Ryan Oistacher

Blog Posts – PolicyPak

Windows 10x vs. Windows 10 We’ve all grown accustomed to the incremental changes in Windows 10. Twice a year, Windows 10 deals with a new feature or setting to manage Group Policy or MDM. Is that all we can expect from Windows? Well, there is a sizable change coming in ... Read More

What is Modern Desktop Management? Desktop management is a mature administrative IT task that goes back at least 20 years, with the advent of Group Policy. It filled a key need: enabling IT administrators to enforce user and computer policies at a large scale for network-connected devices. Administrators were able ... Read More

Windows CSP: Simple Tips That’ll Save Your Bacon The majority (66%) of companies today have started some transition or co-management to the cloud. The goal is to digitally transform the enterprises of the companies. While the basic network concepts may be similar, the cloud is a different beast. It uses ... Read More

What is Microsoft Endpoint Manager (MEM)? It is a wonderful thing when new initiatives benefit both the company behind the implementation and the customers it serves. Such is the case with the announcement at Ignite 2019 that ConfigMgr and Intune are being merged together to form a single management conglomerate ... Read More

Build A Zero Trust Model by Killing Local Admin Rights Words mean something. The words we use change over time, reflecting the transitory nature of our notions and thoughts at large. For thirty years, we embraced the concept of networking as a way to “share” things. Sharing reflects openness and ... Read More

Microsoft has placed a lot of emphasis on security with Windows 10. They have introduced so many tools, including Device Guard, Credential Guard, and Windows Security Center, that it can get a bit confusing determining the role for each one. The fact that Microsoft also changes the names of some ... Read More

Preventing Sodinokibi Ransomware and similar strains require a combination of software and knowhow. In this blog, we’ll review both, so you can confidently build out your cybersecurity program. Cost of Ransomware The cost of Ransomware is rising astronomically. According to an article published by Bankinfosecurity.com, the average ransomware payment increased ... Read More

Windows Virtual Desktop (WVD) is not Hyper-V or a rehabilitated version Windows Virtual PC. It doesn’t even install on your local machine like VMware Workstation or VMplayer. Rather, WVD lets you deploy and scale virtualized Windows desktops and apps on Azure Windows Virtual Desktops. If you’re looking for more information ... Read More

Domain Join or not to Domain Join, a Lurking Question The case to domain-join or non-domain join is the decision network administrators and domain administrators must make for work and school networks. For many years, domain-joined was “the way” that enterprises chose to secure and manage their Windows domains. It ... Read More

Let’s talk about Windows Update for Business. Windows updates are one of the significant responsibilities of a Windows systems administrator. Without updates, you leave your systems vulnerable to attacks, bugs, and merely staying behind. The question is: How do you manage Windows updates in the ever-changing landscape that is the ... Read More