M.Sc. in Blockchain and DLTs
Focused on Blockchain and DLT technologies. Especially interested in Smart Contracts, Privacy and Zero Knowledge Proofs (ZKPs).
See some of my work here:
https://github.com/kaxxa123
Experienced in software design, development, and project management. Developed various commercial applications primarily as a backend developer.
Languages: Solidity, TypeScript+Node.js, C/C++, C#
Technologies and Frameworks – Whatever it takes to solve the problem at hand, including Hardhat, Foundry, Slither, Mythril, Echidna, Nethereum, NBitcoin, Coinbase/Binance REST Integration, .NET, Win32, SQL, DNS, MIME.
Experienced in working with technical documents in the ZKP space and Email related RFCs.
Articles from Alexander Zammit
Installing .Net Framework 3.5 on Windows 2019
Category -
General,
Install/Upgrade
| Feb 07, 2019
The venerable .NET Framework 2.0 up to version 3.5 are still very much in use today. Software developers don’t feel compelled to migrate their tried-and-tested code. Thus administrators end up needing this Framework even on their spanking new Windows 2019 servers.
Read more...
Exchange 2019 Installation Screenshot Walkthrough
Category -
Install/Upgrade,
Exchange 2019
| Jan 17, 2019
Would you like to see what the Exchange 2019 installation looks like? Here are the screenshots of every step...
Read more...
Video - Composing & Sending Mailshots in Office 365
Category -
General
| Dec 18, 2018
Here is a video walk-through for creating and submitting our first mailing. In this demo we create a new email template, connect it to our sales database and send out a follow-up email to our clients.
Read more...
Video - Installing the Office 365 Mailer
Category -
General
| Dec 04, 2018
Office 365 users have a dedicated client for sending mailshots and newsletters. Here is a video showing you how to install the mailer and claim the free license.
Read more...
Exchange 2016 CU 8 Install-AntiSpamAgents.ps1 NOT FIXED
Category -
Anti-Spam,
Exchange 2016
| Jan 09, 2018
Last November I wrote about a problem in Exchange 2016 CU7 Install-AntiSpamAgents.ps1. Now that Exchange 2016 CU8 is available I tested the update to see if there was any progress.
Read more...
Exchange 2016 CU 7, Install-AntiSpamAgents.ps1 Script Fails
Category -
Anti-Spam,
Exchange 2016
| Nov 02, 2017
The latest Exchange 2016 Cumulative Update (CU7), is causing unnecessary trouble when installing the built-in anti-spam agents. Running Install-AntiSpamAgents.ps1 fails. Here are the details of this problem and how to avoid it.
Read more...
A Great Free Tool for Sending Mailshots in Office 365
Category -
General
| Oct 24, 2017
How about an Office 365 tool that makes sending mailshots as intuitive as sending regular emails? We prepare an email template in a WYSIWYG editor, attach it to a database, test the mailing and submit it for delivery. All of this using a tool available for free.
Read more...
SafeSenders, BlockedSenders and the Mystery of Misclassified Emails
Category -
Anti-Spam,
Exchange 2010,
Exchange 2013,
Exchange 2016
| Sep 26, 2016
Outlook SafeSenders, BlockedSenders lists often catch administrators unprepared. Users have the power to directly configure how spam is filtered at the server. Luckily Exchange provides for managing these settings from the shell.
Read more...
Creating an Outlook Profile in Exchange 2013
Category -
Install/Upgrade,
Exchange 2013
| Sep 15, 2015
Creating an Outlook Profile used to be a fairly trivial matter. However things got complicated with Exchange 2013. Today I document how I create Outlook profiles and overcome the error: Outlook must be online or connected to complete this action.
Read more...
Exchange 2016 and the return of Exchange 2003
Category -
General
| May 12, 2015
Exchange 2016 is no longer providing multiple Exchange roles. Instead everything is packaged in a single server.
Read more...
Exchange 2013 CU5 fixes SP1 Transport Agent Problems
Category -
General,
Exchange 2013
| Jun 05, 2014
The Transport Agent problems caused by Exchange 2013 SP1 are now fixed in Cumulative Update 5.
Read more...
Getting 3rd Party Applications to work with Exchange 2013 SP1
Category -
General,
Exchange 2013
| Mar 12, 2014
The highly anticipated Exchange 2013 SP1 release has unfortunately caused many 3rd party Exchange add-ons to stop working. In some cases the same problem is also blocking the Exchange Transport service from starting! Luckily the solution is just one FixIt wizard away.
Read more...
This is Exchange 2013, ISVs Not Welcome!
Category -
General,
Exchange 2013
| Aug 06, 2013
How about breaking your application every three months or so? Even better dear ISV, it’s only your application that will break not mine! If you like the idea please develop an Exchange 2013 Transport Agent!
Read more...
Video - Exchange 2013 Anti-Spam Part 6 - Content Filter (cont.)
Category -
Anti-Spam,
Exchange 2007,
Exchange 2010,
Exchange 2013
| Jul 25, 2013
Today we continue configuring the Content Filter. We override the Global SCL Thresholds with per mailbox thresholds, configure a list of phrases that identify legitimate and spam emails, add a list of recipient exceptions and customize the SMTP rejection response.
Read more...
