Michael Reinders

Microsoft has announced that extended support for Microsoft Identity Manager (MIM) will end in 2029. For many organizations, this feels like the closing of a long chapter. MIM has been the backbone of identity synchronization, certificate management, and self-service provisioning for well over a decade. But just as with Forefront Identity Manager (FIM) before it,…

New-ADUser creates users at scale, sets attributes, places them in the right Organizational Units (OUs), assigns passwords, and even adds them to groups, all programmatically. Let’s get into how to learn more about New-ADUser and elevate your AD management skills from good to great. Create a new Active Directory user with New-ADUser Here’s the basic…

In this post, I’ll explain what network monitoring tools are, why they’re important for keeping your IT systems running smoothly, how security plays a role, and how to choose and implement the right solution. I’ll cover key features, popular tools, best practices, and common mistakes to help you build a robust monitoring strategy. What are…

With the introduction of Sudo for Windows, Microsoft has brought a familiar Linux privilege escalation tool to Windows users. It enables administrators and power users to execute commands with elevated permissions without switching contexts, streamlining workflows, and enhancing security. This article examines how Windows Sudo operates, its advantages, configuration options, and its comparison to traditional…

This article provides a comprehensive comparison of the Command Prompt vs PowerShell, guiding you through the distinct features and ideal use cases for each tool, helping you make an informed decision for your specific needs. Command Prompt remains useful for quick, legacy tasks, but PowerShell stands as the superior, more versatile, and future-proof tool for…

In this post, we’ll dive into what a DHCP lease is, how it works, and why it matters for overall network management. What is a DHCP lease? A Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) lease is the temporary assignment of an IP address to a device. Instead of permanently giving a laptop the address 192.168.1.50, for…

Microsoft Entra Connect Health (formerly Azure AD Connect Health) is a tool designed to give you visibility and troubleshooting information over synchronization between on-premises Active Directory and Microsoft Entra ID in the cloud. Let’s dive into the basics of what it is and how it can benefit you. What is Microsoft Entra Connect Health? Microsoft…

Learn why you may want to create a new or additional Microsoft Entra ID (Azure Active Directory) tenant. What questions do you need to answer before creating one? Do you go down the ‘Microsoft Entra ID’ route or ‘Azure AD B2C’? What are the implications of each? Read my article to get answers to all…

Learn how to harness the power of PowerShell to manage a specific SharePoint Online site with Connect-PnPOnline. This guide walks you through installing the Connect-PnPOnline PowerShell module, connecting to SharePoint Online using the Connect-PnPOnline command, and exploring the capabilities of the SharePoint Online PowerShell module for seamless site administration and automation. What is PnP PowerShell?…

Group Policy security filtering is a helpful feature within Active Directory that allows administrators to fine-tune the application of Group Policy Objects (GPOs) to specific users, groups, and computers. In this article, we go through the fundamentals of Group Policy security filtering, explores its benefits, and provides practical examples and best practices for implementation. Common…

This article examines the distinctions between Microsoft Entra Connect vs. Microsoft Entra Cloud Sync, two separate solutions designed to synchronize on-premises Active Directory (AD) with Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD). What is Microsoft Entra Connect? Microsoft Entra Connect (formerly Azure AD Connect) is a synchronization tool that copies identities, like user accounts, from on-premises…

Microsoft’s Active Directory Forest Recovery Guide outlines 29 steps for Active Directory disaster recovery of your environment. But here’s the key takeaway: It’s just a guide. Further, it explicitly states it “doesn’t cover security recommendations for how to recover a forest that has been hacked or compromised”. Following it without prior hands-on experience or preparation is a…