Windows Server 2012 introduces a new Group Policy feature: ‘Infrastructure Status’. This feature is present in the Group Policy Management Console (GPMC) on Windows Server 2012 and in the Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) package for Windows 8, and introduces a Status tab for the domain level. This tab is shown in the screenshot below: ...

Many software vendors and organizations have adopted workflow tools to accommodate their needs towards faster delivery of the same quality. At least, getting an OK from a senior executive, is something that can be automated to save time, right? Another angle a lot of organization explore is Delegation of Control. Why wait for a centralized admin ...

I’ve seen a couple of vendors release backup products, specifically targeted at Hyper-V. Some solutions utilize the Hyper-V Volume Shadow Service (VSS) writer to make backups. The big question, however, is whether this type of backup is of any use to backup Domain Controllers for disaster recovery. Over the years, we’ve seen a lot of issues ...

This page contains the following whitepaper: Host-Based Backups and Restores of Domain Controllers How to be effective in backing up and restoring virtual Domain Controller with host-based backup solutions Title:Host-Based Backups and Restores of domain Controllers How to be effective in backing up and restoring virtual Domain ...

Whenever a worm utilizes the normal access and daily tools systems admins use, there is a significant problem. After all, shutting down the attack vector suddenly isn’t that easy. So, without making dramatic changes to your environment, how can you rest assured?     About Win32/Morto.A One of the latest threats to use ...

Since Windows Vista, Microsoft has bundled and enabled IPv6 by default. This means Windows Vista, Windows 7 Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2 (and all their derivate SKUs like Small Business Server) out of the box talk IPv6. Note: Server Core installations do not have IPv6 enabled by default and are the one notable exception. The ...

Microsoft has included numerous features in Active Directory the last couple of years. Also, more and more technologies in products like Exchange Server, SharePoint Server and the Windows client (Windows Vista, Windows 7) have an Active Directory opt-in to store information in Active Directory. All this bountiful integration, however, comes with ...

Active Directory relies on accurate time for a number of reasons. One of this reasons is Kerberos authentication, which by nature can only cope with a difference in time (time skew) of five minutes between the Kerberos server and client. Now, don’t get me wrong. I think the time skew limitation and the overall Kerberos implementation as we know ...

Yesterday I needed to install a box with Microsoft Windows 2000 Server for some educational purposes. While installing this Operating System, which is nearly ten years old and nearly out of support, I noticed some differences, compared to installing Windows Server 2008. These changed made me feel a bit nostalgic, but I’m glad installing has been ...

While being involved with my company’s Hosted Messaging and Collaboration (HMC) implementation I ran into the Active Directory List Object Access Mode, set through the DS-Heuristics attribute. I decided to give you a little rundown of this mode and the other (default) Active Directory Visibility mode, how they’re different, how to enable (and ...