Video - Exchange 2013 Anti-Spam Part 5 - Content Filter
Category -
Anti-Spam,
Exchange 2007,
Exchange 2010,
Exchange 2013
| Jun 19, 2013
The Content Filter blocks emails containing content typically found in spam emails. Here we learn about the Spam Confidence Level rating system and the configuration of filtering thresholds.
Read more...
Video - Exchange 2013 Anti-Spam Part 4 - Sender ID Filter
Category -
Anti-Spam,
Exchange 2007,
Exchange 2010,
Exchange 2013
| May 20, 2013
Sender ID filtering works in tandem with SPF records to catch sender address spoofing. We continue our video series with a look at how this filter works and configure the most important options from the management shell.
Read more...
Video - Exchange 2013 Anti-Spam Part 3 - Recipient Filter
Category -
Anti-Spam,
Exchange 2007,
Exchange 2010,
Exchange 2013
| Apr 23, 2013
Our video series continues with Recipient Filtering. On our agenda we have the setup of a recipient block list, blocking recipients not present at the Address Book, Tarpitting and testing the filter using telnet.
Read more...
Video - Exchange 2013 Anti-Spam Part 2 - Sender Filter
Category -
Anti-Spam,
Exchange 2007,
Exchange 2010,
Exchange 2013
| Apr 09, 2013
Today we continue our Exchange 2013 anti-spam video series with Sender Filtering. Our agenda includes, setup of sender block lists, blocking of emails having an empty sender and testing the filter using telnet.
Read more...
Video - Exchange 2013 Anti-Spam Part 1 - Installation
Category -
Anti-Spam,
Exchange 2007,
Exchange 2010,
Exchange 2013
| Mar 26, 2013
In this video series we go through the spam filtering functionality available in Exchange 2013 RTM. In this part we install the anti-spam agents, configure the list of internal SMTP Servers and learn to work with list parameters.
Read more...
Exchange 2003, 2007, 2010, 2013 Junk Email Folder
Category -
Anti-Spam,
Exchange 2007,
Exchange 2010,
Exchange 2013
| Feb 06, 2013
Starting from the Exchange 2003 Intelligent Message Filter, an annoying problem with managing the Junk Folder enablement switch surfaced. The Exchange 2007 Content Filter inherited the same problem. Finally after many years, Exchange 2010 gave this story a happy ending!
Read more...
Recalling Emails from Outlook 2013, 2010, 2007, 2003
Category -
General,
Exchange 2007,
Exchange 2010,
Exchange 2013
| Feb 04, 2013
We all do mistakes, and when we do a bad one it is good to be able to make things right. Today we talk of email blunders, those that make us want to take the message back. Just for this purpose Outlook provides the Recall Message feature.
Read more...
Exchange 2013 Malware Protection - Part 2
Category -
Security,
Exchange 2013
| Jan 22, 2013
The Exchange 2013 Management Shell provides a number of scripts and cmdlets for administering Malware Protection. When it comes to managing filter updates or enabling/disabling the filter the shell is our only administrative interface.
Read more...
Exchange 2013 Malware Protection - Part 1
Category -
Security,
Exchange 2013
| Dec 18, 2012
Since Exchange 2003 we grew to expect basic email hygiene to be include out-of-the-box in every new Exchange release. Today we look at the way Exchange 2013 is evolving in this area starting from the new malware protection.
Read more...
VIDEO - OWA Message Recalling
Category -
General,
Exchange 2007,
Exchange 2010
| Nov 20, 2012
Up till recently, there was no direct way to recall messages from the Exchange 2007/2010 Outlook Web App. This gap is being filled by an add-on that brings the ‘Recall This Message’ functionality to the browser interface.
Read more...
Exchange 2013 Administration Center in Pictures (Part 3)
Category -
General,
Exchange 2013
| Oct 16, 2012
Today we conclude our Exchange 2013 Administration Center tour. Here we cover the categories Public Folders, Unified Messaging, Servers, and Hybrid. Highlighted changes include the relocation of Public Folders to the Mailbox Database store.
Read more...
Exchange 2013 Administration Center in Pictures (Part 2)
Category -
General,
Exchange 2013
| Sep 27, 2012
Today we continue our Exchange 2013 Administration Center tour. Here we cover the categories Organization, Protection, Mail Flow, and Mobile. Some of the new features included under these categories are the Apps and Anti-malware filtering.
Read more...
Exchange 2013 Administration Center in Pictures (Part 1)
Category -
General,
Exchange 2013
| Sep 13, 2012
Exchange 2013 has a brand new administrative interface, the Exchange Administrative Center EAC. This replaces the Exchange Management Console with a web-based interface. Exchange can now be administered using the browser from any machine without having to install anything extra.
Read more...
Learning Transport Agent Pipeline Tracing Hands-on (Part 2)
Category -
General,
Anti-Spam,
Exchange 2007,
Exchange 2010
| Jun 26, 2012
There is no better way to learn about pipeline tracing other than the practical way. Here we setup more test scenarios to see the trace output for a rejected email. We also see the results produced by an email matching the IP Allow list.
Read more...
Learning Transport Agent Pipeline Tracing Hands-on (Part 1)
Category -
General,
Anti-Spam,
Exchange 2007,
Exchange 2010
| Jun 12, 2012
Pipeline tracing opens a window into the email transport. It uncovers the email modifications carried out by transport agents. Non-Delivery Reports (NDRs) and other Exchange generated emails can also be exposed in this manner. Here we learn how to use pipeline tracing by example.
