Michael Reinders

Over ten years ago, Microsoft announced the EASE or Active Directory Enhanced Security Admin Environment. Otherwise known as your Active Directory Red Forest, it isolates your privileged access administrative accounts in Active Directory (AD). Over the last four years, Microsoft has accounted for the retirement of the ESAE in favor of a more modern privileged…

As an IT Pro in the Microsoft online landscape, you’ve certainly been seeing ‘Microsoft Entra ID‘ more often. What is this? Is there a difference between Entra ID vs Azure AD? It’s actually very simple. Read on to find out more! Entra ID vs Azure AD So, what is Microsoft Entra ID? Well, it’s very…

I passed my first exam and achieved my initial Microsoft certification status in September of 1999 – Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP). Are Microsoft certifications worth it? Did passing it and many more certifications for Microsoft products assist me in my job duties as an IT Pro? And do the benefits outweigh the costs (money, time,…

In this blog post, you’ll be introduced to Silver SAML, a variant of Golden SAML. Golden SAML is a sophisticated attack technique used by hackers to bypass MFA (multifactor authentication) and gain access to sensitive data. Silver SAML operates similarly, but targets Microsoft Entra ID rather than on-premises Active Directory. What is Golden SAML?  CyberArk…

Are you looking to improve the security of your Active Directory environment? Learn how to set up the PingCastle Community Pack and strengthen your network defenses. What is PingCastle? PingCastle is a free, open-sourced tool designed to assess the security level of your Active Directory environment quickly. It’s based on a methodology focusing on risk…

Learn about the new version of Microsoft Office 2024 on the Long Term Service Channel (LTSC). We’ll dive into new features, pricing, expected availability, and the main reasons you should choose this perpetual version vs the hyped Microsoft 365 subscription model. Stay up to date and make informed decisions with this guide. What is Office…

In this article, I’ll explain what role-based access control (RBAC) is and how to configure it in Windows Admin Center. Next, I will cover topics such as creating roles, assigning permissions, and adding users and groups. I’ll include best practices and tips for managing access to your resources with Windows Admin Center. Windows Admin Center…

Windows Admin Center (WAC) is the modern evolution of “in-box” management tools, like MMC (Microsoft Management Console) and Server Manager for Windows Server management. WAC provides wizards to guide users through its deployment and deploying Windows Servers and other cluster solutions. Learn more about what Windows Admin Center features and capabilities might be useful to…

In this article, I will demonstrate how to use Windows Admin Center (WAC) to remotely manage your servers. If you haven’t already, check out my article on how to download and install Windows Admin Center before starting with the tutorial below. How to Use Windows Admin Center When you launch Windows Admin Center, you’ll see…

Backup and replication are common data protection concepts, but they serve different purposes. Learn more about their differences and how they can benefit your data management strategy, especially how the backup vs replication argument relates to Active Directory (AD) and protecting it. What are backup and replication? Although backup and replication are both methods of…

You’ve probably heard about Windows Server – Microsoft’s enterprise server counterpart to its end-user client Windows 10 and 11 operating systems. But what is Windows Server exactly and how much do you know about it? Why would you want to install it and use it in your environment? What are the current supported versions and…

Discover the benefits of using Azure AD B2B in your organization. Learn how it can improve collaboration and streamline access for external partners, and boost your users’ productivity, safely and securely. What is Azure B2B? Microsoft Entra B2B (formerly Azure AD B2B) is a feature/service within the Microsoft Entra ID that allows collaboration between your…