Premium OWA with Windows 8.1 Internet Explorer 11
- Kenneth Spiteri Oct 17, 2013
Exchange is having problems with the new Internet Explorer 11 included in Windows 8.1. IE11 is being served with the OWA Light interface, instead of the full blown OWA Premium. I tested various Exchange versions to check this problem and these were my findings. Read more...

Video - Exchange 2013 Anti-Spam Part 6 - Content Filter (cont.)
- Alexander Zammit 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
- Alexander Zammit 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
- Alexander Zammit 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
- Alexander Zammit 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
- Alexander Zammit 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
- Alexander Zammit 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
- Alexander Zammit 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
- Alexander Zammit 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...

VIDEO - OWA Message Recalling
- Alexander Zammit 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...

Learning Transport Agent Pipeline Tracing Hands-on (Part 2)
- Alexander Zammit 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)
- Alexander Zammit 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...

Going Back from Forefront 2010 Anti-Spam to the Exchange Content Filter
- Kenneth Spiteri May 24, 2012
Microsoft Forefront Protection 2010 for Exchange introduces a new content filter agent. For this to work the native Exchange 2007/2010 content filter is disabled. Uninstalling Forefront does not revert back the settings. Here is how we return the system to its original state. Read more...

Introducing Exchange 2007/2010 Anti-Spam Agent Logging
- Kenneth Spiteri Feb 28, 2012
When monitoring or troubleshooting the built-in Exchange 2007/2010 anti-spam filters, one less known feature that can make a lot of difference is agent logging. Today we start exploring this functionality and how to configure it. Read more...

Recalling Emails Directly from Outlook Web Access/App
- Alexander Zammit 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...

Sure Fire Exchange Message Recalling
- Alexander Zammit 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
- Alexander Zammit 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
- Alexander Zammit 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...

Guess Who is Cheating Email Retention
- Alexander Zammit 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...

Upgrading from Exchange 2007 to 2010
- Vladimir Meloski Oct 05, 2010
In this article we will describe the process of upgrading an Exchange organization from version 2007 to 2010. We start from the introduction of the first Exchange 2010 server and complete it with the decommissioning of the last Exchange 2007 server. Read more...

VIDEO - Integrating Foreign Spam Filters into Exchange
- Alexander Zammit 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
- Alexander Zammit 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 2007 Standby Continuous Replication - Configuration & Testing
- Tariq M. Jaber Jan 14, 2010
In this article we will explain Standby Continuous Replication (SCR); an overview, how it works and how to enable it. We finally test SCR by moving the Exchange service to the disaster recovery (DR) site. Read more...

Overview of Exchange 2007 Cluster Continuous Replication
- Kenneth Spiteri Nov 10, 2009
This article intends to give you an overview of Cluster Continuous Replication; a high availability feature introduced in Exchange 2007. We’ll look at what CCR is, the benefits of implementing it and the requirements. Read more...

Tarpitting in Exchange 2007
- Alexander Zammit 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...

Configuring Message and Mailbox Limits in Exchange 2007
- Kenneth Spiteri Aug 13, 2009
Imposing messaging limits on the Exchange Organization is something that many Administrators overlook. In this article we cover the importance of restricting message and mailbox size and walk through how to configure them in Exchange 2007. Read more...

Address Rewriting in Exchange 2007
- Alexander Zammit 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...

An Introduction to Exchange 2007 Backup and Recovery (Part 2)
- Kenneth Spiteri Jul 09, 2009
Today we focus on Exchange recovery, using the Windows Backup Utility (ntbackup.exe), recovering mailboxes and mailbox items, restoring an LCR database, as well as highlighting some points for planning and preventing a disaster. Read more...

An Introduction to Exchange 2007 Backup and Recovery (Part 1)
- Kenneth Spiteri Jun 23, 2009
Today we take a look at the different types of backup available, what and when to backup, Exchange 2007 Local Continuous Replication, as well as a demo of how to backup Exchange using the Windows Backup Utility (ntbackup.exe). Read more...

Working with the Exchange Management Shell
- Kenneth Spiteri Jun 09, 2009
The Exchange Management Shell provides a powerful administrative interface to the various Exchange 2007 configuration objects. Today we learn using this interface with the help of various practical examples. Read more...

Video - Getting Started with the Exchange 2007 Content Filter
- Alexander Zammit 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)
- Alexander Zammit 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, Configuring Exchange 2007 Edge Server (Part 1)
- Alexander Zammit 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...

Replacing the Exchange 2007 Self-Signed Certificate (Part 2)
- Alexander Zammit 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)
- Alexander Zammit 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...

Exchange Clustering Basics
- Nirmal Sharma Nov 20, 2008
What is Clustering? How do I cluster Exchange? Which components make up an Exchange Cluster? Today we answer these questions and more to kick start those new to this technology. Read more...

Exchange 2007 Content Filter Updates
- Alexander Zammit 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...

