IT professional writing about cybersecurity, cloud & DevOps, automation, networking, and systems administration. Real-world guides for real-world problems.
Audit and harden Active Directory against breached passwords using Lithnet Password Protection and the Have I Been Pwned compromised hash list. Covers installing Lithnet PP on a Domain Controller, syncing the HIBP store, running the Audit-Passwords.ps1 script to find pwned accounts, and configuring the GPO that rejects new pwned passwords on every set/change.
Step-by-step guide to backing up and restoring the Windows registry: open Registry Editor, choose File > Export, pick All or a single branch, save the .reg file, and restore later via File > Import or by right-clicking the .reg file and choosing Merge - including the Safe Mode workflow when Windows will not boot.
Three reliable ways to check FSMO role holders in Active Directory: the netdom query FSMO command, the Get-ADForest/Get-ADDomain PowerShell cmdlets (and the Get-ADInfo.ps1 script), and the GUI walkthrough across Active Directory Schema, Active Directory Domains and Trusts, and Active Directory Users and Computers.
Why downloaded PowerShell scripts trigger a 'not digitally signed' error and how to fix it. Covers the Mark of the Web (Zone.Identifier) NTFS alternate data stream, three fix options (GUI Unblock, Unblock-File cmdlet, -ExecutionPolicy Bypass), and the execution policy values you should and should not use.
Step-by-step guide to enabling the Active Directory Recycle Bin forest-wide using Active Directory Administrative Center. Covers prerequisites, the irreversible nature of the change, GUI and PowerShell verification, restoring deleted objects with Restore-ADObject, and follow-up hardening like Protect from accidental deletion.
Step-by-step walkthrough for adding a second Windows Server Domain Controller to an existing AD domain. Covers prerequisites, installing the AD DS role on the member server, promoting through the Configuration Wizard, replicating from the existing DC, cross-configuring DNS, and verifying replication health with repadmin /replsummary.
Step-by-step guide to installing the Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) role on Windows Server and promoting the machine to the first Domain Controller in a new forest. Covers the Add Roles and Features wizard, the Configuration Wizard, DSRM password, DNS delegation warning, paths, the auto-generated PowerShell script, and post-promotion verification.
A step-by-step post-installation checklist for Windows Server. Configure Server Manager, disable IE Enhanced Security, set a static IP, enable Remote Desktop, run Windows Update, and activate your server.
