SafeSenders, BlockedSenders and the Mystery of Misclassified Emails
- Alexander Zammit 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...

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...

Working with PST Capture
- Alexander Zammit 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
- Alexander Zammit 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...

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...

Think Twice before Installing Exchange 2010 /Hosting
- Alexander Zammit 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
- 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...

Exchange Server 2010 Native Data Protection - Part 2
- Vladimir Meloski Sep 27, 2011
Email Item Retention does not allow for the recovery of items deleted from the Recoverable Items folder. Today we see how this issue is addressed using the new Exchange 2010 Single Item Recovery functionality. Read more...

Integrating Lync 2010 with Exchange 2010 - Part 3
- Paul Roman Sep 06, 2011
Exchange 2010 Unified Messaging brings voice and e-mail messaging into one place. Integrating Lync with Exchange we get a voice solution that replaces and is dramatically better than standard PBX solutions. Read more...

Integrating Lync 2010 with Exchange 2010 – Part 2
- Paul Roman Aug 23, 2011
One of the coolest features resulting from Exchange 2010 and Lync 2010 integration is to have access to presence and instant messaging in OWA. Today we continue our discussion doing just that. 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...

Integrating Lync 2010 with Exchange 2010 – Part 1
- Paul Roman Aug 02, 2011
Exchange 2010 and Lync 2010 are designed to improve communication and collaboration within the enterprise. The two are designed to work together but certain steps are required to integrate them together. 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...

Exchange 2010, Outlook 2002 (XP), Plain Text don’t mix
- Alexander Zammit 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...

Exchange Server 2010 Native Data Protection - Part 1
- Vladimir Meloski Jun 07, 2011
Exchange Server 2010 brings new features that allow companies to protect their emails without performing any backups. These features introduce the concept known as Exchange Native Data Protection, formerly known as Backup-less Exchange Organization. Read more...

Exchange 2010 Hosting Part 2 - The Easy Way
- Paul Roman Apr 14, 2011
Today we discuss the second alternative to implementing an Exchange 2010 hosting infrastructure, a setup that can give significant hardware consolidation advantages. This installation method was introduced in Exchange 2010 Service Pack 1. Read more...

Exchange 2010 Mailbox Server Backup and Restore Part3
- Vladimir Meloski Mar 29, 2011
Today we complete our walkthrough the process of backing up and restoring data from an Exchange 2010 Mailbox Server using the Windows Backup included in Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2. We restore a mailbox, a mailbox database and mailbox server. Read more...

Exchange 2010 Hosting Part 1 - The Hard Way
- Paul Roman Mar 08, 2011
Hosting multiple Organizations on a single Exchange Infrastructure can give significant hardware consolidation advantages. Exchange 2010 has greatly simplified the setup of such an environment, giving us two implementation options, the hard and the easy way. Today we go down the hard way... Read more...

Datacenter Activation Coordination (DAC) mode - Part 1
- Tariq M. Jaber Feb 24, 2011
Today we discuss Datacenter Activation Coordination, and see how this is used to prevent mounting a mailbox database that is currently active and mounted at another Database Availability Group (DAG) member. In other words, preventing the split brain syndrome. Read more...

Configuring Transport Rules from OWA/ECP
- Alexander Zammit 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...

Active Manager – The Exchange 2010 High Availability Brain
- Tariq M. Jaber Jan 04, 2011
In this Article I’ll talk about the Active Manager which is a role running on each mailbox server in Exchange 2010. It performs database operations on Database Availability Group (DAG) members and checks the Active Directory topology on each mailbox server. Read more...

Exchange 2010 Mailbox Server Backup and Restore Part2
- Vladimir Meloski Dec 16, 2010
Today we continue our walkthrough the process of backing up and restoring data from an Exchange 2010 Mailbox Server using the Windows Backup included in Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2. In this part we focus on restoring a deleted email item. Read more...

Exchange 2010 Mailbox Server Backup and Restore Part1
- Vladimir Meloski Dec 09, 2010
Today we start an article series describing the process of backing up and restoring data from an Exchange 2010 Mailbox Server using the Windows Backup included in Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2. In this part we discuss the Backup procedure. 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...

Improved Mailbox Import/Export in Exchange 2010 SP1
- Kenneth Spiteri Aug 24, 2010
In this article we’ll look at the new import and export mailbox improvements in Exchange 2010 SP1. We look at what is required to carry out the process and walkthrough a mailbox import/export operation to/from a PST file. 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...

