Darren James

Active Directory

Password Management

Security

Darren James is a Senior Product Manager at Specops Software, an Outpost24 company. Darren is a seasoned cybersecurity professional with more than 20 years of experience in the IT industry. He has worked as a consultant across various organizations and sectors, including central and local governments, retail and energy. His areas of specialization include identity and access management, Active Directory, and Azure AD. Darren has been with Specops Software for more than 12 years and brings his expertise to the support and development of world-class password security and authentication solutions.

Articles written by Darren James

Apr

30

Setting Up Active Directory: Step-by-Step Guide for a Successful Implementation

Active Directory (AD) is the default directory service included in Windows operating systems. It’s the backbone of on-premises Windows network infrastructure, delivering efficient, centralized identity and access management. When a user signs into a domain-joined device, AD verifies their identity,…
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Feb

26

Cyber Essentials v3.3: What’s Changing for Identity and Device Security

On 27 April 2026, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) will introduce Cyber Essentials v3.3. While the five Cyber Essentials control areas remain largely the same, the updated wording and marking criteria will matter in practice, particularly when it comes…
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Jun

03

Introducing Specops Service Desk for Cloud (Entra ID)

The service desk has become a prime target for sophisticated social‐engineering campaigns. It’s never been more important to arm frontline support teams with the tools they need to verify every caller from a potential liability into a confirmed identity. So…
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Apr

08

Best practice guide for rolling out Specops Password Policy

Rolling out a new password policy without a plan is a recipe for disaster. You want to avoid a situation where all end users are prompted to change their passwords at the exact same time – triggering chaos for your…
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Apr

17

Cyber insurance requirements for Active Directory

If you’ve noticed that your organization’s cyber insurance premiums have increased over the last year, you’re not alone. With evolving cyber threats, the rise in ransomware attacks, and the ubiquity of hybrid and remote workforces, insurers are responding by raising…
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Feb

27

Keep MFA running during identity service disruptions

Specops Authentication is the MFA platform that secures password resets, and encryption key recoveries via self-service, and/or at the IT service desk. One of the unique features in the Specops Authentication platform is the flexible MFA. This feature keeps the…
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Feb

17

Impact of running Specops Password Policy on Active Directory

We are often asked about the technical impact of using our solutions on Active Directory (AD), and other services. In this blog post, we will look at the impact of Specops Password Policy and Breached Password Protection. See part 1…
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Feb

17

Impact of running Specops Password Auditor on Active Directory

Many organizations use Specops Password Auditor (SPA), Specops Password Policy (SPP), and Breached Password Protection (BPP) to help improve the security and password hygiene of their Active Directory (AD). They often run SPA first. Why not? It’s free (download from…
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Jul

27

How to find default passwords in Active Directory

What causes identical or default passwords in Active Directory, and how can you find them? A lot of organizations script the creation of new user accounts to standardize, simplify, and speed up the process. Unfortunately, this can also leave users…
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May

08

ICO’s take on password security

The UK has officially entered the Brexit transition period until the end of 2020, during which the GDPR will continue to apply. There are three possible outcomes after the transition period: the UK exits transition with no EU trade deal,…
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