Russell Smith

Windows 11 just got heavier, literally! A new security update is doubling the size of critical OS files and Microsoft says it’s absolutely necessary. At the same time, the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit is quietly being killed off, pushing IT departments toward modern deployment, and this month’s Patch Tuesday unleashes 113 fixes, including a fresh zero-day…

“It’s the data, stupid.” That’s how Tim Freestone, Chief Strategy Officer at Kiteworks, sums up the pivotal shift underway in cybersecurity today. In a recent interview about Kiteworks’ 2025 Data Security and Compliance Risk Report, Freestone and colleague Patrick Spencer explained to me that companies are finally recognizing that data, more than networks, devices, or…

When Microsoft retires a long-standing component like WINS, many organizations treat it as a footnote. Something to remove when convenient. But WINS retirement is more than an outdated feature being switched off. It’s a signal that the last remnants of legacy NT-era assumptions are finally being swept out of modern architectures. For IT leaders, this…

Microsoft is bending its own rules with a special Windows update only for new AI-powered PCs. Plus, Teams is about to start auto-blocking malware and phish by default for everyone, and if you’re migrating from Slack to Teams, Microsoft’s rolling out a new tool to make it seamless. Thanks to Cayosoft for sponsoring this episode!…

Picture this: It’s 3 a.m., and your Security Operations Center (SOC) dashboard lights up like a Christmas tree. Not because of a zero-day exploit, but because an AI-driven botnet just launched 10,000 phishing attempts. Each tailored to your executives’ LinkedIn profiles. Welcome to 2026. Cybersecurity has always been asymmetric: defenders must get everything right, while…

Windows has been quietly accumulating the plumbing needed to support something beyond traditional applications: a world where autonomous, policy‑governed AI agents perform meaningful work on behalf of users. We’re now hitting the inflection point. Shift What It Means Why It Matters for IT Windows evolves into an agent OS Agents run continuously, not just when…

Managing Conditional Access (CA) policies in Microsoft Entra ID can quickly become overwhelming, especially when organisations implement multiple rules for multifactor authentication (MFA), device compliance, and sign-in frequency. To simplify this complexity, Merill Fernando, Principal Product Manager for Microsoft Entra ID, introduced idPowerApp, a tool designed to make CA policies easier to understand and share….

This Week in IT, Microsoft quietly turns Copilot Studio into a fully‑fledged AI platform—bringing GPT‑5, human‑in‑the‑loop controls, and curated action groups. Meanwhile, the Windows Clipboard may soon convert anything you copy into the format you need, and Windows 11 authentication is getting a WebView2 makeover. Links and resources Episode overview This Week in IT –…

In this episode of Petri Dish, I talk to Devolutions CTO, Marc-André Moreau, and we dive into the latest in how AI is changing remote desktop management. Learn how Large Language Models (LLMs) and Model Context Protocol (MCP) are helping IT administrators automate tasks, boost efficiency, and unlock new opportunities. Whether you’re an early adopter…

Could your boss soon track your every move? Microsoft is quietly rolling out a location‑tracking feature in Teams that uses Wi‑Fi and peripherals to map your office whereabouts. Microsoft is also turning up the security dial across Microsoft 365 with a new baseline that blocks legacy protocols and restricts risky file types. And if patch…

Modern identity security has shifted dramatically, and according to identity experts Sean Metcalf of TrustedSec, the center of gravity has moved from network perimeters toward tokens, browsers, hybrid identity connectors, and cloud roles. In a wide-ranging conversation, Metcalf unpacked how both Active Directory (AD) and Entra ID continue to expose organizations to unnecessary risk, why…

This Week in IT, a hidden Windows shortcut flaw exploited for years finally gets patched, but how did attackers sneak their malware past security teams? Microsoft 365 E3 and E5 customers are about to get powerful Intune tools like Remote Help and just‑in‑time admin rights, but there’s a price hike on the way. And by…