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Practical technology, explained without the fluff
Pragmatic Perspective is a practical look at Microsoft cloud technologies, with a strong focus on Microsoft 365. It’s written from real-world experience and notes from the field not theory. The goal is to simplify complex topics and highlight what actually works. Occasionally, the perspective expands beyond the cloud. Sometimes broader tech. Sometimes strong opinions. Always pragmatic.
Understanding Secure Boot Certificate Updates: A Step-by-Step Guide
Secure Boot certificates are being updated ahead of their 2026 expiration to maintain trust at the firmware level. This post explains why the change is necessary, what it means for boot-level security, and how administrators can successfully deploy and verify the new certificates—particularly across large environments. Contents: What Is Secure Boot? What is changing in June 2026? Consumers and Home Users Organizations and Enterprises Intune - Error 65000 Working with the Regi
Automating Dell Software Updates with Dell Command Update and Intune
Making sure the devices have updated device drivers, firmware and software from the OEM is a natural part of any device management teams responsibilities. In this post I will demonstrate how to deploy and configure Dell Command Update with Intune to configure and automate devices updates. Contents: Obtaining Software Importing ADMX Templates Into Intune Configure Dell Command Settings in Intune Packaging .NET Windows Desktop Runtime Packaging Dell Command Update Verifying our
Understanding Secure Boot Certificate Updates: A Step-by-Step Guide
Secure Boot certificates are being updated ahead of their 2026 expiration to maintain trust at the firmware level. This post explains why the change is necessary, what it means for boot-level security, and how administrators can successfully deploy and verify the new certificates—particularly across large environments. Contents: What Is Secure Boot? What is changing in June 2026? Consumers and Home Users Organizations and Enterprises Intune - Error 65000 Working with the Regi
How to Create USB Installation Media and Inject Drivers for Your Device
I recently found a good deal on a Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition and I was curious to test the ARM experience, so i went for it. The laptop was preinstalled with Windows 11 Home and a little bit of bloatware, so I decided to reinstall the laptop with a clean copy of Windows 11 Pro, and also add the device into Microsoft Intune for device management. The Windows 11 media i used did not contain any drivers for the laptop keyboard or touchpad so i was unable to navigate th
Certificate Authentication Using Network Policy Server
In this post we will be installing Network Policy Server (NPS) on Windows Server 2019 in order to authenticate users/devices connecting to our corporate wireless network. Network Policy Server is Microsoft’s RADIUS implementation, and can be used to authenticate users or devices on a variety of services where VPN’s or Wi-Fi are usually the most […]
Two-Tier PKI Hierarchy – Part 3 – Auto Enrollment and GPO Settings
In this three part series, we will be expanding our lab environment with a Public Key Infrastructure using Active Directory Certificate Services. We will be installing two new servers, the first being our Root Certification Authority (LABCA01) and the second will be an Issuing Certification Authority (LABCA02) that will issue certificates to our servers and […]
Two-Tier PKI Hierarchy – Part 2 – Issuing Certificate Authority
In this three part series, we will be expanding our lab environment with a Public Key Infrastructure using Active Directory Certificate Services. We will be installing two new servers, the first being our Root Certification Authority (LABCA01) and the second will be an Issuing Certification Authority (LABCA02) that will issue certificates to our servers and […]
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