Learning Azure while mining cryptocurrency

One of the things that I advocate when it comes to learning new technologies is to find a use for it that interests you. Typically, that means find a problem you need to solve as I have said here:

Scratch your own itch

I used this approach to learn about Azure many years ago as I detailed here:

I finally get Azure

I continue to try all sorts of things in Office 365 and Azure but I thought I’d share this experience of using Azure to mine cryptocurrencies.

Warning, warning, spoiler alert – it isn’t profitable from what I can see to use Azure to do cryptocurrency mining. In 24 hours I managed to mine $8 and it cost me $50 in Azure credits. Not a good ROI, however what I learning during that same period was huge.

My aim was to determine how well Azure IaaS faired when it came to mining and what was the optimal family of VMs to use. I settled on using Minergate as the software to do the actual mining. Yes, there are better options when it comes to mining software but Minergate is free, is a simple install and can be set up in a few minutes. Minergate allows you to mine multiple coins, but for this experiment I stuck to just trying to mine Monero.

I then proceeded to run up various Azure VMs, install the Minergate software and complete a benchmark. I then set the machine to mining and looked at the Hashes/sec as a second data point.

You can see the results from the table above. The winner was the NC12 VM, even though it was the most expensive to run per minute.

So why do I have two entries for NC12 machines in the table above and why are the results so different? Interestingly, when you run an N series VM in Azure it doesn’t include the drivers for the GPUs. Thus, without installing the drivers you get a plain old CPU server. You’ll find the GPU drivers here:

Set up GPU drivers for N-series VMs running Windows Server

As you can see from the above table, with the GPU drivers loaded the benchmark jumps 3x fold!

Obviously, the more CPUs and GPUs you throw at crypto mining the better results you are going to get and that’s why I reckon the DS5_V2 promo machine is also a good option. The downside here is that the promo pricing won’t last forever in this machine. If the pricing goes up, then it will become less economic to mine.

All in all an interesting experiment and learning experience for me. I will continue to fiddle with crypto mining on Azure down the track and try stuff like using Linux instead of Windows as the OS and maybe look at some clustering options. However, my personal take away is that crypto mining on Azure isn’t economically viable and given that Azure rolls up costs like electricity into a single per hour cost, I don’t see how it can work economically for an individual if they use their own on premises hardware. I’m sure some people do make money mining crypto at home but, at this point, I can’t see how it can truly be profitable.

Another Azure activity I saw in action was the Security Center which flagged Minergate as malware on my VMs. I’ll now sit down and start playing with this more.

Azure, always interesting but for crypto mining not really profitable (yet!).

Enable activity auditing in Office 365

Here’s something I suggest you ensure is enabled in all Office 365 tenants.

Visit the Office 365 Security and Compliance center as an administrator. From the menu on left, select the Search & investigation heading. From the items that appear select Audit log search.

If your audit logging hasn’t been enable you see a hyperlink on the right that says Start recording user and admin activity. If that link is visible, then select it as shown above.

You will then receive the above confirmation. Select Turn on.

You’ll be taken back to the Audit log search page where you’ll see a message telling you that logging is being enabled.

When that process is complete return to the Audit log search and select the Activities drop down.

You’ll now be able to audit a huge range of activities and produce a report, like this –

Here, I’ve run a report to display any files that have been accessed. From the results I can see the user, IP address and the file that was accessed.

You can now also set up an alert on any of these activities.

To do this, select the Alerts option on the left in the Security & Compliance center. From the items that appear select Manage alerts.

On the right select the + New alert policy button.

Set the Alert Type to Custom.

Select the Send this alert when… option and again choose the activity for the alert. The available options should be pretty much the same as you saw before with the audit logs.

Then choose which users you wish the alert to apply to as well as an email address to send the alert to.

As with all alert settings ensure that you don’t make these too general because you’ll end up getting too many alerts and end up spamming yourself.

The important thing here is that auditing is no enabled by default. The best practice recommendation is therefore to go and turn it on so you can audit activity in your tenant.

HBUDS Bluetooth Headphone review

Full disclosure – I was provided a unit for review

I was impressed with the unit even before I opened it. The packaging was high quality, even with a magnet grab to seal on the container. The packaging was not the usual flimsy or plastic style container of so many similar products. In fact, the outer box is so nice I’m going to keep it! So a 10 out of 10 for the packaging.

