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Articles by Murphy Murphy
The safeway with eM eF Aye?
blake-murphy (Blake Murphy) October 30, 2026, 5:08am 1 Perhaps some of you are aware of my bitter feelings towards our modern security measures? I like MFA on what I think it needs to be on, but I would prefer methods like SMS & that it is not imposed on everything. So, yesterday I was getting setup for a new service with one of our vendors & the platform is changing, so there’s a lot of admin to do.
Wrong Answers Only: What is Spiceworks?
merlinyoda (MerlinYoda) October 28, 2026, 7:02pm 61 They do say that the majority of firefighters are pyro’s too… … which is why the transition in Fahrenheit 451 from “firemen” being people that put out fires to people that start them (in order to destroy “prohibited” items) isn’t entirely unthinkable.
Vga output to hdmi input
robertkwild (robert k wild) October 28, 2026, 2:54pm 1 hi all, i want to get this amazon.co.uk BENFEI VGA to HDMI Adapter, 1080P Converter with Audio From Computer/Laptop VGA... Compact VGA to HDMI adapter converts analog to digital for stable video and audio from computer to HDTV/monitor. Portable design for presentations or extending desktop.
Revenue-based SAAS pricing
finance-industry-it, general-saas-cloud-computing, discussion jarmbrister (jarmbrister) October 28, 2026, 2:23pm 1 Greetings, all. Our org is looking at moving to a new ERP solution. In visiting with various companies and salespeople the pricing tends to be per seat/user or tiered based on active users. 5-10, 11-20, etc.
Anatomy of an Attempted Pig Butchering
robbjeff (robbjeff) October 28, 2026, 5:41am 1 I’m sharing what happened to me in great detail so it is available as a case study, outlining the various red flags and context to help someone recognize it if it is happening to them. I’m also sharing ‘real’ names because you might hear from them, and it will tip you off even sooner. I say ‘real’ because I doubt I was given real names. More realistically, these are real “stage names.” I’ve been looking for a next-level full-time position.
Microsoft paying employees to leave
Evan7191 (Evan7191) October 27, 2026, 8:00pm 1 CNBC – 26 Oct 26 Microsoft offers voluntary buyouts to 60,000 employees as AI leads to... Microsoft is trying to balance a rapid AI infrastructure build-out with capital efficiency. Nonya (J-Nonya) October 27, 2026, 8:01pm 2 I suppose that’s better than just dumping them all in the street after an email like some other company that won’t be named…but dang…that’s a pretty bad move.
Caption Challenge: Roller Coaster Time
mweed (MWeed) October 27, 2026, 7:42pm 21 That roller coaster ride would not be scary at all. based on the apparent elevation, they would all have passed out or be dead from the lack of oxygen.
A Deeper Dive: Passkeys
Howdy, folks! Some of you might be asking “Where’s SSH Part 4?” right now… Don’t worry, it’s still coming up, but I’m a bit under the weather, and I ran into some issues with getting one of the features I’d like to show off to match up with the documented behavior. While I work on that, and on feeling better, I figured we could do a quick dive into passkeys! We recently had a Daily Challenge question about passkeys, and there was some interesting discussion in that thread.
You know it's bad in patch patchy land when your "smart" appliances do strange things
Nonya (J-Nonya) October 26, 2026, 8:19pm 21 Tell me your co-worker has a Tesla without telling me There’s a lot of John Deer here, too…I’ll always vote for Owners’ Right to Repair!
How does your team handle emergency patches?
Josh-J-Spiceworks (Josh J (Spiceworks)) October 26, 2026, 12:00am 1 If your luck is anything like mine, just when you think you have a solid update schedule mapped out and all of your endpoints in order, a critical vulnerability is sure to drop and throw everything into chaos.
Are (Good) Vibes Enough?
blake-murphy (Blake Murphy) October 25, 2026, 11:43pm 21 @molan @joebridgeman Bulk serial numbers is a task that so many software providers state they are on top of, the reality is that only a few packages can actually manage them. We are shopping for a solution at the moment, I threw our requirements at a keen vendor last week, who just wanted to know our workflows & provide a demo.
Snap! -- Starry July, Pinball, Software Tax
It’s your daily dose of security and tech news, in brief, along with a mix of other odd or interesting things that might come up. We’re glad you came.
Raid 1 (Mirrored) hard drive failure in both drives. Recovery plans ... please comment
davidyashar6875 (yash567) October 22, 2026, 1:29am 1 I have a RAID 1 (mirrored) array with 2 failed drives (in drive bays 0 and 1) and am planning on recovering the array using a former functioning and cloned drive that was previously part of the array. Please read on and comment on the approach that I am planning. FWIW: the server is on an old Dell Poweredge 1800 server with a PERC 4/DC Raid controller (if that matters).