Read more...
Working with PST Capture
Category -
ExMerge,
Exchange 2010
| Apr 17, 2012
We introduced the PST import tool Microsoft made available last January in Installing PST Capture. In the first part we looked at the installation requirements and walked through the installation of the Central Service and the Agent components. Today we take a look at the configuration options and walk through an import.
Read more...
Installing PST Capture
Category -
ExMerge,
Exchange 2010
| Mar 27, 2012
PSTs have troubled Administrators for many years. So Microsoft tools dealing with PST management are certain not to go unnoticed. Today we take a look at PST Capture, a tool that Microsoft acquired and is now making available for free.
Read more...
Recalling Emails Directly from Outlook Web Access/App
Category -
General,
Exchange 2007,
Exchange 2010
| Jan 26, 2012
MS Exchange 2007/2010 Outlook Web Access lacks the ability to recall emails sent in error, even though this functionality has been available in Outlook for many years. A new OWA extension is making up for this omission, bringing the web interface closer to Office Outlook.
Read more...
Think Twice before Installing Exchange 2010 /Hosting
Category -
Exchange 2010,
Install/Upgrade
| Oct 25, 2011
Exchange 2010 Service Pack 1 introduced the /hosting installation mode for deploying multitenant Exchange Servers. One service pack later the hosting story is taking a new twist, users are now being advised to hold back from /hosting installations!
Read more...
Sure Fire Exchange Message Recalling
Category -
General,
Exchange 2007,
Exchange 2010
| Oct 13, 2011
Imagine sending out a highly confidential email to the wrong recipient. Instead of panicking you confidently open the email from the Outlook Sent Items folder and click 'Recall This Message...' certain that this is going to work.
Read more...
Message Recall Success! ...kind of
Category -
General,
Exchange 2007,
Exchange 2010
| Aug 09, 2011
Ever wondered what a successful recall notification really means? Today we answer this question as we continue discussing the inner workings of native Exchange/Outlook message recalling. We also explore some less known conditions that cause recall failure.
Read more...
How Exchange Message Recalling Works
Category -
General,
Exchange 2007,
Exchange 2010
| Jul 07, 2011
So you just sent an email in error. Quickly reach for Outlook’s Recall This Message, and luckily minutes later a successful recall confirmation is returned. Today we see how Exchange message recalling works and start going through the conditions for a recall to succeed.
Read more...
Exchange 2010, Outlook 2002 (XP), Plain Text don’t mix
Category -
General,
Exchange 2010
| Jun 23, 2011
Be warned that Exchange 2010 does not support the Office XP, Outlook 2002 client. From my experience I know that many still use Office XP. So today we discuss one problem that may cause some headaches if you decide to go ahead and run these two together.
Read more...
The Case against Employing Multiple DNSBLs
Category -
Anti-Spam
| May 24, 2011
Are you one of those who subscribed to a long list of DNSBLs to filter spam? Is that the most effective approach? What’s the point of using other filters when there are so many freely available DNSBLs?
Read more...
Configuring Transport Rules from OWA/ECP
Category -
General,
Exchange 2010
| Feb 16, 2011
Exchange 2010 SP1 is further extending the web based administrative interface. When it comes to day-to-day administration, more than ever the Exchange Control Panel is providing an effective alternative to the Management Console and Shell interfaces.
Read more...
Email Auto-Whitelisting Pitfalls
Category -
Anti-Spam
| Jan 27, 2011
Auto-Whitelisting is a powerful email hygiene tool. As often happens, power can only be effectively applied if coupled with the necessary control functionality. In today’s article we discuss the hidden traps of sender auto-whitelisting.
Read more...
Guess Who is Cheating Email Retention
Category -
General,
Anti-Spam,
Exchange 2007,
High Availability,
Exchange 2010
| Nov 18, 2010
A retention policy determines the length of time emails are to be saved before final deletion. However enforcing the policy without leaving gaps may be trickier than expected. Today we look at how many Organizations fail to apply the policy to all their emails.
Read more...
Anti-Spam Reverse DNS Testing
Category -
Anti-Spam
| Oct 26, 2010
Reverse DNS (rDNS) queries are very often employed to identify email servers that are incorrectly configured. Failing such a test, results in many emails being rejected. Today we discuss how to setup DNS in order for our email servers to pass this test.
Read more...
VIDEO - Integrating Foreign Spam Filters into Exchange
Category -
Anti-Spam,
Exchange 2007,
Exchange 2010
| Sep 21, 2010
Can foreign spam filters lacking Exchange Integration route spam to the Outlook Junk Folder? What about applying Outlook Safe Senders? If you are running SpamAssassin or any other filter that does not directly plug into Exchange, this article shows how integration is easy to achieve.
Read more...
Quarantine and Reporting for Exchange IMF/Content Filter Agent
Category -
Anti-Spam,
Exchange 2007,
Exchange 2010
| Jul 27, 2010
Professional Reporting and Moderation is often associated with the more expensive anti-spam solutions. WinDeveloper is challenging the trend, providing this functionality for the built-in Exchange 2003/2007/2010 anti-spam.
Read more...
Exchange 2010 Import-Mailbox and Export-Mailbox
Category -
ExMerge,
Exchange 2010
| Mar 25, 2010
Exchange 2010 introduced significant changes in the usage requirements of the Import-Mailbox and Export-Mailbox cmdlets. If performing brick level backups, or migrating mailboxes with the help of PSTs, this article will get you started.
