we’ll walk you through the steps to use Microsoft Intune to associate specific file types with Notepad, ensuring that risky files are opened safely in plain text. This proactive measure can reduce the risk of malware infections and enhance your overall cybersecurity posture.

Note: While this approach can reduce the risk of malware infections, it’s important to consider the potential impact on users who may need to open these file types for legitimate purposes. Associating files like scripts or executables with Notepad might disrupt normal workflows for developers or IT professionals. Therefore, it’s crucial to evaluate the needs of different user groups within your organization and implement this strategy accordingly.

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Customize your Windows 11 (23H2 and onwards) taskbar during OSD with ConfigMgr using just PowerShell

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Approximately two years ago, I authored a blog post detailing how to customize the taskbar in Windows 11. You can find that post here: Customize your Windows 11 taskbar during OSD with ConfigMgr using just PowerShell – imab.dk

Since then, there have been some changes from Microsoft, and the method I previously described is no longer supported. For more information on these changes, please refer to: Configure the applications pinned to the taskbar | Microsoft Learn

In summary, the cmdlet Import-StartLayout is no longer supported and does not accept the .xml file, resulting in the following error: Import-StartLayout : The file C:\WINDOWS\Taskbar.xml is not a valid layout file

To address this, I have modified the solution I used back then, and the new approach is outlined in this blog post.

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Remove Quick Assist (and other built-in apps) across your enterprise automatically using PowerShell and Microsoft Intune

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Introduction

Disclaimer! Following introduction has been written using Copilot, because time is of the essence and AI is or will be an inevitable thing – also in regard to writing blogs. The script and the rest of the post is written by me. 🙂

In the ever-evolving landscape of cybersecurity, staying one step ahead is crucial. Today, we delve into a PowerShell script designed to enhance your system’s security by removing the Quick Assist app from Windows 11.

As highlighted in this Microsoft Security Blog, threat actors have been misusing Quick Assist in social engineering attacks leading to ransomware. Quick Assist, a built-in remote control app in Windows 11, has been exploited by cybercriminals, notably the financially motivated group Storm-1811, known for deploying Black Basta ransomware.

To counter this threat, our featured PowerShell script, removes the Quick Assist app from your system. This script is a proactive measure to mitigate the risk of such attacks, especially for environments where Quick Assist is not in use.

In the following sections, we’ll walk you through the script and its usage with Microsoft Intune. Let’s get started!

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Configure ‘Allow logon locally’ automatically using PowerShell and Microsoft Intune

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I know Microsoft Intune has the ability to configure this particular user rights assignment natively already. At time of writing, the new security baseline for Windows 11 23H2 in Intune configure this as well, restricting local logons to the built-in groups: Users and Administrators.

This solution does something else. This solution grabs the currently logged on user and configures the ‘Allow logon locally‘ policy to ONLY allow this very user as well as Administrators to be able to log on locally. A custom group is added as well for backup reasons. If no user is logged on, the script does nothing. More details down below.

The solution is made to prevent ‘stealing’ credentials from one user/device and be able to use it on another device within the same environment.

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Reduce your attack surface by disabling NetBIOS using PowerShell and Microsoft Intune

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Introduction

If you are working with device management and IT security in general, you have probably heard about the recommendation to disable the legacy protocol NetBIOS in Windows.

If this is news to you, there’s some interesting reading for you in this article: Adversary-in-the-Middle: LLMNR/NBT-NS Poisoning and SMB Relay, Sub-technique T1557.001 – Enterprise | MITRE ATT&CK

NOTE: Before disabling anything, make sure you do your due diligence and monitor your environment for NetBIOS traffic, so you don’t accidently break stuff! Wireshark can help you with this. 🙂

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