Pat Richard

Many businesses incorporate a disclaimer or footer at the bottom of their outbound messages. These disclaimers often advise as to the limitation or ramifications of using information within the message for purposes other than they were intended, or to assert ownership of creative works contained in them. While there is always a debate as to…

In Part 1 of this series, we registered the XML files so that the Security Configuration Wizard could create an apply policies for Exchange 2007 servers and we installed the wizard in Windows. In Part 2, we created the policy and applied it to the local server. In this final part, we’ll look at applying…

In Part I of this series, we registered the XML files so that the Security Configuration Wizard could create an apply policies for Exchange 2007 servers. In this part, we’ll create and apply a policy to a server. It’s very important that all applications and utilities be installed on the server before running the SCW…

What is the Security Configuration Wizard (SCW)? The Security Configuration Wizard is a security tool that reduces the attack surface of an Exchange server by disabling unnecessary services, ports, features, and programs. Additionally, the wizard configures auditing and the Windows Firewall, secures network interfaces, and more. In doing so, we further secure a server to…

PowerShell introduces a substantial amount of flexibility and possibilities. With Microsoft introducing PowerShell in more products, we have the ability to perform tasks amongst several different resources, all from within a PowerShell window. Given the potential, it’s easy to spend a fair amount of time in PowerShell. It’s time now to make the environment a…

Why monitor the network? One of the hardest tasks to handle in a medium to large network is tracking various assets. This includes computers and their installed hardware, and installed software and related licenses. Fortunately, Lansweeper from Hemoco Software comes to the rescue with a simple to install, simple to use application. Using a small…

How can this help Exchange administrators? It’s often simple to not routinely keep an eye on our Exchange server as we attend to other tasks during our workday. Then, the phone rings, and it’s not good news. Fortunately, there is a simple tool that allows us to keep an eye on the server and potentially…

Installing the Windows prerequisites on Windows Server 2008 is a bit more involved than on Windows 2003. On Windows 2003, we installed IIS, MMC 3.0, the .Net framework, and PowerShell. The list of prereqs for Windows 2008 is longer, and is complicated by different needs for different roles. The Exchange product group has posted a…

Learn how to get Microsoft Exchange mailbox sizes in PowerShell in this step-by-step tutorial by the Petri IT Knowledgebase.

In this article, Microsoft Exchange MVP and author Pat Richard discusses moving the queue database in Exchange 2007 to help avoid back pressure. As Pat explains, back pressure can cause mail flow to stop. Moving the database can increase server stability and keep that help desk phone from ringing. Check it out! What is back…

How do I add the Outlook 2003 icon back to the desktop, just like the Outlook 2000/XP used to have? If you have installed Outlook 2003, you may notice that the launch icon is no longer placed on the desktop. This change was made because of the new “clean screen” strategy, which is one of…