Read more...
Exchange 2010 OWA - Exchange Control Panel
Category -
General,
Exchange 2010
| Oct 27, 2009
The Exchange 2010 OWA is exposing a new administrative interface. In the process OWA went through a name change and what we used to call "Options" became the Exchange Control Panel (ECP). Here is how OWA is venturing into the realm of user administration.
Read more...
Tarpitting in Exchange 2007
Category -
Anti-Spam,
Exchange 2007
| Aug 20, 2009
One small but important improvement in Exchange 2007 was the out-of-the-box enablement of tarpitting. Today we visit Recipient Filtering and tarpitting in Exchange 2007 looking at the relevant configuration elements of this tandem.
Read more...
Address Rewriting in Exchange 2007
Category -
General,
Exchange 2007
| Jul 27, 2009
Exchange 2007 Edge includes two address rewriting agents. Today we look at how this works considering a number of different scenarios. We also check some similarities between address rewriting and email sender spoofing.
Read more...
Video - Getting Started with the Exchange 2007 Content Filter
Category -
Anti-Spam,
Exchange 2007
| May 29, 2009
If starting to explore the Exchange 2007 anti-spam Content Filter, this 10 minute video will walk you through the salient configuration steps. The agenda includes installing the Content Filter, Configuring thresholds, and managing the Junk Email Folder.
Read more...
Installing, Configuring Exchange 2007 Edge Server (Part 2)
Category -
Exchange 2007,
Install/Upgrade
| May 07, 2009
The EdgeSync service glues together the internal Exchange 2007 servers to the perimeter Edge servers. This is achieved whilst retaining the necessary isolation between the two network segments.
Read more...
Installing Exchange 2010 Beta
Category -
Exchange 2010,
Install/Upgrade
| Apr 28, 2009
Did you install Exchange 2010 beta? Today we walk through the installation steps and look at the facts relevant to get you started.
Read more...
Exchange 2010 from Beta to Final All in 2009
Category -
General,
Exchange 2010
| Apr 20, 2009
Exchange 2010 beta is now publicly available and will be final in a matter of a few months. This includes various improvements that will be especially tempting to the large Exchange 2003 user base. Let’s see if Exchange 2010 is worth the upgrade.
Read more...
Installing, Configuring Exchange 2007 Edge Server (Part 1)
Category -
Exchange 2007,
Install/Upgrade
| Mar 27, 2009
The DMZ is a network segment where security considerations dominate the choice of what gets installed. Exchange 2007 is considered by many to be the first DMZ friendly release. Today we start installing an Exchange 2007 Edge server and look at what makes Edge a good DMZ citizen.
Read more...
Sniffing User Credentials and more
Category -
General,
Security
| Mar 12, 2009
Network sniffing provides a plethora of information useful in troubleshooting and identifying security weaknesses. Today we look at a practical example by extracting user credentials from a network capture.
Read more...
Video - Configuring IMF Archive Management Tools
Category -
Anti-Spam
| Feb 26, 2009
The Exchange 2003 Intelligent Message Filter allows the archiving of filtered spam. A number of free archive managers are available for reviewing and if necessary resubmitting emails. This video tutorial walks through the basics of installing, configuring and using these tools.
Read more...
Sniffing with Microsoft Network Monitor
Category -
General,
Security
| Feb 17, 2009
If the Exchange Queue Viewer or Message Tracking is not showing you enough, the Microsoft Network Monitor might be the right addition to your diagnostic and troubleshooting arsenal. Here is how to start capturing the information most relevant to you.
Read more...
Replacing the Exchange 2007 Self-Signed Certificate (Part 2)
Category -
General,
Exchange 2007
| Jan 20, 2009
Installing a new Certificate involves, creating a Certificate request on Exchange 2007, submitting the request to a Certification Authority and installing the returned Certificate on Exchange. Here is how we went about completing these steps.
Read more...
Replacing the Exchange 2007 Self-Signed Certificate (Part 1)
Category -
General,
Exchange 2007
| Jan 13, 2009
Exchange 2007 makes ample use of Certificates for securing connections from clients and across servers. Starting with a self-signed Certificate, chances are that you will need to replace this with a Certificate issued by a public or private Certification Authority CA.
Read more...
Understanding NDRs and other DSN Reports
Category -
General,
Anti-Spam
| Dec 02, 2008
NDR Spam exploits servers that too hastily accept responsibility for emails they cannot deliver. Understanding NDRs and other DSN types help us act on legitimate DSNs and discard spam.
Read more...
Exchange 2007 Content Filter Updates
Category -
Anti-Spam,
Exchange 2007
| Oct 28, 2008
Microsoft provides three types of anti-spam updates for Exchange 2007. Today we see how this evolved from the Exchange 2003 IMF update system. We also see how to enable updates and how to make sure that the latest updates are in-place.
Read more...
Mind Your Language (charset) Spammer!
Category -
Anti-Spam
| Sep 16, 2008
The email character set can be useful in filtering foreign spam. Today we see how character sets relate to languages, how SMTP emails conveys non-English text and how this information can be used in filtering spam.
Read more...
What’s New in Windows Small Business Server 2008?
