Useful tools
Free and low-cost utilities worth keeping in the toolkit, and what each one is good for.
- Field notes
Field note: the laptop that hung on every boot device, and the dead M.2 behind it
A work laptop hung in Windows, in recovery, on a USB installer, and in Clonezilla. The BIOS still opened, so it looked fixable. The M.2 drive had died and taken the PCIe bus with it.
- NetworksSecurity alert
Patch self-hosted Jira, Confluence, and Bitbucket: an unauthenticated file-access flaw is now on CISA's exploited list
CVE-2026-21589 affects eight Atlassian Data Center products. CISA listed it as exploited on October 15. Here's who is affected, which versions fix it, and what to do if you can't patch yet.
- Useful toolsSecurity alert
Patch BeyondTrust Remote Support now: an exploited flaw let attackers act on the appliance, and patching alone may not be enough
CISA added a critical BeyondTrust Remote Support flaw on October 16 with a three-day deadline. Self-hosted servers need the BT26-05 patch, and exposed ones should be checked for compromise.
- Useful toolsSecurity alert
Patch AhsayCBS backup servers again: two chained flaws are being exploited, and the first patches weren't enough
CISA added two AhsayCBS flaws to its exploited list on October 14. Ahsay says earlier patches did not fully fix them. Here is which hotfix to apply, who can get it, and what to check.
- Field notes
Field note: the Motorola Flex launcher that "crashed" with exit code 0
The Flex (formerly Spillman) client launcher flashed for five seconds and vanished on one PC, and two reinstalls changed nothing. It wasn't crashing at all. The PC was missing a second product that every working PC had.
- Useful tools
Everything (voidtools): instant file search for Windows, with official download
Find any file by name in a blink, why it needs the service or admin rights, the search tricks worth learning, and the one setting to leave off.
- Useful toolsSecurity alert
Patch N-able N-central to 2026.3 Hotfix 4: pre-authentication code execution
A critical flaw can let an attacker run code on an on-premises N-central server without logging in. CISA added it to its exploited list on September 8. Hosted customers are already patched.
- Useful toolsSecurity alert
Update ConnectWise ScreenConnect to 26.6.5: an exploited flaw lets files run on remote PCs
CISA added a ScreenConnect client flaw to its exploited list on September 11. Cloud instances are updated, but on-premises servers need 26.6.5 and every host client needs reinstalling.
- Useful tools
Advanced IP Scanner: a fast inventory of everything on the network
A free Windows network scanner for finding devices, addresses, and shares, and why you should only ever download it from one place.
- Useful tools
Fab's AutoBackup: moving users to a new PC without losing anything
A technician's tool for backing up and transferring a user's data and settings, including from a PC that won't boot, with an unusually generous license.
- Useful tools
Network monitoring for small shops: Auvik vs. free tools like Zabbix, LibreNMS, and Checkmk
Auvik gives you maps and alerts in an afternoon for a monthly fee. The free tools cost nothing to license, but you pay in setup, upkeep, and your own time. Here's how they compare.
- Useful tools
Veeam Community Edition: real backups for free, with one big catch for MSPs
Free, full-featured Veeam backup for up to 10 workloads. Great for the in-house IT person, but the license bars using it to service clients.
- Useful tools
Wireshark for small-shop troubleshooting: what it's for and how to use it safely
When a problem only makes sense at the packet level, Wireshark shows you exactly what's happening, including captures taken on your firewall. Here's how to use it safely.
- Useful tools
WizTree disk space analyzer: official download and licensing rules
Find what's filling a Windows drive in seconds, where to get the official download, and why WizTree is free at home but needs a paid license at work.