Day 24 of #ITAdvent. And this concludes yet another run. I hope you found some usefull tips, I had a nasty cold so that might have had an impact. In any case, happy holidays and see you in the next year! And yes, I haven't forgotten that #MSExchange and Start-of-authority blog post ;-)
Day 23 of #ITAdvent. When I design, licensing is integral. Knowing what capability or #license is present in which bundle\add-on is important for cost estimates. A big help is the frequently updated #Microsoft365 Enterprise plan comparison table. Download PDF here: go.microsoft.com/fwlink/p/?Li...
Day 22 of #ITAdvent. In February 2026 #MicrosoftTeams will rollout Express Voice Enrollment and prompt users to opt-in. When the user choses to enroll the features enables improved voice isolation, speaker attribution in meetings rooms etc., ...
Day 21 of #ITAdvent. From February 2026, #MicrosoftTeams will remove #EXIF #metadata from shared photo's, which can include location. Good move as #Purview #DLP currently cannot use EXIF data in it's policies.
Currently on the #Microsoft365 Roadmap #542795 under www.microsoft.com/en-us/micros...
Day 20 of #ITAdvent. Unfortunatly too often I encounter environments that do not follow proper #security best practices with #Microsoft365 administrative accounts. Too often privileged roles are assigned to normal workforce identities, ...
Day 19 of #ITAdvent. One other consideration of using Automatic Certificate Management Environment or #ACME is that you also need to update your #TLSA #DNS record for #DANE. This record contains the #certificate thumbprint, binding that certificate and enabling clients to check URI authenticity.
Day 18 of #ITAdvent. While I like #Microsoft365 #Copilot and use it in my #MVPAward tenant, it also enables me to use some capabilities in other tenants even if I do not have a Copilot license there.
Day 17 of #ITAdvent: Get acquainted with Automatic Certificate Management Environment or #ACME. Due to coming changes in #certificate lifetime eventually be reduced to 47 days in 2029. I know orgs already struggle with 1yr... Let's also hope that software vendors are prepared for this as well.
Day 16 of #ITAdvent. In the coming months #Microsoft will roll-out Baseline Security Mode in #Microsoft365 (see #MC1193689 ). It's goal is to increase #security in a more admin friendly way. It can apply recommended settings or evaluate your current settings and whether they are at risk.
Day 15 of #ITAdvent: I like improving the #security of my personal devices & I like guides\frameworks and such. Recently I came across the Electronic Frontier Foundation (#EFF) Surveillance Self-Defense, a set of tips & guides to help protect yourself from whatever threatens your security & #privacy
Day 14 of #ITAdvent. It's Sunday, so another contemplative "tip". This hit me: Pratchett’s Vimes Theory of Boots explains why poverty is expensive: cheap boots cost less upfront but wear out quickly, forcing repeated purchases. Wealthier people buy durable boots once, saving money in the long run.
Day 13 of #ITAdvent. #Microsoft365 and #MicrosoftTeams admins will be able to customize the recording & transcript notification from January 2026. I whish I had this 5 years ago and didn't have to use Terms of Use Conditional Access policy to achieve something similar.
Promotional poster for Exchange Summit 2026 featuring Dave Stork and his talk on IAM and Exchange in hybrid organizations. Event dates: February 24–25, 2026 in Würzburg. Background includes email icons and a laptop with Dave’s photo.
Day 12 of #ITAdvent. Short low effort self-plug as I'm a bit under the weather: I'll be speaking (in English) at the excellent in-person event Exchange Summit 2026 in Würzburg, Germany on 24/25 February 2026.
#MSExchange #ActiveDirectory #EntraID #IAM #Hybrid
Day 11 of #ITAdvent. Starting January 7, 2026 #Microsoft will switch root #certificate in their #EntraID services. If you use certificate pinning, you should update this config. See on #Azure & certificates: learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/... and more on #MC1193408: mc.merill.net/message/MC11...
Day 10 of #ITAdvent. There is now a v6 of the #Microsoft365 Foundations CIS benchmark available since November 2025! The Center for Internet #Security (#CIS) is a non-profit org that publishes resources to harden your IT environments. See www.cisecurity.org/benchmark/mi...