Category -
General
| Jul 15, 2008
Windows Small Business Server 2008 is to be released in the second half of this year. If you have been looking forward to catch up with the latest releases for the Windows OS, Exchange and SQL this might be your next upgrade.
Read more...
Expired Exchange 2007 Certificate
Category -
General,
Exchange 2007
| Jun 17, 2008
If your Exchange 2007 is nearing its first birthday, there is a good chance you will soon come across some event log warnings concerning the expiry of an internal transport certificate. If you ignore these, users will start chasing you!!
Read more...
Installing Exchange 2007 SP1 on Windows 2008 RTM
Category -
Exchange 2007,
Install/Upgrade
| May 21, 2008
Now that Windows 2008 reached final release many will want to install Exchange 2007 on the new platform. I did this recently and ran into a problem that had me restart the whole installation all over again to get it sorted.
Read more...
Exchange 2007 Pickup and Replay Directories
Category -
General,
Exchange 2007
| May 06, 2008
The Exchange 2000/2003 Pickup directory in Exchange 2007 evolved into the Pickup and Replay directory pair. Today we see how these provide an improved interface for submitting emails through disk.
Read more...
Import-Mailbox Problems with Outlook PSTs
Category -
ExMerge,
Exchange 2007
| Apr 17, 2008
Some users are discovering that the import-mailbox cmdlet has problems with importing emails from an Outlook generated PST. Today we reproduce this problem and identify some stopgap solutions.
Read more...
Anti-Spam Golden Rules – Reject if You Can
Category -
Anti-Spam
| Mar 18, 2008
Which is the most appropriate method to filter emails classified as spam? We answer this question comparing the characteristics of rejection, deletion, centralized quarantining and per mailbox junk folders.
Read more...
Exchange 2007 IP Allow List Inherits Old Problems
Category -
Anti-Spam,
Exchange 2007
| Feb 25, 2008
The Exchange 2007 IP Allow List is supposed to whitelist emails allowing them to bypass the anti-spam Content Filter. However just like in Exchange 2003 this is not always the case.
Read more...
Spam Wave Exposing IMF Achilles' Heel
Category -
Anti-Spam,
Exchange 2007
| Feb 06, 2008
A new spam wave is currently giving some headaches to Exchange 2003 IMF and Exchange 2007 Content Filter users. Today we look at the root cause of this problem and look at some stopgap measures.
Read more...
The Exchange 2007 Content Filter Agent
Category -
Anti-Spam,
Exchange 2007
| Jan 24, 2008
The Exchange 2007 Content Filter Agent replaces the Exchange 2003 Intelligent Message Filter. Based on the same SmartScreen technology, the new filter offers a very similar feature set adding some key improvements.
Read more...
Anti-Spam Golden Rules – Don’t Whitelist Your Domain
Category -
Anti-Spam
| Jan 10, 2008
Have you learnt lessons when configuring an anti-spam product that you would recommend others to follow? Today we start a column of practical tidbits that could make all of the difference when configuring a filter.
Read more...
Replacing ExMerge by Import-Mailbox and Export-Mailbox
Category -
ExMerge,
Exchange 2007
| Dec 19, 2007
For many years ExMerge provided for importing and exporting of mailboxes to/from PSTs. The Exchange 2007 SP1 cmdlets are now ready to take over the job bringing some improvements, but also disappointing in some areas.
Read more...
Welcome to the Revamped ExchangeInbox
Category -
| Nov 27, 2007
Welcome to the new ExchangeInbox.com! In the new site we tried to improve the esthetics and also to render it more interactive.
Read more...
IMF Archive Management Tools
Category -
Anti-Spam
| Nov 22, 2007
IMF Archiving dumps blocked emails to disk. As the archive grows, verifying these emails quickly becomes a challenge unless one of the archive management tools is employed.
Read more...
Ready for Exchange 2007 SP1?
Category -
General,
Exchange 2007
| Nov 12, 2007
The wait for Exchange 2007 SP1 is almost over. Standby Continuous Replication, many OWA improvements, the complete return of Public Folders, native PST import/export are just some of the new features.
Read more...
Checking RBL Provider Policies
Category -
Anti-Spam
| Oct 16, 2007
Would you trust someone external to your organization to set a critical email policy for you? Someone who gives you a free, no obligations service, to decide who can or cannot send you emails?
Read more...
IIS Problems Following an IMF Update?
Category -
Anti-Spam
| Sep 27, 2007
The installation of IMF updates causes an IIS Admin service restart. Sometimes I come across reports of the service staying down requiring a manual start. Check this article before concluding the IMF update is broken.
Read more...
Plain Text Authentication Exposed
Category -
Security
| Sep 06, 2007
Exchange allows the use of plain text authentication for inbound and outbound SMTP email. Employing telnet we test for the availability of this authentication method, and expose its key weakness.
Read more...
Authentication Primer
Category -
Security
| Aug 30, 2007
The value of our virtual identity grows with every service we subscribe to. Acting as a bridge between the real and virtual world, Authentication is there to verify the credentials linking us to our virtual identity.
Read more...
The Intelligent Message Filter 10x Better
Category -
Anti-Spam
| Aug 23, 2007
WinDeveloper recently released IMF Tune version 3. The product promises to give the Intelligent Message Filter a functionality leap, transforming it into a complete enterprise grade anti-spam solution.
Read more...
