PowerShell

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PowerShell, Piping and Exchange Online Mailbox Management

PowerShell uses a concept called pipelining to combine two or more cmdlets to perform a cohesive task. The PowerShell pipeline combines singularly useful cmdlets together to process data. Used intelligently, the pipeline is a great way to process data through a series of steps to automate common administrative operations. Mastering the pipeline, or at least becoming comfortable with pipelining cmdlets, is an essential skill for anyone using PowerShell to manage Microsoft 365 tenants.

April 27, 2022

How to Figure Out What Microsoft Graph Permissions You Need

The Microsoft Graph operates on a least permission model, which means that developers are forced to ask for permissions for the actions they wish to perform. This is a very different approach to the way traditional PowerShell modules work, so it's an area to focus on when converting scripts which use cmdlets from the Azure AD and MSOL modules to the Microsoft Graph PowerShell SDK. In this article, we look at four ways to find out what permissions are needed to perform different actions and explain how the Graph use the permissions.

April 12, 2022

Building Exchange 2019 Lab Environments

Exchange Server on-premises organizations need somewhere to test scenarios for updating, testing configurations, and running occasional “what-if” testing. This article provides guidance on notable alternatives for delivering suitable Exchange 2019 lab environments - without breaking the bank.

March 30, 2022

Creating New Microsoft 365 Accounts with PowerShell

It's common to find a requirement to create new Microsoft 365 accounts with PowerShell. We're at a point of transition when the old method of using the Azure AD module will switch to the Microsoft Graph PowerShell SDK or Graph API queries. In this article, we explain how to create new accounts and assign licenses with both the Azure AD module and the Microsoft Graph PowerShell SDK.

March 21, 2022

Why Using App Secrets in Production is a Bad Idea

As many organizations adapt legacy scripts to use app authentication instead of traditional service account credentials, security can be compromised if certain risks are overlooked. While app secrets can be great for testing code, there’s a reason they have an enforced expiry date - the longer a secret exists in production, the higher the risk it will become compromised. The methods described in this article will help build a good foundation for app authentication while keeping security top of mind when creating or updating automation scripts.

February 16, 2022

Attack Simulation Training: RBAC and End User Notifications

Attack Simulations are Microsoft’s foray into a crowded field of competitors who provide a service that trains users to recognize dangerous email with simulated Phishing or malware-infested messages. Microsoft has continually added features and functionality since they released Attack Simulations, including additional simulation types, different payloads, custom payloads, customizable training and more. The most recent upgrades are RBAC permissions and end user notifications. These two additions to Attack Simulation Training are a great incentive to deploy and adopt this functionality, as End User communications are the key enhancement that make this feature worthwhile for an organization.

February 15, 2022