Snap! -- Comet Signs, Bored AI, Phone Recorder
It’s your daily dose of security and tech news, in brief, along with a mix of other odd or interesting things that might come up. We’re glad you came.
Save Point! - 2026.10.19
DrDeany (DrDeany) October 20, 2026, 6:44pm 41 What games did you play over the weekend? I played bingo at the local brew pub (and drank good beer) What things did you do over the weekend? Watched college football Fixed watches (my hobby) Replaced storm door latch Replaced dryer vent Trimmed fig tree Replaced electrical on 1948 Singer sewing machine Moved furniture out of uncle’s assisted living space Registered new tools with manufacturer site How many pages are too many for a restaurant menu?
Let's Taco-Bout IT Tuesday! - Keyboards
jarmbrister (jarmbrister) October 20, 2026, 3:25pm 21 I prefer a mechanical keyboard with similar feel to the old IBM PS2 ones (full-size DIN connection). A Logitech with brown switches is serving me well at the moment. I’m far too cheap to buy one, but if you want a very high quality unit check out Das Keyboard. jbatubara (jbatubara) October 20, 2026, 3:29pm 22 What time of Keyboard do you prefer? Mechanical keyboards.
Research: 72% of Gen Z lack confidence to network professionally (IT Data Insights)
Nonya (J-Nonya) October 20, 2026, 3:22pm 21 There is a required course at the community college my first degree came from that every student has to take in their last semester before graduating, that focuses on personal finance and finishes with every student creating a resume.
Snap! -- Shrinking Moon, Scam Documentary, Keyboard PC
It’s your daily dose of security and tech news, in brief, along with a mix of other odd or interesting things that might come up. We’re glad you came.
Let's Taco-Bout IT Tuesday! - Web Browsers
mountainbiker (mountainbiker) October 13, 2026, 6:44pm 21 What is your favorite browser of all time? Why is it? Chrome. It effectively blocks advertisements, YouTube marketing videos, etc. Do you switch between browsers for different purposes? If so which ones and what purpose for each? I use Firefox in rare instances where Chrome does not work Which one are you currently using most of the time? Can post about home, work, or both if your company allows you to install it. Edge at work and Chrome at home.
Stupid Friday ?'s | 10/9/2026
jameswalker20 (jameswalker20) October 9, 2026, 11:48pm 41 Do you like trees with full green or when they change color in the fall? I like both for different reasons. If you had a sandwich at a deli named after yourself what would be on it? Heated Black forest ham and Gruyère cheese. Do you like magic tricks? Yes Do you get Trick-Or-Treaters at your place? Yes
What if - Lie Detectors
Nonya (J-Nonya) October 8, 2026, 8:13pm 21 Love that anime, by the way, and yes, we have to suspend disbelief here, ignore logic and just pretend the ‘thing’ is exactly as described.
Wrong Answers Only: What is SpiceWorld?
spiceworld, water-cooler, featured, wrong-answers-only mweed (MWeed) October 7, 2026, 8:44pm 101 I remember going to that SpiceWorld. They held it in the main exhibit hall at their offices in the lunar complex. But boy were the tickets expensive! Repairatrooper (Repairatrooper) October 7, 2026, 8:45pm 102 Lying somewhere between purgatory and actual hell is a place where all worshippers of Pumpkin Spice are sentenced to spend an eternity.
From a Spiceworks lurker to a Spiceworks employee: Hello! And I have a question about the newsletter…
newsletter, discussion, water-cooler Divya-Spiceworks (Divya (Spiceworks)) October 7, 2026, 2:55pm 1 Hello everyone, I’m Divya, and I’ve just joined the Spiceworks team! I have been lurking every now and then around the community for the past five years from a personal account, so joining Spiceworks and actually getting to work on the other side feels pretty cool So now that I’m officially here, I figured it was time to stop lurking and say hello.
Will AI signal the end for standard CMS?
Andrew_F (Andrew_F) October 7, 2026, 9:49am 1 For many hobbyists and even professionals, standard CMS systems such as Wordpress, Wix and Squarespace form the base of their online face. Lots of people write plugins that change the design and add functionality. But - as I’m finding out, AI is good at creating fast and effective websites that are not based on these, sometimes quite heavy applications.
What's your usual Halloween setup?
edrubin1718 (Ed Rubin) October 6, 2026, 7:47pm 21 We do very little or often nothing. Our neighbors take up the slack since we have a Pirates of the Caribbean themed pirate ship with animated skeletons dueling with a fort across the street and a couple of people who make full haunted graveyards.
SpiceQuest October (2026) – Of Bookshops and Badgers
Bossman (Bossman) October 6, 2026, 10:33am 21 International Dinosaur Month (October) Cybersecurity Awareness month (October) Bookshop Day (October 1) Techies Day (October 3) Taco Day (October 6) World Space Week (October 4-10) Inbox Zero Day (October 6) Badger Day (October 6) Mental Health Day (October 10) Dictionary Day (October 16) Evaluate Your Life Day (October 19) Back to the Future Day (October 21) Internet Day (October 29) Haunted Refrigerator Night (October 30) Wild Card – Pick your...