Relieving Exchange 2007 Transport Back Pressure
Category -
General,
Exchange 2007
| Jul 31, 2007
The Exchange 2007 Transport includes functionality to monitor the consumption of critical resources. Known as Back Pressure, the functionality may limit or halt email flow completely. Our task is that to keep the pressure low.
Read more...
Using ExMerge with Exchange 2007
Category -
ExMerge,
Exchange 2007
| Jul 24, 2007
ExMerge does work with Exchange 2007. Even if your Organization is exclusively composed of Exchange 2007 boxes, ExMerge can be employed to import to and export from PSTs.
Read more...
Upgrading to Exchange 2007 (Part 2)
Category -
Exchange 2007,
Install/Upgrade
| Jun 26, 2007
Getting Exchange 2007 to coexist with Exchange 200x allows for a more gradual upgrade. The ability to rely on some Exchange 200x functionality could enable us to start the upgrade process without having to wait for SP1.
Read more...
Upgrading to Exchange 2007 (Part 1)
Category -
Exchange 2007,
Install/Upgrade
| Jun 19, 2007
An Exchange 2007 upgrade must be planned so as to retain full functionality and minimize downtime. In this upgrade we moved a single Exchange 2003 to a mixed configuration whilst retaining OWA public folder access and third-party applications running on Exchange 2003.
Read more...
Maintaining User AD Information with Directory Update
Category -
General
| Jun 12, 2007
Maintaining Active Directory User information up-to-date can be a time consuming task. Directory Update enables users to directly maintain their own settings. An alternative relieving us from this burden is certainly worth exploring.
Read more...
Four Exchange Vulnerabilities Fixed on Patch Tuesday
Category -
Security
| May 09, 2007
Microsoft just released details and fixes for four vulnerabilities affecting Exchange versions 2000, 2003 and 2007. The vulnerability classification varies from Important to Critical, demanding immediate action.
Read more...
Fixing the Junk Email Folder the Hard Way
Category -
Anti-Spam
| Apr 10, 2007
There are cases where the Junk Email Folder functionality for the Intelligent Message Filter just won't work. If IMF is correctly configured, if the Junk Email folder is enabled, then it is time to use bad manners.
Read more...
Filtering POP3 Emails with IMF
Category -
Anti-Spam
| Apr 03, 2007
The Microsoft Intelligent Message Filter is known to only process inbound SMTP emails. However with the right configuration, IMF will also process emails from other protocols such as those downloaded over POP3 or IMAP.
Read more...
Extracting Information from Active Directory (Part 2)
Category -
General
| Feb 27, 2007
An Active Directory export may easily return an overwhelming number of results. Filtering the exported objects, limiting the set of returned properties, and loading the data in Excel or Access allows us to stay in control.
Read more...
Extracting Information from Active Directory (Part 1)
Category -
General
| Feb 13, 2007
Active Directory stores various Exchange configuration settings. If we need a list of email addresses, domain controllers, or legacy DNs for ExMerge, the Active Directory export tools will do the job.
Read more...
Appending Disclaimers Using Exchange 2007 Hub Transport Rules
Category -
General,
Exchange 2007
| Jan 23, 2007
Exchange 2007 Hub Transport rules provide us with centralized email processing. Inserting disclaimers is one possible application. We look at how to configure this whilst exploring the functionality transport rules provide.
Read more...
Ensuring Exchange Is Not an Open Relay
Category -
Anti-Spam
| Jan 16, 2007
Leaving an email server open to relaying hurts the domain reputation. Once listed in public RBLs and private block lists recovering can be costly. Luckily securing Exchange against relaying is easy.
Read more...
Extracting ExMerge Processing Results
Category -
ExMerge
| Dec 14, 2006
Batch processes often rely on ERRORLEVEL tests to determine whether a call completed execution successfully. However ExMerge does not expose its processing result in this manner. Today we bridge this gap.
Read more...
Testing Exchange through Telnet
Category -
General,
Anti-Spam
| Nov 28, 2006
Exchange includes various settings determining how SMTP emails are to be handled. Here Telnet becomes an excellent testing tool, providing a direct way to verify everything is functioning as expected.
Read more...
IMF Update Tips
Category -
Anti-Spam
| Nov 21, 2006
Should Intelligent Message Filter Updates be tested before adoption? Will they cause any downtime? Here are the answers that will allow you to confidently keep IMF updated.
Read more...
Telnet Port 25
Category -
General
| Oct 30, 2006
Telnet allows submitting emails to any SMTP server manually. Stepping through the SMTP protocol is an excellent opportunity to test and troubleshoot an email server. Here is what any email administrator should know.
Read more...
Real-Time Block Lists in Exchange 2003
Category -
Anti-Spam
| Oct 12, 2006
Real-Time Block Lists identify hosts from which spam and other unwanted emails are distributed. Our journey will cover understanding how RBLs work, some tips on selecting the list provider, and Exchange 2003 configuration.
Read more...
Use and Abuse of Anti-Spam White/Black Lists
Category -
Anti-Spam
| Sep 21, 2006
White and Black lists are often the first line of defence against spam. However trivial the configuration may appear, each list type has some unique characteristics defining their scope and potential effectiveness.
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Exchange 2007 Messaging Record Management
Category -
General,
Exchange 2007
| Sep 12, 2006
Exchange 2007 introduces Messaging Record Management, broadening the scope of automated mailbox processing. Here is what MRM brings and how to configure it in Beta 2.