Day 9 of #ITAdvent. This is an interesting change for #Microsoft365 #Copilot. In #MC1193290 Microsoft announces that per 7 jan 2026 #Anthropic will be the default model for many Copilot experiences instead of #OpenAI. More on Anthropic in Copilot: learn.microsoft.com/en-us/copilo...
Day 8 of #ITAdvent. #Microsoft announced #Microsoft365 pricing & feature changes. Yes, price increases but current plans also get new features, such as AI, Intune capabilities to E3\E5 and Security Copilot to E5 plans. You can read the announcement here: www.microsoft.com/en-us/micros...
Day 7 of #ITAdvent. For this Sunday a more contemplative tip. Recently, I had an unpleasant experience in my private life. Fortunately , I recognized what was happening, which which helped me drastically reduce its emotional impact. The specifics aren't important, but the tactic used is called DARVO
Day 6 of #ITAdvent. I recently learned the value of the simple but powerfull #Microsoft #Entra #Lifecycle workflow features. It supports your #IAM Joiner\Mover\Leaver processes. For instance, it can detect any membership changes and perform additional tasks when triggered.
Screenshot of Microsoft Certified Trainer certificate to Dave Stork. Having the logo on the righthandside. Below the text "You have successfully met all requirements and are recognized as a Microsoft Certified Trainer in the MCT Program." and "Membership Start : 4 December, 2025, Membership End : 31 December, 2026, Active MCT Since : 21 July, 2015"
Day 5 of #ITAdvent. I've renewed my #Microsoft Certified Trainer or #MCT ! While this is not my primary line of work, I like sharing knowledge & real-world experiences, beyond the #MOC curriculum. I'm not sure how my trainer future will look like, but if you are interested let me know. #Learning
Day 4 of #ITAdvent. I always appreciated the idea of Zero-Hour Auto-Purge (ZAP): removing malicious retroactively increasing #security. It works for #MSExchange and #MicrosoftTeams messages, but you needed Defender for O365 Plan 2, but that changes with #MC1187837 mc.merill.net/message/MC11...
Day 3 of #ITAdvent. Whatever you think of #AI, as a #Microsoft365 specialist you will get into contact with #Copilot. There is now a beta exam #AB900 "Copilot & Agent Administration Fundamentals" which looks interesting & I will probably take. See the study guide: learn.microsoft.com/en-us/creden...
Day 2 of #ITAdvent. Months ago #Microsoft posted #MC1155427 indicating #Microsoft365 will deprecate legacy #TLS #cipher suites lacking forward secrecy from October 20, 2025. Especially old devices or software might have issues. See more: mc.merill.net/message/MC11...
#ITAdvent again! For day 1 a discount on a subscription on the 2026 edition of the "Office 365 for IT Pros" eBook written by MVPs and industry experts. Updated frequently, always usefull
Use this link (valid until tomorrow!): o365itpros.gumroad.com/l/O365IT/Bla... #Microsoft365 #ebook
Last day of #ITAdvent! I made it! The last tip is more of a summarized strategy for 2025 when you are responsible for #Microsoft #MSExchange & #Outlook. There are a lot of (breaking) changes on the way you need to prepare & plan ahead.
Day 23 of #ITAdvent. More than a week ago I posted about the Junk Report button being integrated within Classic #Outlook. New Outlook & OotW (Outlook on the Web) already had that button. This would remove the need to deploy the reporting add-in in those clients.
#SimplifyNow #Security
Day 22 of #ITAdvent. There are no #Microsoft #MSExchange specific #certification available. Which unfortunately also means that there is less training offered, as they are based on Microsoft Official Courseware or #MOC. So, I sometimes see the question what options there are.
#SimplifyNow #Training
Day 21 of #ITAdvent. A reminder that #Microsoft will remove the #MSExchange Online RBAC ApplicationImpersonation role. It means that applications that rely on this role will stop working starting February 2025.
Day 20 of #ITAdvent. This week #Microsoft announced changes in the #MSExchange Online Message Trace capabilities. This is the tool you use to verify mail flow events; i.e. what happened to incoming or outgoing mail.
Day 19 of #ITAdvent. The Dutch Forum Standarisatie is a Dutch Advisory commity on IT open standards in order to easily and safeliy exchange data between government bodies, companies, non-profits and citizens. They maintain lists of mandatory and recommended protocols for at least governmental bodies
