Let's Talk Octets Baby, Let's Talk About IRC

Let's talk octets baby
Let's talk about IRC
Let's about text communication
And Application
Layer Protocols
Let's use TCP
And TLS optionally
Let's use client server
Networking models
Layer 7 OSI
Does not stop decline
But bucking this trend
Is Freenode


Freenode is an IRC network used to discuss peer-related projects. It was formerly known as the Open Projects Network.

Protocol details are available on the IETF website. From there you will learn that IRC is an 8 bit protocol (made up of octets, which in some cases, can be control codes).

VLC Media Player - Free Software Can Change the Windows World

VLC Media Player is a free and open source cross-platform media player that plays most multimedia files as well as DVDs, Audio CDs and various streaming protocols. It started off as a student project at École Centrale Paris.

Turning off Cortana

Cortana is a memory hog in Windows 10.

55MB is the norm which is sizable, next only to a web browsers in memory usage, however this is memory lost when the computer is idle so double wastage.  Hovering over the Windows search bar, Right Click -> select Cortana -> Hidden, will make the search box disappear but Cortana will still be running. In fact, not just Cortana, but Cortana and "Runtime Broker" (potentially also Cortana Background Task Host).

Cortana is removed from Windows 10 Education editions including Windows 10 Education and Windows 10 Pro Education.

Servicing DSRs in the Context of GDPR (in Azure)

Servicing data subject requests (DSRs) in the context of EU GDPR, in the context of a secure Azure environment, is detailed here.

Azure Vendor Partnerships

Azure has a bunch of vendor partnerships that punters can exploit. Examples include:

• Symantec Endpoint Protection (SEP) on VM
• Trend Micro's Deep Security and SecureCloud

AutoScaling in the Cloud - Like Load Balancing, But Different

Autoscaling allows scalability in the cloud by allocating the "right" number of active servers for a given "load". There is also a resiliency element as loss of capacity due to application or hardware failure can be compensated by autoscaling.

Companies like Netflix use autoscaling features in AWS EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) - note: autoscaling was officially added to EC2 in May 2009. Netflix declared a policy of aggressive scale-up and cautious scale-down had the optimal effect. In 2013, Microsoft announced addition of autoscaling to Azure.

Securing Azure - A Multifaceted Problem

The following guide gives many dimensions to consider when securing an Azure environment.

At the storage level, Azure Storage supports the use of Azure Active Directory and role-based access control (RBAC). 

Storage service encryption means data at rest is protected. 

The OS disk used by virtual machines can in turn be secured via Azure Disk Encryption (ADE). ADE has no specific additional costs, but there is a cost for putting keys in the Azure key vault.

Servicing data subject requests (DSRs) in the context of EU GDPR, in the context of a secure Azure environment, is detailed here.

What is Service Host: Microsoft Passport Container in Task Manager?

Microsoft Passport Container is a Win32 service. It manages identity keys to authenticate users to identity providers as well as TPM virtual smart cards. It runs in a shared process of svchost.exe.

Background to TPM:
TPM or Trusted Platform Module was created by an industry consortium called Trusted Computing Group (TCG) and standardized by ISO and IEC in 2009.

Microsoft Passport provides two-factor authentication (often abbreviated 2FA) and also known as multifactor authentication. This adds an extra layer of security when you log in to an account , such as a mobile phone code/OTP, or some piece of information only the user knows.

What is the COM Surrogate in Task Manager?

The COM surrogate (dllhost.exe) runs risky code inside it, so the surrogate crashes instead of Explorer. To understand the COM surrogate, it's important to understand DLL surrogates.

JavaScript API for Office

There is a JavaScript API for Office. Try it.

Using C# to Process Open XML Format Documents

To open up and process DOCX format Word documents you need the Open XML SDK, currently on Version 2.0. It is built on System.IO.Packaging. The SDK uses LINQ technology to provide strongly typed object access to the XML content in the Word doc.

Changing the Atmosphere of Office 365 - Alt FD

The default Office Theme is "Colorful". To change to a more serious, focused tone, select "Black".  (The theme change can be accessed via Alt-FD - (File, Account)).

Finding out Version of Word and Excel in Office 365

How do you find out what version of Word or Excel you are using in Office 365?

The old, traditional Help->Version menu accelerators no longer work.  The model of old is broken.

In the new world, go to File and then Account. All version information will be provided to you there.

Understanding Microsoft Word's XML Formats

MS Word has various options for saving documents as XML and other open/semi-open formats.

Let's look at them.

• Microsoft XPS - XPS Document (*.xps).  XPS stands for XML Paper Specification. It can describe single page and multi page documents, similar to PDF. The key difference is XPS is tightly linked to the Windows operating system (since Vista - worldwide release January 2007). XAML (language used to describe Windows graphic elements) is a superset of XPS.
• 
  

Databases for Windows Developers - A Nod to SIGMOD

SIGMOD is the ACM Special Interest Group on Management of Data. PODS is an associated conference (Symposium on Principles of Database Systems) which has a best paper award each year.