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Russell Smith
Editorial DirectorRussell 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 Limit Resource Usage of PowerShell Scripts
Last Update: Sep 04, 2024
- Jan 08, 2021
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Russell Smith
PowerShell scripts can use a lot of resources. And that can be a problem if you need to run a script on a production server without impacting performance.
Everything You Need to Know About Windows – December 2020
Last Update: Sep 04, 2024
- Jan 04, 2021
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Russell Smith
This month I have some details of changes coming to Windows and a new feature aimed at improving performance in Edge.
How to Check if a PowerShell Script is Running with Admin Privileges
Last Update: Jun 05, 2025
- Dec 30, 2020
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Russell Smith
Use a .NET API to check if the user running your script is a local administrator.
How to Monitor Network Activity Using Windows 10 Packet Monitor (PKTMON)
Last Update: May 08, 2025
- Dec 23, 2020
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Russell Smith
Learn how to debug network issues in Windows 10 and Windows Server with PacketMon.
Understanding and Exploring Continuous Access Evaluation for Azure Active Directory
Last Update: Sep 04, 2024
- Dec 22, 2020
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Russell Smith
Reducing the time that security tokens remain valid negatively affects the end-user experience. CAE is designed to address the problem.
How to Automatically Unlock BitLocker Protected Devices Connected to Wired Networks
Last Update: Sep 04, 2024
- Dec 21, 2020
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Russell Smith
Network Unlock allows devices connected to a wired network to automatically unlock BitLocker-protected OS drives.
How to Copy Active Directory Groups from One User to Another with PowerShell
Last Update: May 24, 2025
- Dec 17, 2020
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Russell Smith
Use PowerShell to create consistent user objects in Active Directory.
How to Audit and Test Windows 10 Controlled Folder Access
Last Update: Sep 04, 2024
- Dec 16, 2020
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Russell Smith
Audit and test Microsoft Defender Controlled Folder Access to help protect your organization against ransomware.
Patch Tuesday – December 2020
- Dec 10, 2020
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Russell Smith
This month there are just 58 bugs patched for Microsoft products, including a critical remote code execution flaw in Hyper-V and Microsoft issues a security advisory for Windows DNS.
Why You Should Use Windows Update for Business Instead of Windows Server Update Services
Last Update: Sep 04, 2024
- Dec 10, 2020
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Russell Smith
As more employees work from home, Windows Update for Business provides a simpler way to update Windows endpoints with the latest patches.
How to Use PowerShell Calculated Properties
Last Update: Sep 04, 2024
- Dec 04, 2020
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Russell Smith
Manipulate PowerShell object output using calculated properties.
Microsoft Releases Machine-Learning Backed Password Spray Attack Detection
Last Update: Sep 04, 2024
- Dec 03, 2020
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Russell Smith
New machine-learning backed password spray attack detection spots twice the number of compromised accounts.