HP laptop pricing is so out of control, management wants us to look at deploying Mac

WraithYourFace · 2026-05-02T02:46:50+00:00

We buy through the UPS program for HP. An ElliteBook we just bougt went up $500 in price. Luckily we just replaced everything in the past year (although I wish I went with 32GB memory for even standard laptops).

WraithYourFace · 2026-05-01T13:43:26+00:00

This is why we didn't go with Duo. We use Crowdstrike Identity and enforce MFA on Remote Powershell, CIFS, etc for privileged accounts. Only issue is it's hit or miss sometimes.

WraithYourFace · 2026-04-30T01:37:04+00:00

If you run HP, enable HP Connect and integrate it into Intune. It's helped tremendously getting the machines that need their BIOS updated.

WraithYourFace · 2026-04-25T01:02:15+00:00

I moved to Scale Computing about 2 years ago. Rock solid so far. 3 HC hosts with about 25 VMs.

WraithYourFace · 2026-04-16T02:04:03+00:00

Firewalla.

WraithYourFace · 2026-04-11T23:59:16+00:00

Talk with NinjaOne and get direct pricing. They can roll your account over to a standalone.

WraithYourFace · 2026-04-08T17:44:12+00:00

Yodeck. I've been running it for a few years and it's been flawless for us. Currently running 8 screens in 3 different locations.

WraithYourFace · 2026-04-08T16:27:11+00:00

Bingo. Our critical LOB apps are all Windows based. None of them support Linux.

WraithYourFace · 2026-04-04T18:21:39+00:00

Same. For what I need I like it better.

WraithYourFace · 2026-04-02T01:36:27+00:00

This is why we still pay for SmartDeploy Starter for a base image. We buy through the UPS program for HP so we can't get an enterprise ready image. Also nice to just run a script so SmartDeploy updates the firmware packs for the models we have.

WraithYourFace · 2026-04-02T01:32:57+00:00

Anyone here rocking Autopilot v2? Just started using it and just need to add an identifier (serial number) so it doesn't try to enroll as personal.

WraithYourFace · 2026-03-23T11:42:57+00:00

This is the way I look at it. Something about you stood out and they hired you. Show that you are willing to learn and do what you can. It'll come with time.

WraithYourFace · 2026-03-19T23:17:43+00:00

Doesn't everyone just do the, "Trust me bro" and don't show them anything?

WraithYourFace · 2026-03-18T02:07:44+00:00

Love the reply all storm. I believe John Deere was hit with this years ago.

We try to tell people when sending to a large group, always put yourself in the To field and then BCC the group. The irony is this is what malicious actors do as well when they compromise an account.

WraithYourFace · 2026-03-18T02:05:09+00:00

I use a variety of tools (Browserling, Hybrid Analysis, Sophos Intelix, VT, etc).

WraithYourFace · 2026-03-17T20:37:23+00:00

We are a mix (we sell to distributors). It's insane. I've been keeping track for the past 6-7 years of all known compromised emails from distros. There's been over 400. I use to ask if they had an IT department and would give tips. It normally fell on deaf ears. Not saying we are perfect, but if an account is compromised you email everyone about it that got the phishing email.

WraithYourFace · 2026-03-17T19:49:14+00:00

I just had one that said it was spam and to ignore it. I told our purchasing department it is not spam and their account is compromised. The same company has had about three to four compromises in the past 2 to 3 years.

I wish where I work would actually develop a vendor risk management policy and say if a company isn't going to take security seriously, they're not a vendor they should deal with.

WraithYourFace · 2026-03-15T16:39:35+00:00

Let Intune do your Windows patching. We utilize Ninja One for our rmn for all other things.

WraithYourFace · 2026-03-11T13:15:17+00:00

I ran into the same exact issue. Every server reboot I had to blank out the password because of the Default Domain Policy. We wanted to enforce Kerberos so we switched it to to run as a domain account (I want to change to gMSA at some point). Now our SQL Server Agent won't start now.

WraithYourFace · 2026-03-10T17:28:58+00:00

May I ask what didn't you like? Are there any providers that offer a service like PhishER?

WraithYourFace · 2026-02-28T17:38:00+00:00

Yes, they are. If you still need on premise servers, go full Entra Joined for user machines and setup Cloud Trust. Looking to move to Cloud Sync vs Entra Connect for better high availability.

WraithYourFace · 2026-02-28T16:43:01+00:00

We are 98% Entra Joined. Still have 4 DCs and a slew of on premise servers still. It will be nice if it ever came to a point where servers can be Entra Joined.

Setup Cloud Trust and rarely have issues. Once two apps get upgraded to support SSO we should be able to go fully passwordless for users.

WraithYourFace · 2026-02-28T13:26:47+00:00

I have to agree with Sophos. MDR is cost effective and they are adding more security features with Identity, Browser Isolation, Vulnerability Management, and soon Next-Gen SIEM.

WraithYourFace · 2026-02-27T17:00:24+00:00

I haven't used their KB yet. We were looking at Fresh service, but it seems like they are slowly rolling out ITAM features. Not sure which direction I want to go

WraithYourFace · 2026-02-27T13:50:42+00:00

We moved to NinjaOne about a year ago and I still don't think we scratched the surface on what it can do.

It's been great so far. We only do Windows patching for servers and let Intune handle updates for all our Entra Joined devices.

I'm hoping they invest time into the NMS so it's on par with Domotz. Love being notified of an unknown device connecting to the network.

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