Windows Server 2019

Home Lab Guide: Deploying Active Directory, Windows 7 Client and ELK Stack for Security Logging

A detailed tutorial walks readers through building an isolated VirtualBox lab featuring a Windows Server 2019 domain controller with DNS and DHCP, a Windows 7 client joined to the domain, and an ELK stack running Elasticsearch, Logstash and Kibana 9.4.2. The guide covers creation of organizational units, Group Policy Objects for advanced auditing, and configuration of Winlogbeat 7.17 to forward Security, System and Application logs to Logstash. Special attention is given to common pitfalls such as missing GPO extension attributes that prevent audit policies from applying and memory constraints when running the full ELK stack on limited RAM. The author emphasizes that Windows 7 is unsupported and should only be used in isolated lab networks. All steps are provided with exact PowerShell commands, netplan configurations, and Logstash pipeline examples suitable for a 192.168.100.0/24 NAT network.

September Windows 11 Security Update KB5124008 Breaks Always On VPN Certificate Authentication

The September security update KB5124008 for Windows 11 has introduced a regression that disables Always On VPN connections using certificate-based authentication. The issue affects devices running Windows 11 versions 24H2 and 25H2 that connect to Remote Routing and Access Service (RRAS) and Network Policy Server (NPS) instances on Windows Server 2019. VPN profiles deployed via Microsoft Intune are impacted, with the failure occurring during the certificate negotiation phase of the IPsec connection. Users confirm the problem is reproducible: the VPN works before the patch, stops after installation, and resumes after patch removal and reboot. Microsoft has not yet acknowledged the regression or released a fix, leaving administrators to pause deployment through WSUS or Intune and open support cases with client and NPS logs. A potential workaround involves switching profiles to EAP-TLS, though its reliability remains unconfirmed.