Inside the packaging are the earphones themselves, a range of different ear buds (to suit different people) which is really handy. How many times have I had a set of earphone and lost one earpiece only to have to throw out the whole thing out and get a new one. It is really nice to be provided with some spare earpieces. Inside you’ll also find a USB charging cable, a handy pouch to carry everything in while travelling (big bonus for me) as well a set of instructions. So a 10 out of 10 for the contents with everything required actually inside.

Normally, the instructions you receive are typically too small to read, have all the languages mashed together so you have to find the ones you understand and basically lack simple pictures to show you how to get started. Not here. The manual contains simple and straightforward instructions with lots and lots of picture to help you work out how to get everything working. 10 out of 10 again for the manual, which is easy to read, detailed and contains plenty of pictures.

With the unit now free from its packaging it was simple matter of hooking it up to a USB with the cable provided to charge it up prior to use. Again, the manual provides excellent clear instructions on how to make all of this happen.

After a short period of time the headset was charged and I paired to my phone. Now Bluetooth pairing can be tricky at times, given two different devices and one without a screen. I found it best to wear the headset so I could hear the commands and then do a manual find on my phone. Although not 100% seamless it was pretty close and the fault could have been mine or my phone so no deductions for the headset.

With the headset now fired up and connected I proceeded to listen to podcasts, music and take phone calls. The sounds quality was excellent and the reduction in ambient noise was good. The unit fitted snuggly and around my ear and provided enough distance from my ear to avoid any interference or irritation. The unit is light yet attaches quite sturdily and at no time did I feel it was going to fall off.

Working with headset on is always a bit of challenge to remember what all the buttons do and how long you need to hold them down for to perform their function. The main functions like volume, on/off, accept/decline calls are pretty straight forward but things like redial I’ll need to memorise. The main button give a nice click to indicate on/off as it is easy to determine whether it is being pressed. Likewise, the volume button are easy to find and large enough to work with fat fingers like mine, unlike some other units I have used. So 10 out of 10 here as well, especially when compared to other headsets.

It is hard to fault this unit. From the packaging to the instructions to the setup and use, it really is a high quality products that a lot of thought has clearly been invested. I thoroughly recommend this if you are in the market for such a device and am now happily using it to listen to music, podcast and take calls no matter where I am. My only ask would be perhaps a small container, separate from the packaging in which I could store the spare ear buds, however this is a minor issue on what is a really top quality unit. Highly recommended.

These headphones are currently on sale and the current price is really a bargain, so act fast!

Here are the links to the different versions on Amazon:

Black: http://amzn.to/2DLQzjL

White: http://amzn.to/2nednON

Purple: http://amzn.to/2GivUlB

Create a Safe Attachment policy with Office 365 ATP

When you have Office 365 Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) you should ensure that you actually go in a create a Safe Attachments policy because I don’t believe one is created by default.

You’ll need to login to your Office 365 portal as an appropriate administrator and then navigate to the Security and Compliance portal as shown above.

From the menu on the left select Threat management. This should reveal a number of additional options. From those that appear, select Policy.

You should now see a number of options on the right hand side as shown above. Locate and select the ATP safe attachments option.

You should now be in the Safe attachments area as shown above.

Starting at the top of the page, ensure you have the Turn on ATP for SharePoint OneDrive and Microsoft Teams checked as shown.

In the lower area you will see that no policies exist. To create a policy select the + (plus) icon.

Give the new policy a name and select the action that will be taken from the options below. In this case I have selected the Replace option.

You can enable redirection if you wish.

You now need to create the rules for this policy. if you want everything checked select the option The recipient domain is and then all the domains you have in your Office 365 tenant.

Save the configuration by using the button at the bottom of the screen.

The update will be processed and applied.

When you look at the Safe attachments page now you should the policy as shown in place.

To read more about safe attachments in Office 365 Advanced Threat Protection see:

Office 365 ATP safe attachments

January Azure Webinar resources

CIAOPS Need to Know Azure Webinar – January 2018 from Robert Crane

Slides from my January Azure webinar are now available at:

CIAOPS Need to Know Azure Webinar – January 2018

The recording is also available at:

http://www.ciaopsacademy.com.au/p/need-to-know-azure-webinars

which CIAOPS patrons get free access to as part of their subscription.

