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Oliver Buchannon
Cole Vane

cybersec engineer | Lab-tested GPOs for AD hardening

About Me


I work in the cybersecurity industry in Central Europe and focus primarily on hardening Microsoft environments. Like many others, I started out in the help desk and then worked as a sysadmin for several years before my deep passion for security led me to share the knowledge I gain every day as a cybersecurity engineer in real-world environments with the goal of making the IT world safer.

My qualifications include several Microsoft security certifications, as well as CompTIA and eJPT.

Far more important, however, is the knowledge I’ve gained over the years through hands-on experience in real-world environments.Thank you for being here; it really means a lot to me.

How to Disable LLMNR, NBT-NS and mDNS via Group Policy (and Why They're Still Open in Most Environments)

One GPO change closes a credential theft vector that's been sitting open for years.

Apr 16, 2026

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2 min read

Service accounts with 2012 passwords still run your domain. ⚠️

Covering: gMSA setup, Kerberoasting defense, and the GPO you forgot.

Apr 14, 2026

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6 min read

Microsoft is killing RC4. Here's what breaks if you're not ready. ⚠️

If you haven't checked RC4 usage in your enviroment, Microsoft will make you find out what happens if you don't soon.

Apr 7, 2026

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6 min read

NTLMv1 Is Probably Still Running Even With LMCompatibilityLevel Set to 5

The fix is a two-step process audit first, then enforce. Most environments skip the first part entirely.

Mar 31, 2026

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2 min read

Most AD environments fail at least 6 of these 25 checks

Score yours in 3 minutes. Free interactive checklist.

Mar 28, 2026

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4 min read

🔑 Your RDP sessions are wide open to interception. Here is the fix.

Deploying proper certificates to your RDP hosts takes about 30 minutes and stops MITM attacks cold.

Mar 24, 2026

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4 min read

LLMNR and mDNS are on by default. Hackers know this. ⚠️

One GPO change closes a credential theft vector that's been sitting open for years.

Mar 24, 2026

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3 min read

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