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Complete ExMerge Command-Line Control
Category -
ExMerge
| Aug 15, 2006
The command-line is the right interface to take full advantage of ExMerge. Here we combine it with ldifde.exe and exmergeini.exe to configure mailbox processing and facilitate batch process integration.
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Intelligent Message Filter v2 Operations Guide
Category -
Anti-Spam
| Jul 13, 2006
The IMFv2 Operations Guide is now available! Packed with information this is a must read for Exchange 2003 administrators. Here is our review, including a few gotchas to be aware of.
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Meeting the ExMerge Requirements
Category -
ExMerge
| Jul 11, 2006
Getting ExMerge to run may involve a little journey. Firstly a number of installations are required to satisfy all dependencies. Next the user account must be assigned the necessary access rights.
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Time to Trash the Outlook Security Administrative Package
Category -
Security
| Jun 27, 2006
Do you hate the Outlook Security Administrative Package (AdmPack)? Six years from the birth of the Outlook Security lockdown a new administrative interface is on the horizon.
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When IMF Skips Email Processing
Category -
Anti-Spam
| Jun 13, 2006
Why is the Intelligent Message Filter not processing emails? On searching for possible causes, we find incorrect configuration settings, unsupported usage scenarios, and broken Intelligent Message Filters.
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Migrating to Small Business Server 2003
Category -
General
| May 23, 2006
Migrating from SBS 2000 to SBS 2003 can be surprisingly difficult. The migration procedure supplied by Microsoft requires you to construct a completely new domain. Here is how this migration went about.
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Looking at IMF through the Performance Monitor
Category -
Anti-Spam
| May 02, 2006
Whether you want to visualize the Intelligent Message Filter filtering activity, or even analyze a possible threshold adjustment, the Performance Monitor can provide valuable feedback.
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Stress Testing Exchange - Hunting for Bottlenecks
Category -
General
| Apr 18, 2006
Stress testing is typically associated with the design of complex Exchange configurations. Even if you never do it, understanding the factors affecting performance and resource consumption, arms you with better troubleshooting skills.
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Sender and Recipient Filtering Don't Care of IP Accept Lists
Category -
Anti-Spam
| Apr 05, 2006
Exchange 2003 provides a fair mix of anti-spam technologies. Taking most features one by one, the configuration is intuitive and straight forward. Nevertheless once we move a step further from the basic configuration scenarios some unexpected surprises await unwary administrators.
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Tar Pitting Directory Harvesting Attacks
Category -
Security,
Anti-Spam
| Mar 22, 2006
Exchange 2003 Recipient Filtering can eliminate spam addressed to invalid recipients. Nevertheless unless we are careful this can make us easier target for directory harvesting attacks.
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Microsoft Revving Up for Exchange 12
Category -
General,
Exchange 2007
| Mar 16, 2006
Despite Exchange 12 Betas are not freely available yet, Microsoft is preparing to get the community ready. Exchange 12 will bring more and more functionality. Indeed with a formidable competitor like Exchange 2003 it cannot be otherwise.
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The Intelligent Message Filter as an Additional Filtering Layer
Category -
Anti-Spam
| Feb 23, 2006
Many organizations adopting the Intelligent Message Filter already have other anti-spam solutions in place. Adding IMF to the picture offers the opportunity to further harden spam filtering. Here are the key points relevant to effectively deploy IMF as the second line of defense.
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Happy Birthday ExchangeInbox
Category -
| Feb 15, 2006
ExchangeInbox is one year old! This is the right opportunity to thank all those supporting the site in one way or another. Seeing the site growing and evolving is a great pleasure.
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Connection Filtering IP Accept List in Exchange SP2
Category -
Anti-Spam
| Jan 24, 2006
Getting the Connection Filtering IP Accept List to work became trickier since Exchange SP2. IPs configured to bypass the Intelligent Message Filter, sometimes have no effect. Luckily the solution is around the corner.
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Troubleshooting IMF v2
Category -
Anti-Spam
| Jan 09, 2006
With Exchange SP2, the Intelligent Message Filter is being installed on every Exchange 2003 box. Today we identify the most common IMF v2 deployment problems and see how to best resolve them.
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Junk Email Folder for All Outlook Versions
Category -
Anti-Spam
| Dec 14, 2005
The Junk Email folder is often considered to be an Outlook 2003 feature. In reality, with Exchange 2003 this functionality is available to all Outlook versions. Nevertheless some differences and pitfalls do exist.
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Automatic Junk E-mail Folder Cleanup
Category -
Anti-Spam
| Nov 23, 2005
The Junk E-mail folder is a great spam filtering tool. Unfortunately many users forget emptying it, enabling spam to waste valuable storage space. Luckily automatic Junk E-mail cleanup is available, ready to be enabled.
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Sender ID and SPF are about Anti-Spoofing
Category -
Anti-Spam
| Nov 08, 2005
Since the release of SP2, Sender ID and SPF are in the limelight. But can't a spammer also publish an SPF record? And what happens when no SPF record is published?
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SP2 Intelligent Message Filter a Major Step Forward
Category -
Anti-Spam
| Oct 25, 2005
The new Intelligent Message Filter shipping with SP2 is expected to be a lot more effective. The reason for this is not a new feature! Indeed this important advancement has so far been overshadowed by the new flashy SP2 features.