Windows Updates Broken on Newly Installed PCs and Servers
GRTC_SysEng October 5, 2026, 5:51pm 1 Hopefully in the right place. I’ve been battling a problem where newly imaged Win11 PCs cannot receive Windows updates, nor can a newly installed Server 2025. I’ve tried every trick to fix this in all the articles out there. The image on the WDS server hasn’t changed, and 2025 was a clean ISO install, same media as used several weeks previously on a system that did update. Systems on the domain all along continue to receive updates just fine.
Save Point! - 2026.10.05
Nonya (J-Nonya) October 5, 2026, 3:22pm 21 What games did you play this weekend? Nada… What things did you do this weekend? Went to the “out of town” store and had lunch with my mom Be honest, do you fold your laundry immediately after taking it of the dryer or do you let it sit? My washing machine is also my dryer. I start a load before I leave for work, it’s dry when I get home. I put it away as soon as time allows (usually after dinner…) Have you bought any games during Steam’s Autumn Sale?
Stupid Friday ?'s | 10/2/2026
uselessinfomine (UselessInfoMine) October 5, 2026, 9:28am 61 What game show (past or present) would be the most fun to be a contestant on? I’m by no means fit enough, but Gladiators looks fun as a lot of people have already stated. Have you ever truly lost a set of keys? Yes. To be fair, I didn’t lose them, but I got blamed for it. What two normal beverages would make the worst combination? Is it lemon juice and milk that causes it to curdle and start behaving more like latex?
Alternate Realities - Passwords
jstein (John) September 29, 2026, 8:47pm 41 jameswalker20 (jameswalker20) September 29, 2026, 9:05pm 42 Biometrics. Then people would start killing and stealing body parts. Nonya (J-Nonya) September 29, 2026, 9:09pm 43 There have been movies (like Demolition Man) where this happens…
Caption Challenge: Board Gaming
Suzanne-Spiceworks (Suzanne (Spiceworks)) September 29, 2026, 10:00am 1 Hello, and welcome to the Caption Challenge. I am your host, Suzanne. This week Bluecat and some of his friends are playing a board game. Hoping it will be good creative fodder for this round of make-your-own-joke. You can either grab the picture and put in your own words, tell AI to do it, or just type the lines for Solar, SpiceRex, and Bluecat. Looking forward to seeing what you come up with.
If we lived in a Perfect World what would be your prefered daily IT task or job?
jamesgretton (jamesgretton) September 28, 2026, 10:28pm 21 Be born into fabulous wealth and never have seen the inside of a computer before.
Do you open access to Microsoft Teams?
spiceuser-poppy1 (spiceuser-poppy1) September 28, 2026, 6:23pm 1 How many of us have allowed Microsoft Teams to be open so that your vendors can contact you via chat in Microsoft Teams, and does your policy vary based on certain vendor qualifications? Nonya (J-Nonya) September 28, 2026, 6:53pm 2 Vendors can send us meeting invites, but only through email.
Random Ramble: Do you "store" memories in physical objects?
dennisherrle7399 (Stockviper) September 28, 2026, 6:05pm 22 I too am a pack rat, just too many to list , but my favorites are My records that my mom would let me get every now and then when I was a Kid . A Signed Smothers Brother comedy one from the 60’s -I seen them live @ the Green Onion. and a couple 60’ s Bill Cosby Ones - ( Who new how that would turn out ) I still play them on my Moms 40’s cabinet record player
Favorite cable tools
Nonya (J-Nonya) September 25, 2026, 8:48pm 1 So, our cable tester “works” in the sense that it’ll tell you ‘things’ about a cable, but not really about the run between the wall port and the switch. My boss suggested that while we were having a company come out and run new lines, we see what it’d cost to have them do that as well.
Stupid Friday ?'s | 9/25/26
tryceps1 (tryceps1) September 25, 2026, 4:08pm 21 If you had the ability to summon 50 ducks at any moment, but only once, when would be the best use case of this ability to cause the most chaos? Right before my wife asks me to do chores. National Comic Book Day! - Who is your favorite comic hero or villain? Not a huge comic book guy, but I’ve always liked Mysterio since playing Spider Man 2 on gamecube (yeah, the OG one).
File Transfer From A Legacy Device
data-backup, question, hard-disk-drive-hhd, general-windows QWERTY-Tech (QWERTY Tech) September 24, 2026, 12:24pm 1 We have this old machine that is running Windows 98 with the original hard drive that we use for a test stand here. It is not connected to the network and with-it running Windows 98 I can’t just plug a flash drive into it and copy the files. With it being the original hard drive in the machine I am afraid to copy the whole drive as that might cause it to fail.