Inside Exchange Cluster Setup and Troubleshooting Tips (Part 6)
- Nirmal Sharma Oct 09, 2008
In the 6th and final part of this article series we look into the actual creation of Exchange Cluster Resources. We also go through the different setup log files and summarize the type of information available from here. Read more...

Inside Exchange Cluster Setup and Troubleshooting Tips (Part 5)
- Nirmal Sharma Sep 23, 2008
Today we continue our walk through the internals of the Exchange Cluster setup installation. We look at the cluster specific modules. How these are installed, the important role they play in a cluster environment and more troubleshooting tips. Read more...

Inside Exchange Cluster Setup and Troubleshooting Tips (Part 4)
- Nirmal Sharma Sep 04, 2008
Today we continue our journey into the Cluster setup process, looking into schema versioning and the schema extensions. We also see how setup detects that it is going to operate in a cluster environment. Read more...

Inside Exchange Cluster Setup and Troubleshooting Tips (Part 3)
- Nirmal Sharma Aug 28, 2008
So far we discussed the setup internal process before the installation of any Exchange Components for both cluster and non-cluster environments. In this section we discuss the Exchange Cluster installation internals and related troubleshooting tips. Read more...

Inside Exchange Cluster Setup and Troubleshooting Tips (Part2)
- Nirmal Sharma Aug 21, 2008
In this second part we complete the discussion covering what happens before the cluster installation starts. We look at more functions that verify all necessary requirements are satisfied for the Installation to proceed. Read more...

Inside Exchange Cluster Setup and Troubleshooting Tips (Part1)
- Nirmal Sharma Aug 14, 2008
The objective of this article is to explain the internal process behind the Exchange Setup and what happens when Exchange Setup detects that it is going to operate in the cluster environment. Read more...

Expired Exchange 2007 Certificate
- Alexander Zammit 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
- Alexander Zammit 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...

News: Update Rollup 2 for Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 1 Released
- Kenneth Spiteri May 09, 2008
Microsoft just released Update Rollup 2 for Exchange 2007 SP1. This includes various fixes ranging from correcting functionality to solving crashes. Read more...

Exchange 2007 Pickup and Replay Directories
- Alexander Zammit 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
- Alexander Zammit 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...

Exchange 2007 IP Allow List Inherits Old Problems
- Alexander Zammit 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
- Alexander Zammit 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
- Alexander Zammit 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...

Replacing ExMerge by Import-Mailbox and Export-Mailbox
- Alexander Zammit 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...

Download the Final Exchange 2007 SP1 Now!
- Kenneth Spiteri Nov 29, 2007
Exchange 2007 SP1 is now final! For both 32-bit and 64-bit SP1 follow this link, Exchange 2007 SP1 Download. Read more...

Ready for Exchange 2007 SP1?
- Alexander Zammit 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...

The Exchange 2007 Best Practices Analyzer
- Andrew Tabona Oct 30, 2007
Today we look at the Exchange 2007 Best Practices Analyzer tool which helps keep your Exchange server healthy and ensures you are configuring your server in line with Microsoft’s recommendations. Read more...

Understanding Exchange 2007 Queues
- Andrew Tabona Sep 18, 2007
Message Queues have changed drastically in the latest instalment of Exchange Server. Today we look at Queues in Exchange 2007; we'll look at what queues are, what different types of queues are available, and how to view them. Read more...

Setting Up Journaling in Exchange 2007
- Andrew Tabona Aug 14, 2007
Exchange 2007 gives more flexibility with more options available for what and how to journal communications. In this article we look at how to setup the two different methods of e-mail journaling. Read more...

Relieving Exchange 2007 Transport Back Pressure
- Alexander Zammit 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
- Alexander Zammit 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)
- Alexander Zammit 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)
- Alexander Zammit 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...

WebReady Document Viewing in Exchange 2007
- Andrew Tabona Jun 05, 2007
WebReady Document Viewing answers the many calls to allow the viewing of common attachment types without installing an application locally! Today we look at how to setup WebReady Document Viewing in Exchange 2007. Read more...

Appending Disclaimers Using Exchange 2007 Hub Transport Rules
- Alexander Zammit 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...

Exchange 2007 RTM
- Kenneth Spiteri Dec 09, 2006
The festive season started early this year at Microsoft and what a feast! First Office and Vista, now Exchange 2007. Yes the new Exchange is ready for prime time. After many months of betas and testing, Exchange 2007 is now final. Read more...

Exchange 2007 Messaging Record Management
- Alexander Zammit 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. Read more...

Installing Exchange 2007 Beta 2
- Kenneth Spiteri Aug 01, 2006
The next major Exchange release is getting closer. Beta 2 is now available for everyone to try. The installation immediately uncovers one area where Exchange 2007 is delivering significant improvements. Read more...

Microsoft Revving Up for Exchange 12
- Alexander Zammit 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. Read more...