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By John Hopkins | HopTechOne.com | October 2025 As part of my IT up-skilling journey, I decided to dive into virtualization with VMware Workstation (now free for business use) and Kali Linux—a powerful combo for security training and endpoint management labs. With my background in Fresenius IT support and a focus on secure device connectivity,…
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This project taught me Intune policy scoping, registry troubleshooting, DNS propagation, and domain management—skills directly applicable to healthcare IT (e.g., secure PACS access). Key tools: PowerShell, dsregcmd /status, MX Toolbox. Next on the to-do list: Recreate Intune policy and test regedit lockout & NotepadDenyUser policies for Eagle.Talon@HopTechOne.com. Finish AZ-900 Cloud Concepts module on https://learn.microsoft.com. Cost…
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Setup: Enabled guest access in Teams Admin Center; invited external@hotmail.com and external@gmail.com to teams/meetings. Issues: Gmail user needed Microsoft account creation; Hotmail user had empty “My Apps” (normal for guests). Fixes: Guided sign-in, granted SharePoint “Can edit” for file access. Admin: Managed teams/channels, assigned meeting policies, used Entra ID for guest roles. Key Takeaway: Guests…
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To brand the tenant professionally: Result: Emails now from @HopTechOne.com (e.g., JohnHopkins@HopTechOne.com). Registration: Namecheap (~$10/year) with Stellar hosting ($3/month) and free SSL. Verification: Added TXT record (MS=ms????????) in Advanced DNS; fixed CNAME for www. Email: Added MX, CNAME (autodiscover), SPF TXT; set as primary domain. Challenges: Propagation delays (24–48 hours), Namecheap lockout (resolved via support).…
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I created a Settings catalog policy to block regedit for Eagle.Talon: Issues: Policy blocked LocalAdmin unexpectedly (DisableRegistryTools = 2 in HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System). Eagle.Talon wasn’t blocked. Steps: Devices > Configuration > New policy > Settings catalog > “Prevent access to registry editing tools” Enabled, “Disable regedit from running silently” Yes > Assign to “NotepadDenyUsers”. Fixes: Removed legacy…
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The laptop was stuck at AzureAdJoined: NO and WorkplaceJoined: YES, blocking full Intune management. After removing the Workplace Join (dsregcmd /leave as SYSTEM via PsExec), I joined Entra ID: Intune Enrollment: Automatic via MDMUrl (https://enrollment.manage.microsoft.com/); device appeared as Compliant in Intune. GUI Method: Settings > Accounts > Access work or school > Connect > “Join…
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Before diving into Entra ID and Intune, I tried using a free Azure 30-day/$200 credit trial to host a Windows Server 2022 VM (TestVM) for lab work. What should have been quick setup turned into hours of frustration: The Switch: Realizing the free Azure trial lacked the integrated identity/tools for endpoint management, I pivoted to…
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Goal: Enroll the laptop in Intune, join Entra ID, and create a policy to block regedit.exe and notepad.exe for Eagle.Talon@HopTechOne.onmicrosoft.com (assigned to “NotepadDenyUsers” group), while allowing JohnHopkins@HopTechOne.onmicrosoft.com and LocalAdmin. Tools: Firefox, LastPass, PowerShell 7.5.3, PsTools, Microsoft Graph module. Challenges: AzureAdJoined: NO, Workplace Join conflicts, registry blocks on LocalAdmin, DNS propagation for HopTechOne.com. Multiple issues. Everything…
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By John Hopkins | HopTechOne.com | October 2025 With a background in Fresenius IT support and a passion for getting devices securely connected and talking with each other, I decided to build a hands-on lab to sharpen my endpoint management skills. This blog chronicles my TestVM project—setting up a Microsoft 365 Business Premium Pro tenant…
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Here are the top IT skills every tech professional should consider mastering for 2025 — along with why they matter and how you might get started. 1. Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Machine Learning (ML) Why it matters: Get started: Understand ethical implications of AI (bias, data privacy) Learn a language like Python (widely used for…