Michael Reinders

If you’re an IT pro working with Active Directory, you can use Group Policy to configure the Windows environments of your users’ computers and your enterprise servers using Group Policy Objects (GPO). However, the struggle to reach an intuitive and secure environment is real. In this article, I will explain how to create a GPO,…

With GPUpdate, administrators can update Group Policy settings from a central location and set configuration settings for computers in an Active Directory domain. In this guide, I’ll show you how to use GPUpdate to refresh local and Active Directory–based Group Policy settings. I can’t tell you (accurately) how many times I have typed ‘gpupdate /force‘…

Group Policy is an infrastructure feature in Active Directory that allows IT pros to manage their users’ Windows environments and servers. In this article, I will explain in detail what is Group Policy, what is a Group Policy Object (GPO), and how to adjust the policy settings to meet your security needs and compliance requirements….

The Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 (WSL2) allows Windows 10 and Windows 11 users to run a Linux distribution without using a virtual machine. Recent versions of Windows 10/11 make it very easy for developers to get started with WSL2 and run Linux repositories natively. In this article, I’ll explain how to install WSL2 on…

WSL allows you to run applications natively as Linux processes on Windows. Learn how to install and use WSL on Windows Server here. Which versions of Windows Server support WSL? According to Microsoft documentation, the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) is available for installation on Windows Server 2019 (1709) and above. This includes the few Windows Server…

Microsoft Stream, which is part of Microsoft 365, is a video creation and collaboration service available with nearly all license and pricing plans. Learn about its noteworthy features including the ability to record your screen and yourself, catch up on your company’s Teams meeting recordings, and distribute your videos across your Microsoft 365 tenant. What…

Welcome to SharePoint Lists! – At least that’s how Microsoft likely worded their introduction back in 2001 (Wow!). The purpose of this post is to give a little background on what a SharePoint List is, the evolution over the years to the newer ‘Modern List’ in mid-to-late 2016, and the announcement of the new Microsoft…

Microsoft Lists is the evolution of the SharePoint List feature. Several years ago, the Microsoft brain trust set out to make this ultra-powerful tool more accessible to the masses. By removing ‘SharePoint’ from the marketing pages, and making it ‘an app’, they succeeded in surprisingly productive ways. In this article, I will explain what is…

I’m sure many of you are excited that Microsoft’s Windows Insider Program team recently launched the testing phase of Windows 11. What better way to get your feet wet than to test it in a brand-new virtual Hyper-V machine! Some of your users will probably be clamoring to upgrade when it’s official and recommended, so,…

Windows 10 Pro, Enterprise, and Education editions contain a free virtualization software named Hyper-V. The underlying code works nearly the same as what’s provided in Windows Server. In this article, I will discuss how to enable Hyper-V on Windows 10, how to create your first virtual machine, and briefly talk about nested virtualization. How to…