About the Authors
Jill Spealman, a technical writer and instructional designer, is the owner of Word-
smith, Inc., a Chicago-area company that develops training materials. Jill has written six
training and certification books for Microsoft Press on Microsoft Windows NT and
Microsoft Windows 2000, and she has received national awards for these works from
the Society for Technical Communication. She has 16 years of experience developing
documentation and training, and has worked for Thomson NETG, Wallace, Waste Man-
agement, Rockwell FirstPoint Contact, GAB Robins, and National Forwarding.
Kurt Hudson is an instructor, author, and consultant for computer technologies. In
recent years, he has concentrated on the areas of computer networking, Active Direc-
tory, integrating UNIX and Microsoft Windows, and computer security. Kurt regularly
teaches summer programs at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona. He also
has taught several courses through Microsoft Research for several other universities,
including the University of Colorado (Boulder), Texas A&M, Duke University—Fuqua
College of Business, the University of Iowa, the University of California (San Diego), the
University of Virginia, the University of North Carolina, Kansas State University (Manhat-
tan), Case Western Reserve University, and the University of Florida (Gainesville).
Kurt has earned many technical certifications, including Microsoft Certified Systems
Engineer (MCSE in Windows 2000, Windows NT 4.0+I, and Windows NT 3.51),
Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator (MCSA), Cisco Certified Network Associate
(CCNA), Certified Technical Trainer (CTT+), Security+, Network+, A+, and i-Net+. He
also has a graduate degree in business management (Masters of Management) from
Troy State University in Troy, Alabama. Further, he has written many books on com-
puter-related topics and contributed to numerous other publications.
Melissa Craft (CCNA, MCNE, MCSE, Network+, CNE-3, CNE-4, CNE-GW, CNE-5, CCA)
is the vice-president and CIO for Dane Holdings, Inc., a financial services corporation
in Phoenix, Arizona, where she manages the Web development, LAN, and WAN for the
company. During her career, Melissa has focused her expertise on developing enterprise-
wide technology solutions and methodologies focused on client organizations. These
technology solutions touch every part of a system’s lifecycle, from assessing the need,
determining the return on investment, network design, testing, and implementation to
operational management and strategic planning. In 1997, Melissa began writing maga-
zine articles on networking and the information technology industry. In 1998, Syngress
hired Melissa to contribute to an MCSE certification guide. Since then, Melissa has con-
tinued to write about various technology and certification subjects.
Melissa holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan and is a member of
the IEEE, the Society of Women Engineers, and American Mensa, Ltd. Melissa currently
resides in Glendale, Arizona, with her family, Dan, Justine, and Taylor.