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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
Windows Server Version 2004 Reaches General Availability
- Jun 03, 2020
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Russell Smith
Along with last week’s release of the Windows 10 May 2020 Update, Microsoft released Windows Server version 2004.
Everything You Need to Know About Windows – May 2020
Last Update: Sep 04, 2024
- Jun 01, 2020
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Russell Smith
May was a busy month for Windows, with the release of the Windows 10 May 2020 Update and Build.
Microsoft Brings GUI Support and GPU Acceleration to Windows Subsystem for Linux
Last Update: Sep 04, 2024
- May 27, 2020
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Russell Smith
Microsoft announces GPU hardware acceleration and GUI app support for WSL 2 at Build 2020.
How Does Microsoft 365 Universal Print Work?
Last Update: Nov 19, 2024
- May 25, 2020
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Russell Smith
Microsoft is hoping to make it easier for organizations to give Azure Active Directory (AAD) joined and MDM-managed devices access to printers.
Understanding Windows 10 Always On VPN
Last Update: Jun 05, 2025
- May 25, 2020
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Russell Smith
Microsoft Windows and Windows Server support a variety of different VPN technologies. The most advanced are DirectAccess and Windows 10 Always On VPN. In this article, I look at the advantages of Always On VPN over DirectAccess, and outline the infrastructure required to deploy Always On VPN.
Split Tunnel VPNs Improve Performance of Cloud Apps for Remote Workers
Last Update: Sep 04, 2024
- May 25, 2020
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Russell Smith
VPNs are commonly used to give users working from home access to corporate resources. But traditional forced tunnel VPNs can have a significant impact on the performance of cloud services like Office 365. In this article, I look at the different ways VPNs can be configured for performance and security.
How to Use Windows Package Manager
Last Update: Nov 19, 2024
- May 24, 2020
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Russell Smith
Microsoft recently announced at Build 2020 that it is working on a native open-source package manager for Windows. Due to hit general availability in May 2021, Windows Package Manager is now accessible on GitHub and for Windows Insiders in preview. In this article, I will show you how to use Windows Package Manager (WPM) to…
Intel’s Latest 10th-Gen vPro CPUs Get Mandatory Hardware Shield
Last Update: Sep 04, 2024
- May 08, 2020
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Russell Smith
Intel releases 27 10th generation CPUs for desktop and mobile with Hardware Shield to improve remote worker security.
Patch Tuesday – May 2020
- May 08, 2020
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Russell Smith
Microsoft issues fixes for 111 vulnerabilities, making this month the third biggest set of patches in Microsoft’s history.
Microsoft Announces Azure Active Directory External Identities
Last Update: Sep 04, 2024
- May 08, 2020
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Russell Smith
Azure AD External Identities, now in public preview, brings easier authentication for users, organizations, and developers.
Windows Terminal Reaches General Availability
Last Update: Sep 04, 2024
- May 08, 2020
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Russell Smith
Microsoft releases Windows Terminal version 1.0 at Build 2020.
Patch Tuesday – April 2020
- Apr 15, 2020
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Russell Smith
This month Microsoft patches three Windows 10 zero-days, including a patch for two RCE flaws discovered last month in the Windows Adobe Type Manager Library. There are also important updates for vulnerabilities in the OneDrive desktop app for Windows, the DNS client service, and in the way that Windows handles token relationships.