Follow Russell
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
Focus Assist Replaces Quiet Hours in Windows 10 Redstone 4
Last Update: Sep 04, 2024
- Apr 09, 2018
-
Russell Smith
In Redstone 4, Quiet Hours has been renamed to Focus Assist and brings several improvements.
Managing Windows Server with Puppet Part 6: Installing, Updating, and Removing Software
Last Update: Sep 04, 2024
- Apr 04, 2018
-
Russell Smith
In today’s Ask the Admin, Russell Smith shows you how to manage Puppet, Windows Installer, and Chocolatey.
Managing Windows Server with Puppet Part 5: Managing Local Users and Groups
Last Update: Sep 04, 2024
- Apr 03, 2018
-
Russell Smith
In today’s Ask the Admin, Russell Smith shows you how to manage local users and groups using Puppet.
Enable Unauthenticated Access to a Windows File Share
Last Update: Jun 04, 2025
- Mar 30, 2018
-
Russell Smith
In today’s Ask the Admin, Russell Smith explains how unauthenticated access to Windows file shares works.
Everything You Need to Know About Windows — March 2018
Last Update: Jul 02, 2025
- Mar 29, 2018
-
Russell Smith
Windows 10 Redstone 4 reaches RTM and Microsoft announces the availability of a preview version of Windows Server 2019.
Patch Tuesday March 2018
Last Update: Sep 04, 2024
- Mar 21, 2018
-
Russell Smith
This month, Microsoft patches a remote code execution vulnerability for CredSSP, helps Intel distribute microcode updates to protect against Spectre Variant 2, and Office 2016 gets updated to version 1803.
Managing Windows Software Using Chocolatey
Last Update: Sep 04, 2024
- Mar 15, 2018
-
Russell Smith
In today’s Ask the Admin, Russell Smith shows you how to get started with the Chocolatey package manager for Windows.
Managing Windows Server with Puppet Part 4: Working with Files and ACLs
Last Update: Sep 04, 2024
- Mar 13, 2018
-
Russell Smith
In this Ask the Admin, Russell Smith shows you how to use the file resource and manage permissions on files and folders.
Managing Windows Server with Puppet Part 3: Edit the Site Manifest
Last Update: Sep 04, 2024
- Mar 09, 2018
-
Russell Smith
In today’s Ask the Admin, Russell Smith shows you to install modules on your Puppet master and how to open and edit the main site manifest using Secure Shell.
Package Management in Windows Using Chocolatey
Last Update: Sep 04, 2024
- Mar 08, 2018
-
Russell Smith
In today’s Ask the Admin, Russell Smith looks at the Chocolatey package manager for Windows, what it does, and how it can simplify software deployment on servers and end-user devices.
Managing Windows Server with Puppet Part 2: Log Into Puppet Master, Accept Node Certificate, and Test Connectivity
Last Update: Sep 04, 2024
- Mar 01, 2018
-
Russell Smith
In today’s Ask the Admin, Russell Smith shows you how to log in to Puppet master using Secure Shell, accept the certificate from the Windows Server node, and how to test connectivity between agent and master.
What Is Windows 10 Fast Startup And How to Disable It
Last Update: Sep 04, 2024
- Mar 01, 2018
-
Russell Smith
In this Ask the Admin, Russell Smith shows you how to disable Fast Startup, explains what it does, and discusses why you might want to disable it.