Author: Shahzad Khan

Software developer / Architect

Large text import from Flat File using SSIS

To import large text including special and foreign characters using Flat File follow this;

External Column =  Text_Stream (DT_TEXT)

Output Column = Unicode Text Stream (DT_NTEXT)

This can handle up to 11000 characters. I think it’s more than sufficient. Make sure your SQL Database has NVARCHAR(MAX) column data type.

This will work if the column has 11000 characters or 1 character. It wouldn’t break the way Excel BLOB columns break. In Excel if the source column is configured as DT_NEXT and data is 1 character, the process blows up.

Read this article, how to configure Excel.

How to get Azure QR Code?

If you want to re-register for Azure multi-factor authentication and use Authentication app on a new/existing phone, follow these steps;

Login to Azure Portal -> Active Directory -> Your user account –> Profile

Click on Authentication methods link.

Click on Access Panel Profile link. This will take you to your profile page.

Click on Additional security verification link.

Select this option to view QR coce;

You are ready to restore your credentials.

Resources;

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/active-directory/user-help/multi-factor-authentication-setup-auth-app

How to secure Azure VM

Trying to gather resources that can help to secure Azure environment;

There are three most essential areas in Microsoft Azure, RBAC, Storage and Networking, everything in Azure depends on these three main pillars, and considering these areas, I identified the 3 topmost dangerous cyberattacks, below the TOP Parade:

  1. Privilege escalation to Azure PIM and the Global Admin Account;
  2. Ransomware Attack;
  3. Attack to the public and private IP addresses;

All these attacks are extremely dangerous and effective. However, the privilege escalation is the most dangerous because it can escalate a top-level, which means no more control in the entire cloud and company.

The three most effective and dangerous cyberattacks to Azure and countermeasures (part 1 – attack all the public and private IP addresses in Azure)

Another good one from linkedin;

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/explain-example-vpn-gateway-expressroute-michelle-xie/