This webinar set the ground work for upcoming monthly webinars that will go deeper into Azure features and abilities.

So make sure you sign up for next month’s webinar.

January Office 365 Webinar Resources

CIAOPS Need to Know Office 365 Webinar – January 2018 from Robert Crane

The first webinar for the new year. Thanks to anyone who attended.

Slides from this months webinar are now available at:

https://www.slideshare.net/directorcia/ciaops-need-to-know-office-365-webinar-january-2018

If you are not a CIAOPS patron you want to view or download a full copy of the video from the session you can do so here:

http://www.ciaopsacademy.com.au/p/need-to-know-webinars

We looked at user management in this session.

Watch out for next month’s webinar.

My Tech Books – 2018

As much as business books are the mainstay of helping you grow a business, I would assert that there is a place for good fiction and non fiction as a way of expanding what is possible and what we may see with technology in the future. From such ideas, opportunities flow and in this ever changing world of technology, what is fiction today becomes fact tomorrow.

Below is a list of tech (both fiction and non-fiction) that I have really enjoyed and recommend to anyone interested in technology and the impact it may play in our lives down the track. Many books are ‘hacker’ style stories about the security challenges our technology creates thanks to it’s intersection with humanity. I think that technology simply magnifies the good and the bad. What do you think?

You can follow all the books, tech, business, non-fiction I read and want to read over at Goodreads where I have an account. You can also view my activity via:

https://www.goodreads.com/director_cia

or just follow me on Facebook:

www.facebook.com/ciaops

1. Daemon – Daniel Suarez [Fiction]

A glimpse into the future of where drones and augmented reality may take us. That may not necessarily be a good place either.

2. Freedom TM – Daniel Suarez [Fiction]

A follow up to Daemon. What happens when technology dominates the world? Who benefits?

3. Ready Player One – Ernest Cline [Fiction]

Much like the Matrix. What is life like if you live inside the machine? You can be just about anyone you choose. I also love this book for all the retro technology that was part of my life. TRS-80 anyone?

4. Future Crimes: Inside the Digital Underground and the Battle for our Connected World – Marc Goodman [Non-fiction]

Technology will ultimately doom us all I believe because we are building our world on stuff that unfortunately places a low regard for security and privacy. This book will show you why that is a road to ruination.

5. Countdown to Zero Day: Stuxnet and the Launch of the World’s First Digital Weapon – Kim Zetter [Non-Fiction]

If you don’t believe cyber warfare is real then read this book to understand how software is now a weapon as potentially devastating as any nuclear device.

6. Beyond Fear: Thinking Sensibly about Security in an Uncertain World – Bruce Schneier [Non-Fiction]

Security is important but it is important in context. We need to be rational when we consider our security not emotional. A great level headed approach to how we need to be secure.

7. American Kingpin: The Epic Hunt or the Criminal Mastermind Behind the Silk Road – Nick Bilton [Non-Fiction]

An amazingly detailed book on the rise and fall of Ross Ulbricht, the creator of the Silk Road web site. In here are asked to think about whether technology plays something more than a neutral role in today’s world.

8. The Cuckoos Egg – Clifford Stoll [Non-Fiction]

Before the Internet was in the public sphere it existed in the world of academia. This is the story of how one man’s search for the source of an accounting error uncovered something are more sinister.

9. Takedown – John Markoff and Tsutomu Shimomura [Non-Fiction]

The pursuit and eventual capture of notorious hacker Kevin Mitnick makes for great reading.

10. Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution – Steven Levy [Non-Fiction]

Ah, the good ole days when it was more about proving how smart you were than trying to actually cause harm. If you think hacking is something new, then you’re in for a surprise with this book

Windows Autopilot Deployment heading to Azure portal

If you go to Intune in the Azure Portal, then select Device enrollment, then Windows enrollment, you see some new options for Windows Autopilot deployment as shown above.

If you need a refresher on where the settings where originally check out my previous article:

Introduction to Windows Autopilot

The above is what the deployment profiles option look like when you go there.

Here’s what it looks like in the original Business portal.

There isn’t a place to upload the machine identification file as yet in Azure as you can see here:

However, I would assume that it is coming.

So, keep your eyes posted to the Azure portal for more additions for Windows Autopilot.