At its core, Active Directory is a database designed to store a multitude of objects. Each of these objects has hundreds of attributes, or properties, attached to them. Some attributes are automatically filled when the object is created. For example, the displayName attribute will automatically have the name of the object in it. Other attributes, like the comment field or description are left blank. These blank comments allow you to easily extend the database scope to your own nefarious purposes! 
With a few scripts, you can setup Active Directory Inventory for Hardware. With PowerShell, you can then query or manipulate this data in nearly any way! Continue reading
Category Archives: Active Directory
This category contains any Active Directory related posts.
Internet Explorer Maintenance Replacements: Migrate Now!
Good riddance to Internet Explorer Maintenance! For years, IE Maintenance has been so easy to setup but so difficult to troubleshoot or remove. The worst thing is that it looks like a policy but acts like a preference. Your first step to migrating off IE Maintenance is to get a list of any GPO that has that CSE configured. Your next step is to decide between administrative templates or Group Policy Preferences. Here is what you need to know to get full use out of Internet Explorer Maintenance Replacements:
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3 Changes to Active Directory Users and Computers
It is fast becoming common knowledge that Microsoft will not be making one size fits all tools anymore. Instead, they will provide the basic tools and PowerShell support to automate/extend specific tasks. For proof of this, look no further than Office 365 or any other hosted Microsoft Service. But this change is good! IT Administrators can extend their tools to their environment. While Active Directory Users and Computers (ADUC) is an older tool, you should still modify it to fit your organization. Today, we will cover 3 changes you should make.
Gathering Active Directory Mobile Phone Attributes
“How can I import numbers into the Active Directory mobile phone attribute?” That was the most common question to the Reset User Password with Self Service blog post. While it would be easy to do this with a massive CSV, that method still means you (the IT Administrator) will have to maintain it. Today, I have two automatic ways for you – both delegate the work to the end user and allow you to keep working on cooler things!
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Updating Software with Group Policy
Updating software with Group Policy is the most difficult aspect of GPSI. To make things complicated, the software you are upgrading may not have been deployed with Group Policy to begin with! So what is an administrator to do? How can we avoid blowing our legs off when we upgrade? Follow these steps and find out!