Michael Reinders

Microsoft’s Local Administrator Password Solution (LAPS) is a legacy Windows tool that IT admins can use to manage account passwords of domain-joined computers. The company has finally updated LAPS this year and plans to bring it natively into Windows in 2023. In this article, I’ll explain how to use LAPS and how it can help…

This article will offer you a straightforward way to list Active Directory users with Active Directory Users and Computers (ADUC). I’ll show you how to do that using the graphical user interface (GUI) with the ADUC tool. Check out how to list Active Directory Users with PowerShell on Petri if you would prefer to perform…

A logon is an event in Windows that shows a user account being granted some access to a workstation/server/computer. This article will explain the basics of Windows logon types, how authentication plays a role, and then describe the various types of logons built into Windows. As IT pros, we’ve all ‘logged onto computers’, servers, network…

A PowerShell array is a data structure designed to store an item or a collection of items. These item types can be the same or of varying types. In this article, we’ll explain how PowerShell arrays work, how to use an array of objects, and everything you need to know about PowerShell arrays to become…

In this article, I’ll explain how to use the PowerShell Where-Object cmdlet to filter objects and data. I’ll provide a series of easy examples showing you how to filter files by name or date, how to filter processes by status or CPU usage, and more. When using PowerShell, you will often receive an extremely large…

PsExec is a command-line utility program for Windows written by none other than Mark Russinovich, the current CTO of Microsoft Azure. It’s still being updated as part of the SysInternals suite of utilities. PsExec allows you to run programs locally, and, more importantly, on remote computers. You can even kick off similar commands on multiple…

The Attribute Editor in Active Directory Users and Computers (ADUC) is a hidden tab that contains a list of all attributes and their values. This tab lets IT pros view and edit almost every attribute of every object in Active Directory. In this guide, I’ll show you how to view the Attribute Editor in Active…

After you’ve built a solid, robust, and redundant Active Directory infrastructure, it is critical that you know how to restore Active Directory to prevent any possible interruptions to your environment. As an IT pro, it’s your job to prepare for the unexpected and to know how to get back on your feet. In this guide,…

As an IT Pro, it is highly likely that you’ve needed to add additional domain controllers (DCs) to your Active Directory environment. In this guide, we’ll demonstrate how to add a domain controller to an existing domain. The process to add Domain Controller to Existing Domain follows precise steps discussed below. This article applies to:…

In this guide, we’ll explain how to back up Active Directory (AD) by performing a full server backup, a system state backup, or by using Azure backup. Active Directory is a key component of your Microsoft Windows network, and you really need to protect it by performing regular backups. It’s really essential to have a…

System Restore on Windows 10 is a crucial backup feature included in the OS. It lets you create restore points before installing any new apps, drivers, and Windows updates. If something you installed on your PC starts causing issues, you’ll always have the option to go back to a previous restore point and get your…

This article will detail the different versions of Microsoft’s Azure AD Connect (AADC) sync software that are going out of support this month (August 2022) and in March 2023. If you’re still using one of these soon-to-be-deprecated Azure AD (recently renamed Microsoft Entra ID) Connect versions, you’ll want to plan your upgrades/migrations to supported versions…