Which socks are most comfortable?
adrian_ych (adrian_ych) September 23, 2026, 9:25am 21 Am I just in my own head on this or are there certain colors of socks that seem to be more comfortable than others But bro…are they the same brand, make and model ?? Even if they come in like a pack of 5, of which each are different colour, they may be of different “models” just that at some point in time bundled together at the factory ?
Snap! -- Rings of Chariklo, Chaos Potatoes, Undercover Hacker
It’s your daily dose of security and tech news, in brief, along with a mix of other odd or interesting things that might come up. We’re glad you came.
How do you balance risk tolerance of updates against new features?
Josh-J-Spiceworks (Josh J (Spiceworks)) September 21, 2026, 12:00am 1 Management, and even some end users, often want the latest and greatest software and tech. They want it implemented, secure, and most importantly, they want it NOW! Meanwhile, the IT department knows that early adoption can mean breaking the load-bearing legacy line-of-business application currently holding the finance team together, and the “latest and greatest” doesn’t mean the most secure, either.
Scammers, this smells like an inside job
Repairatrooper (Repairatrooper) September 20, 2026, 6:34pm 1 vancouversun Scammers tricking some B.C. residents into sending them their cellphones New phones, potentially worth thousands of dollars, are lost as B.C. victims duped by mail scam I am left thinking that either someone in the logistics company shipping the phones or working for the phone company is feeding information about shipments.
Stupid Friday ?'s | 9/18/2026
Terecia5538 (Terecia5538) September 19, 2026, 1:30pm 61 They are actually really tasty and you’ve probably seen them or had one and never realized what it was.
Tilly Norwood glitches out and starts speaking Chinese mid interview
tim-smith (Tim-Smith) September 18, 2026, 7:35pm 1 This is sad and funny at the same time. Piers Morgans reaction is fabulous. DuckworthXIV (Duck) September 18, 2026, 7:48pm 2 Missed the “speaking Chinese” portion, saw “melts down”, expected anger, got stunned. HulkSmash September 18, 2026, 7:54pm 3 The repetitive answers.. some of it was brilliant some wasn’t.
Cambium in Bankruptcy?
it-monkey-mike (IT Monkey Mike) September 16, 2026, 4:12pm 1 In August we placed an order with a reseller for Cambium Licensing & AcessPoints. For the past few weeks we’ve been asking our reseller for status updates. Today, after confirming that nobody at Cambium is talking to him, our reseller provided this nugget Cambium gave him: Cambium Networks Company Statement Cambium Networks Limited, the company’s UK entity, entered administration on September 14, 2026.
Caption Challenge: Interruption
Suzanne-Spiceworks (Suzanne (Spiceworks)) September 15, 2026, 10:00am 1 Hello, and welcome to the Caption Challenge. I am your host, Suzanne. This week Bluecat and Catbot seem to have wandered into the R&D department. Should be interesting for this round of make-your-own-joke. You can either grab the picture and put in your own words, tell AI to do it, or just type the lines for Grumpy Scientist Cat and Bluecat.
Mindfulness Monday For 9/14: When IT Has Two Heads but One Body
PassRusher (PassRusher) September 14, 2026, 1:50pm 1 Mindfulness Monday: When IT Has Two Heads but One Body Some IT departments aren’t built around a single clear leader. They’re built around two people with equal authority, both answering to the same boss, both responsible for the same outcomes, both expected to lead — but without any real separation of ownership. That’s the two‑headed monster. Not because the people are monsters.
What did you learn this week (overstocking)
blake-murphy (Blake Murphy) September 14, 2026, 2:07am 21 I learnt that I have no emotions - like a psychopath.
jameswalker20 (jameswalker20) September 13, 2026, 1:29am 41 Which language has the best sounding “hello”? German: Guten Tag / Tag Are you particular about stationery items? I used to write with a fountain pen, but no longer. What is your favorite show from outside your country? Dr. Who Do you carry a multitool/Swiss army knife? No blake-murphy (Blake Murphy) September 14, 2026, 1:35am 42 Which language has the best sounding “hello”?
Crazy price difference in color - Amazon ad
Nonya (J-Nonya) September 11, 2026, 9:57pm 21 MM-WOW-ARTS (adding words because it won’t let me post otherwise) somedude2 (somedude2) September 11, 2026, 10:03pm 22 Wait, so I am NOT going to get a box of M&M’s with warts? … off to cancel my order… HulkSmash September 11, 2026, 10:05pm 23 Someone with a short attention span… MultiMedia…WOW!..Let’s do some ART!
Snap! -- Swift's Swan Song, Robot Protest, Perception vs Reality
It’s your daily dose of security and tech news, in brief, along with a mix of other odd or interesting things that might come up. We’re glad you came.
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