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Is MS05-048 an Important or Critical Exchange Security Update?
Category -
Security
| Oct 12, 2005
The severity of bulletin MS05-048 CDO Remote Code Execution vulnerability is being classified as Important. Nevertheless this in reality is a Critical update for many Exchange 2000 Organizations.
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Integrating any Anti-Spam Filter into Exchange
Category -
Anti-Spam
| Sep 27, 2005
Can SpamAssassin filter emails to the Outlook Junk Email folder? What about applying Outlook Safe Senders/Recipients and Blocked Senders to an anti-spam firewall appliance? Is it possible for anti-spam solutions running on Linux gateways to integrate with Exchange just like the Intelligent Message Filter does?
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Exchange 12 to Break Many Exchange 2000/2003 Add-Ons
Category -
General
| Sep 19, 2005
Microsoft announced details on the API support for the upcoming Exchange release. The details show that many server-side Exchange 2000/2003 add-ons will require recoding.
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Inside Phishing
Category -
Security
| Sep 06, 2005
Email is the number one delivery channel for spam, phishing scams, viruses, and other maleware. Various tricks are employed in order to ensure most emails reach their target recipient. Today we look at the latest phishing scam in order to highlight the set of tricks it adopts.
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Active Directory Health Check with AD Schema Diagnose
Category -
General
| Aug 18, 2005
Exchange extends Active Directory in order to host its configuration objects. The forestprep schema extension is what enables this integration. Today we look into this process, the type of problems we might encounter and some available troubleshooting tools.
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Centralizing Junk Email Folder Administration
Category -
Anti-Spam
| Jul 28, 2005
Each Exchange mailbox has its own Junk Email configuration settings. Administering multiple mailboxes, setting a consistent configuration, quickly becomes challenging. We need tools to centrally administer these settings.
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Making Sender ID a De Facto Standard
Category -
Anti-Spam
| Jul 13, 2005
Microsoft is making a coordinated effort to push forward the SPF/Sender ID technologies. This is paving the way for wide spread adoption bypassing any arguments against its standardization.
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Enabling/Disabling the Junk Email Folder
Category -
Anti-Spam
| Jul 06, 2005
Enabling/disabling the Junk Email folder can become tricky. Some Administrators complain that emails remain unfiltered despite enabling it. Others who want it disabled claim that emails are still being filtered. Today we search for the reasons behind this confusion.
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Bringing Together the Exchange Anti-SPAM Cocktail
Category -
Anti-Spam
| Jun 14, 2005
Ever wondered how many times an email is analyzed for all sorts of things? Today Exchange and Outlook on their own provide four layers just for SPAM filtering. Together these provide quite good protection but as we shall see using all of them might be unnecessary.
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When IISReset Kills
Category -
General
| May 17, 2005
IISReset is one of those dangerously powerful tools. In this little article I highlight the well known and also the less known risks of using this tool.
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What's in the Junk Email Folder?
Category -
Anti-Spam
| May 03, 2005
Junk Email folders give the opportunity to verify the emails being classified as SPAM. Users not performing verification might be causing loss of business. In this article we take a close look at this folder and see how organizations can improve the verification process.
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Windows 2003 SP1 is NOT for SBS
Category -
General
| Apr 21, 2005
We just updated our SP1 issue list with this important entry. Microsoft says that Small Business Server SP1 will be available in a few months time.
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MS05-021 PoC exploit code released
Category -
Security
| Apr 21, 2005
Just a week following the release of MS05-021, proof of concept exploit code was published by FrSIRT, the French Security Incident Response Team.
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Windows 2003 SP1 Exchange Issue List
Category -
General
| Apr 18, 2005
The new Windows 2003 Service Pack is at the top of the 'TO DO' list of many administrators. We are trying to compile a list of known issues of interest to Exchange administrators. Here is what we have on our list so far.
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Critical and Moderate Exchange Updates
Category -
Security
| Apr 13, 2005
Microsoft just released fixes for vulnerabilities within Exchange 2000 and Exchange 2003. The vulnerability could enable an attacker to take complete control of the system.
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IMF SCL Configuration - getting it right
Category -
Anti-Spam
| Feb 28, 2005
Correct SCL configuration is the key to a successful Exchange Intelligent Message Filter setup. With a good understanding of SCLs we can get the best results out of IMF. In this article I look at how to do this with the help of windeveloper IMF Tune, a freeware application released for this purpose.
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Microsoft Acquires Sybari, what's next?
Category -
General
| Feb 16, 2005
Microsoft's acquisition of Sybari is certainly the hottest news for February so far. It is no secret, Microsoft is moving into the security market. The acquisitions of anti-virus vendor GeCAD, the anti-spyware Giant Company Software and now Sybari all seem to be pieces of the same puzzle.
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Hardening Anti-SPAM Protection
Category -
Anti-Spam
| Feb 01, 2005
Spam is a moving target. Counter measures need to be flexible in order to keep up. In this article we look at overheads incurred by spam as a measure of whether the current spam protection is adequate. Different filtering technologies are studied within this context. Finally a layered filtering approach is proposed as a response to this challenge.
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Welcome to ExchangeInbox.com!!
Category -
| Feb 01, 2005
This site is dedicated to our favorite mail server MS Exchange. Our goal is to build an informative resource for the Exchange community from professionals who are first and foremost enthusiast of this platform.
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