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Russell Smith

Editorial Director

Russell Smith, the Editorial Director at Petri IT Knowledgebase, has over two decades of hands-on experience in IT, in both small business settings and government IT infrastructure projects.

Russell started writing for Windows IT Pro Magazine in the early 2000s. Since then, he has contributed insights to various IT publications, including Petri and CDW. His authoritative voice has resonated across industry blogs, where he dissects complex topics into an ‘easy read’.

Russell has authored over a thousand articles, each a testament to his depth of knowledge. His expertise doesn’t stop there: he wrote a book on Privilege Management and co-authored another for Microsoft’s MOAC series. Moreover, Russell’s commitment to education shines through in the courses he crafted for Pluralsight.

He is also presenter on his own YouTube channel, This Week in IT, and the current presenter of Petri Dish.

LATEST

How to Enable Internet Explorer 11 Enterprise Mode

Last Update: Jul 04, 2025

Russell Smith explains the difference between Internet Explorer Compatibility View and Enterprise Mode, and provides steps on setting up Enterprise Mode using Group Policy.

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Protect Privileged Credentials in Windows Server 2012 R2 using the Protected Users Group

Last Update: Sep 04, 2024

Leverage a protected users group in Windows Server 2012 R2 to protect privileged credentials in this how-to article.

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Windows Server vNext Privileged Access Management

Russell Smith gives us the low-down on Microsoft’s ‘Just-In-Time’ Privileged Access Management model, a feature which will be updated in Windows Server vNext.

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How to scan QR codes in Windows Phone 8.1

Last Update: Sep 04, 2024

Using a Windows Phone? Russell Smith shows us how to scan QR codes in Windows Phone 8.1 using Bing Vision in this quick how-to article.

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Are Docker Containers Better than VMs?

Last Update: Jun 27, 2025

Russell Smith shows us how Docker works, explains the differences between Linux containers and hypervisors, and discusses whether Docker containers are better than VMs.

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Microsoft Showcases Azure Active Directory Sync Services and Windows 10 MDM Features

Last Update: Nov 19, 2024

Russell Smith gives us a run-down of updates to Microsoft Azure Active Directory, the Windows Store, and new mobile device management features that will be baked into Windows 10.

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How to Use Microsoft Azure Automation

Last Update: Nov 19, 2024

Russell Smith shares tips for using Microsoft Azure Automation to schedule Azure runbooks to batch regular administrative tasks in the cloud.

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3 Ways to Create New Active Directory Users

Last Update: Oct 21, 2025

Russell Smith shows how to create new Active Directory users with three different administrative tools.

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How to Use Snap and Snap Assist in Windows 10 Technical Preview

Last Update: Jun 25, 2025

Russell Smith shares his tips on using the improved Snap and Snap Assist features in Windows 10.

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How to Customize the Windows 10 Start Menu with Group Policy

Last Update: Jul 02, 2025

Russell Smith shows you how to use and customize the Windows 10 Start menu using group policy, along with steps to configure the default live tiles layout for your users.

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Windows 10 Technical Preview: Using Snap, Task View, and Virtual Desktops

Last Update: Jun 26, 2025

Russell Smiths shows us what’s new in the Windows 10 Technical Preview with Snap, Task View, and Virtual Desktop features.

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Create New Active Directory Users with Excel and PowerShell

Last Update: Oct 21, 2025

Learn how to create new Active Directory users in bulk with Excel and PowerShell in Russell Smith’s latest article.

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