“Try next closest site” group policy – the DC Locator in Windows
With Windows Vista / 7 / 8 the “DC Locator Algorithm” has been improved. However, it needs to be activated by a group policy (GPO) first. The article will tell […]
Redirecting the containers “Users” and “Computers” in Windows Active Directory domains
The Standard “Users” and the standard “Computers” container (in which new objects are to be created in default) can be easily changed with Windows standard applications. Benefits, requirements and the […]
Kix Script – After renaming an AD group InGroup does not work anymore
Many administrators use KiXtart and have developed their own login script. The script checks group memberships of the users during the log-in process to connect network drives, assign printers and […]
Empty password in Active Directory despite activated password policy
Lately we found a security gap in Active Directory. We noticed that some accounts in Active Directory were active, but contained an empty password. This should not be possible if […]
Active Directory Nested Groups: Overview group nesting
After looking for the Microsoft KB article on Active Directory Group Nesting for the umpteenth time today, because I wasn’t sure on a particular issue, I decided to create a […]
Create Microsoft Excel documents per scheduled task with PowerShell
We were recently faced with the task of automatically filling an Excel 2010 document with PowerShell on a Windows 2008 R2 Server. If you are not using a english system, […]
Phantom Objects in Active Directory
Infrastructure Master Role and Global Catalog Microsoft recommends not making the domain controller with the infrastructural master role the Global Catalog server. But this recommendation applies only for these cases: […]
Active Directory: establishing dynamic security groups
Dynamic security groups are now possible in Active Directory. Dynamic distribution groups already exist in MS Exchange Server. So far they cannot be used to assign permissions to AD objects. […]
Remote access via SQL Server Management Studio on SQL Express Server
SQL Server Express Edition is normally installed without the simultaneous installation of the SQL Server Management Studio. At the latest, when you need to Set user permissions or Access via […]
Track changes of AD objects with REPADMIN
Timestamps and changes of AD objects can be made visible with REPADMIN A well-known problem for many administrators: An error occured and when questioned what has been changed – of […]
Dynamic AD Groups
Dynamic Entra ID Groups
