Exchange and Outlook UPDATE--December 8, 2005

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1. Commentary

- The Exchange Admin's Holiday Gift Guide

2. Peer to Peer

- Featured Thread: Checking Outgoing Email Messages

- Outlook Tip: Using a GPO with a Hotfix to Deploy a Safe Senders List

3. New and Improved

- Take Control of Email Management

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Editor's note: Share Your Exchange Discoveries and Get $100

Share your Exchange Server and Outlook discoveries, comments, or problems and solutions for use in the Exchange & Outlook Administrator print newsletter's Reader to Reader column. Email your contributions (500 words or less) to [email protected]. We edit submissions for style, grammar, and length. If we print your submission, you'll get $100.

==== 1. Commentary: The Exchange Admin's Holiday Gift Guide ====

by Paul Robichaux, Exchange Editor, [email protected]

I love holidays, and not just because they mean time off work. My family and I thoroughly enjoy the many traditions with which we celebrate (such as our chili dinner on Christmas Eve). I realized that I've written a holiday gift guide for Exchange Server administrators each year that I've been writing the UPDATE column, so I guess that makes it a tradition, too.

First, let me reiterate a popular pick from years past: Blair's Death Rain Habanero potato chips. I've probably received more mail about these chips than any other product or technology I've written about. (That proves my thesis that Exchange admins love spicy food more than the average IT professional does.) These fiery chips are hot enough to make you break out in a sweat, which makes them just right.

How about something free? I've been having a blast playing a free arcade-style game called Armagetron ( http://armagetron.sourceforge.net ), which replicates the lightcycle races from Disney's "Tron." The best thing about Armagetron is that you can have multiplayer battles on your LAN. Armagetron is nonviolent, easy to install, and fun. And best of all, the games are quick enough that you can squeeze them in between other more pressing activities, such as checking the shipping status of your Microsoft Xbox 360 order.

In the not-free-but-darn-close department, check out the bootable data-recovery utility CD-ROMs that you can fit onto a small USB flash drive. These CD-ROMs make terrific gifts, because they provide a last-ditch recovery mechanism that you can carry around on your keychain or in your purse. The UBCD4Win bootable CD-ROM ( http://www.ubcd4win.com ) is one good example, but plenty of others are available. Why do I say these devices aren't free? It takes time to assemble the necessary bits, because Microsoft frowns on selling prebuilt images of Windows. (Winternals Software also offers a terrific set of commercial recovery tools that you can buy, but they aren't cheap enough to qualify as good holiday gifts for most admins.)

What do you get the administrator who has everything? One potential solution is a seemingly unlimited supply of reading material, courtesy of a subscription to O'Reilly Media's Safari Bookshelf ( http://safari.oreilly.com ) service. The service has searchable, full-text versions of more than 3000 technical books that you can download to read offline. (I've written several books for O'Reilly, though the service also includes books from many other publishers.)

You can also make donations to many worthwhile charitable organizations in lieu of giving gifts. A few years ago, I was delighted when my sister gave me a duck. Actually, she made a donation to the Heifer Project International ( http://www.heifer.org ), which used the money to send a pair of ducks to a family in a developing nation. The family was able to breed more ducks to supplement its income. Instead of an impossibly dense fruitcake or a gift basket of crumbly cheese and mystery pseudo-sausage, why not give someone a bull, beehive, or water buffalo? Just think of the water-cooler gossip you can start!

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==== Events and Resources ====

(A complete Web and live events directory brought to you by Windows IT Pro: http://www.windowsitpro.com/events )

Web Seminar - Plan and Implement Highly Available Exchange Systems Register today: http://www.windowsitpro.com/go/seminars/exchange/?partnerref=1207emailannc

Web Seminar - Manage and Reduce Planned Downtime Register today: http://www.windowsitpro.com/go/seminars/downtime/?partnerref=1207emailannc

SOXCon 2005 - December 7, 2005 - 12:00 to 5:00 p.m. EST

THE FIRST AND ONLY Internet conference and vendor exhibition focused exclusively on the systems, processes, management methodologies, and best practices that comprise the Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance Management market. Register here and view the full day's agenda. Sign up today at http://w.on24.com/r.htm?e=17535&s=1&k=8808E78E5CBF2CDCC33ABCACE2B51953&partnerref=winit

Microsoft Exchange & Windows Connections 2006, April 9-12, 2006, Orlando, Florida

Microsoft and Windows IT Pro magazine team up to produce the essential conference for systems administrators and IT managers in Windows and Exchange technology. Register by January 9 and receive one free hotel night at the Walt Disney World Swan Resort. Call 800-438-6720 for details. http://www.winconnections.com

Web Seminar - Get the Tools, Tips, and Training That You Need to Avoid a Messaging Meltdown When an Outage Strikes

Register today: http://www.windowsitpro.com/go/seminars/messaging/?partnerref=1207emailannc

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==== 2. Peer to Peer ====

Featured Thread: Checking Outgoing Email Messages

A forum reader has a question about how others are checking outgoing email messages for regulatory compliance. Join the discussion at http://forums.windowsitpro.com/web/forum/messageview.aspx?catid=40&threadid=44796&enterthread=y Outlook Tip: Using a GPO with a Hotfix to Deploy a Safe Senders List by Sue Mosher, [email protected]

Q: Can I enforce a specific Safe Senders list for the Junk E-mail Filter in Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 without allowing users to add addresses or domains to the list?

Find the answer (and links to more great tips) at http://www.windowsitpro.com/microsoftexchangeoutlook/article/articleid/46661/46661.html

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