IT Knowledgebase Articles

When a user account becomes locked, account lockout event id 4740 is logged on your domain controllers. It is the primary signal administrators rely on to begin troubleshooting. While the event itself is straightforward, interpreting it correctly and using it effectively to identify the true source of a lockout is not always obvious. What is…

In this article, I look at Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and why it’s important to identity and protect it in your organization. What is PII data? Personally Identifiable Information (PII) refers to any information that can be used to identify a specific individual. Types of PII Although all personally identifiable information is linked to a…

IT pros are already using AI to write scripts, summarize logs, and troubleshoot issues. The catch? Most workflows still involve a clumsy relay race: copy text from a remote session, paste it into a chatbot, copy the answer back, then repeat. All while hoping you don’t leak something sensitive into chat history. Marc-André Moreau, CTO…

The focus shouldn’t be just on restoring AD functionality but on restoring trust ensuring the recovered environment is clean, uncompromised, and validated before reconnecting to production. Trust is the new metric for Active Directory Forest recovery Modern day Active Directory (AD) recovery isn’t just about restoring AD; it’s about restoring trust. Active Directory is still…

Businesses everywhere are scrutinizing every new tech expense and Microsoft’s AI-powered Copilot is no exception. Despite the hype around artificial intelligence transforming the workplace, many organizations are pressing pause on rolling out Microsoft 365 Copilot to all their employees. In fact, Microsoft recently revealed that only about 3% of Microsoft 365 users have chosen to…

In this article, I’ll show you how to change passwords for Active Directory users. Passwords are still the primary method of authenticating users in most Active Directory (AD) environments. Although modern identity solutions increasingly rely on multifactor authentication (MFA) and even passwordless technologies, legacy usernames and passwords remain the precarious method in enterprise workflows. Changing…

Designing a sound Organizational Unit (OU) structure in Active Directory is crucial for an efficient and secure IT environment. A well-planned OU hierarchy makes it easier to find objects, assign administrative permissions, and apply Group Policy Objects (GPOs) consistently. But there’s no one-size-fits-all design. Following best practices from Microsoft and experienced Active Directory admins will…

Microsoft AI Shell brings an AI‑assisted, conversational experience to your terminal. It runs as a standalone CLI (aish) or as a sidecar in Windows Terminal/PowerShell/iTerm2 (macOS), where it can suggest commands, fix errors, and even insert code directly into your shell. It ships with AI agents for Azure OpenAI (GPT‑4o) and Copilot in Azure, with…

The rise of AI agents is forcing a fundamental rethink of enterprise security. Agents are autonomous, task-oriented digital workers that are no longer confined to experimental labs or niche use cases. Agents are being embedded into Microsoft 365, Windows, and Azure, where they draft emails, summarize meetings, automate reports, and interact with data on behalf…

One of the mechanisms Microsoft uses to enable or restrict Active Directory (AD) capabilities in Windows Server is the concept of Active Directory functional levels. Windows Server introduces stronger security, improved performance, better manageability, and increased functionality in Active Directory for each new version of the server operating system. Functional levels determine which AD DS…