An Overview of Exchange 2010 SP1
- Kenneth Spiteri Jul 08, 2010
As with most Microsoft service packs, SP1 aims to be a collection of security enhancements and bug fixes, as well as a few noteworthy new features that didn’t make it into the first Exchange 2010 release. Read more...

Exchange Server 2010 Role Based Access Control (RBAC)
- Tariq M. Jaber Jun 29, 2010
In this Article I’ll talk about Role Based Access Control (RBAC), the new permission granting model introduced in Exchange Server 2010. Using RBAC we grant administrators the exact set of permissions required, without handing any additional rights. Read more...

Exchange 2010 Personal Archive: End the PST Nightmare!
- Kenneth Spiteri Jun 15, 2010
Exchange 2010 Personal Archiving was one of those features that helped the latest Exchange release hit the headlines. Today we explore how to employ this feature and take a look at the advancements to be included in SP1. Read more...

Exchange 2010 Database Availability Group (DAG)
- Tariq M. Jaber May 25, 2010
In this article we will explain the new Exchange 2010 high availability feature; Database Availability Group (DAG). An overview, how it works and how to deploy a highly available Exchange 2010 environment. Read more...

Adding photos to the Exchange 2010 Global Address List
- Kenneth Spiteri May 11, 2010
Seeing the photo of users addressed in an email, allows us to more quickly recognize the persons we are interacting with. Apart for Outlook gaining in user friendliness, this can also help pinpoint emails that were addressed to the wrong recipient. Read more...

Exchange 2010 Import-Mailbox and Export-Mailbox
- Alexander Zammit 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...

Working with Exchange 2010 Calendar Repair
- Elie Bou Issa Mar 09, 2010
If you encountered calendar inconsistencies, with the new Calendar Repair Assistant you don’t need to worry any longer. Introduced in Exchange 2010, CRA fixes discrepancies between the meeting organizer and attendees. Read more...

Upgrading from Exchange 2003 to 2010
- Vladimir Meloski Feb 25, 2010
In this article we will describe the process of upgrading an Exchange organization from version 2003 to 2010. We start from the introduction of the first Exchange 2010 server and complete it with the decommissioning of the last Exchange 2003 server. Read more...

Administrator Audit Logging in Exchange 2010
- Elie Bou Issa Feb 11, 2010
All Exchange 2010 administrative tasks are performed through the execution of cmdlets. This is true for both the Shell and the Console interfaces. Thus, auditing cmdlet execution allows us to record and track the administrative changes taking place within Exchange. Read more...

Disclaimers in Exchange 2010
- Elie Bou Issa Jan 21, 2010
In this article, we will see how disclaimer rules in Exchange 2007 will coexist with other disclaimer rules created in Exchange 2010. In addition enhanced disclaimers in Exchange 2010 give us the ability to add basic HTML code and Active Directory attributes. Read more...

Exchange 2010 E-Discovery (Multi-Mailbox Search)
- Amit Tank Dec 08, 2009
With mailboxes full of business critical information, e-discovery is another significant advancement in Exchange 2010. It can be used by administrators on troubleshooting issues, by auditors during compliance audits or by lawyers in legal matters. Exchange 2010 came up with a seamless in-built solution. Read more...

Understanding MailTips Architecture
- Amit Tank Nov 19, 2009
Exchange Server 2010 is the first messaging server that delivers MailTips, a great feature that minimizes information overload and notifies users before sending potentially damaging emails. Read more...

Exchange 2010 OWA - Exchange Control Panel
- Alexander Zammit 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...

Moderating Emails in Exchange 2010
- Kenneth Spiteri Oct 15, 2009
Exchange 2010 offers yet another great feature that helps organizations enforce their information protection and control policy. Email moderation allows a designated moderator to manually approve or reject emails before completing delivery. Read more...

Overview of MailTips in Exchange 2010
- Kenneth Spiteri Sep 29, 2009
We’ve all sent messages to someone only to be notified that that person is away or his mailbox is full. The latest Exchange Server helps prevent time wastage and other potentially more problematic situations by notifying us upfront. Read more...

Exchange 2010 Online Mailbox Move, a Deep Dive
- Amit Tank Sep 22, 2009
Mailboxes are inaccessible when moved across servers, causing major pain in any Exchange transition or migration project. One step ahead, Exchange 2010 delivers a new feature to move mailboxes while keeping them online to end users. Read more...

Installing Exchange 2010 Beta
- Alexander Zammit 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
- Alexander Zammit 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...