Tech Forum

This question is probably more geared toward the mods and/or other SLC IT employees, but others may already know the answer to these.

I'm a stake tech specialist and just received the announcement about upgrading existing clerk PCs to Windows 10. I've read through the FAQ (thank you, BTW, lots of good info there), but I still have some questions. Specifically:

• Is the upgrade just the stock one from Microsoft, or is this a bundle made by the church for the clerk computers? (All my other questions really hinge on this one.)
  If it is coming from SLC, I presume it will be pushed via Tivoli. Is that right?
  Is there a schedule for this rollout, or is it just "leave the PC on and it will pick up the upgrade soon enough"?
  Windows 10 has gotten some bad press regarding its data-gathering telemetry features and privacy. Does this build address that?
  Does this upgrade include anything besides Windows 10? (New version of MLS, etc)

Thanks for looking/answering!

Jason Lewis
Tech Specialist, Columbus OH South Stake, US

I don't have definitive answers but I believe these are true:

le_jawa wrote:Is the upgrade just the stock one from Microsoft, or is this a bundle made by the church for the clerk computers? (All my other questions really hinge on this one.)

Indications I've seen are that it's customized.

le_jawa wrote:If it is coming from SLC, I presume it will be pushed via Tivoli. Is that right?

Yes, it's coming through IBM Endpoint Manager (previously Tivoli).

le_jawa wrote:Is there a schedule for this rollout, or is it just "leave the PC on and it will pick up the upgrade soon enough"?

SLC probably has a schedule but as far as we're concerned it's "leave the PC on and wait".

le_jawa wrote:Windows 10 has gotten some bad press regarding its data-gathering telemetry features and privacy. Does this build address that?

No idea on that one.

le_jawa wrote:Does this upgrade include anything besides Windows 10? (New version of MLS, etc)

I'm sure it won't have a new version of MLS. Someone indicated it will have a new version of Sophos. I don't know about anything else.

eblood66,

Thanks for the quick reply and all the info. I agree with you, that the wording of the announcement suggests a custom build from SLC, and the size they gave does suggest that it's more than just Windows 10 (as the stock Win10 installer is ~3GB, not 4GB). If I could get some more definitive answers to this, especially regarding the privacy issues, that would be great.

Additional Questions from STS:
Q1. The instructions tell each Clerks to use User: Unit1234abcd and set a new password.
How does an STS then get access? (collect passwords from all the various clerks?
Q2. I saw a User:MHAdmin on the login screen ...do we get that password?
Q3. Are the Unit1234abcd users admin? (meaning can they install additional software?, printer drivers, etc.)

Q4. Will there be a new password change policy? (every 120 days or similar?)

esoutham wrote:Q3. Are the Unit1234abcd users admin? (meaning can they install additional software?, printer drivers, etc.)

No idea on the others but this must be true because MLS requires admin access in order to install updates. Any change to that would require a fairly major change in the MLS update process. And since MLS is being phased out there is little chance of that happening.

esoutham wrote:Q4. Will there be a new password change policy? (every 120 days or similar?)

Unless we switch to individual logins, I sure hope not. Otherwise, the unit will end up sticking the password to the monitor or under the keyboard so everyone will know what the new password is.

Besides, changing passwords seems ineffective as far as security. Users usually just increment the digit and that becomes the new password. Way too easy to guess. If you know the old password, guessing the new one is usually trivial.

Where are the instructions about changing the passwords on the machines that are being upgraded? I see the instructions for *new* machines, but I didn't see anything about changing passwords on the existing machines after the upgrade.

As for individual logins, I hope that they tie access on the local machines to lds.org accounts - whatever you use to log into lds.org is also used to access the local PC. I haven't heard anything that points towards this, but it seems logical to me and has several obvious benefits.

aclawson wrote:Where are the instructions about changing the passwords on the machines that are being upgraded? I see the instructions for *new* machines, but I didn't see anything about changing passwords on the existing machines after the upgrade.

As for individual logins, I hope that they tie access on the local machines to lds.org accounts - whatever you use to log into lds.org is also used to access the local PC. I haven't heard anything that points towards this, but it seems logical to me and has several obvious benefits.

I have done many upgrades to W10 over the months. Everyone that had a password set, logged in using the existing password. I can't see that side of the process changing for the Church instigated upgrades. From what I've read, it is just the content that will be slightly different to a standard W10 installation.

Biggles wrote:I can't see that side of the process changing for the Church instigated upgrades.

Reading the upgrade document, I'm only seeing a new password mentioned in connection to NEW computers, not upgrades.

Your right, it's not exactly clear,
At "Upgrade Existing Computers: Step#3

3. After Windows 10 is installed, log in to your account and verify that the computer is functioning correctly.

So is that the old "Clerk" account, or a new/migrated "Unit1234abcd account"
And at New-FAQ. Question #3
https://www.lds.org/help/support/win10- ... er%20Setup

3. On previous clerk computers, we always used the password [redacted] to login. I noticed on this new setup for Windows 10 it’s asking me to create a new password. Should we make our own password or use [redacted]?
As explained in the walk-through document found here, clerks should create a password that is unique to their unit. Passwords should be recorded in a safe place for future reference in case of memory lapses.

Anybody done this Win10 upgrade and can tell us what to expect?