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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
Uncover Weaknesses in Active Directory Before Attackers Do
Last Update: Jul 28, 2025
- Sep 16, 2020
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Russell Smith
For twenty years, Active Directory (AD) has been the cornerstone of identity management. Despite the popularity of cloud computing, AD remains a key part of the infrastructure that almost every IT service relies on for its security. Active Directory is vulnerable to attack Active Directory was designed for a world without cloud computing and where…
Microsoft Readies Windows Server 2021 with New Preview Builds
- Sep 15, 2020
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Russell Smith
Microsoft releases two new Windows Server vNext builds with a comprehensive list of new features.
How to List Active Directory Privileged Group Membership Using PowerShell
Last Update: Jun 05, 2025
- Sep 09, 2020
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Russell Smith
One of the biggest security issues that organizations face with Windows Server Active Directory is the proliferation of privileged accounts.
How to Report Active Directory Schema Changes Using PowerShell
Last Update: Sep 04, 2024
- Sep 04, 2020
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Russell Smith
To protect the integrity of Active Directory, it’s worth checking that only approved changes to the schema are made.
Everything You Need to Know About Windows – August 2020 Edition
Last Update: Sep 04, 2024
- Sep 01, 2020
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Russell Smith
August saw Microsoft release Edge 85 to the Stable Channel, reveal features that will be part of Windows Server 2021, and backport WSL2 to Windows 10 1903 and 1909.
TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot Become Mandatory for Windows Server Hardware in 2021
- Aug 26, 2020
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Russell Smith
Most x64 bit server hardware shipping today has TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot, but the features are often turned off by default.
Microsoft Improves Data Protection in Azure Files
Last Update: Apr 07, 2022
- Aug 25, 2020
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Russell Smith
Several new Azure Files features went into public preview earlier this year to help organizations move file shares to the cloud with confidence.
Windows Virtual Desktop Now Integrated into Azure Portal
Last Update: May 24, 2025
- Aug 24, 2020
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Russell Smith
The Windows Virtual Desktop July 2020 update brings Azure Resource Manager support and Teams media optimizations.
Understanding Azure AD Application Proxy Support for Remote Desktop Services
Last Update: Sep 04, 2024
- Aug 21, 2020
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Russell Smith
Application Proxy lets users access Remote Desktop apps hosted behind a Remote Desktop Gateway. Now it works with the RDS web client too.
Microsoft 365 Universal Print Enters Public Preview
Last Update: Nov 19, 2024
- Aug 20, 2020
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Russell Smith
Universal Print is a cloud-based infrastructure that works for today’s distributed workforce.
How to Protect Against Active Directory DCShadow Attacks
Last Update: Sep 04, 2024
- Aug 18, 2020
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Russell Smith
Protecting privileged access to Active Directory is key to preventing DCShadow attacks.
Intune Makes Deploying Always On VPN Device Tunnels Easier without ProfileXML Node
- Aug 18, 2020
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Russell Smith
How to enable Device Tunnel in Microsoft Intune’s VPN profile options.