Time to Upgrade Network Security

I have taken a more relaxed approach to internet gateways over the years, because most basic routers did a descent job at keeping our typical customers connected.  Most network admins frown at the idea of using a "home" router, such as a Linksys or a D-Link, for an internet gateway in an office; however, for practical purposes and cost savings they have been sufficient.  Many small offices rarely had needs/demands for routers that are more advanced, especially when the price-tag went from a $100 to a $1000.

 

Times have changed, and home routers are no longer a good option. Primarily because new threats are rampant across the internet and are constantly infecting new targets. We are seeing a trend of infections that are not stopped by anti-virus and regular routers alone; it is finally time to pull out the big guns.

 

Background:

The viruses/threats I am referring to are forms of malware/adware/extorsionware/spyware/etc that are generally installed by the user - unknowingly.  No matter what anti-virus your un (TrendMicro/Kaspersky/Norton/McAffee/AVG/etc) most cannot stop and clean the infections because they are user initiated. They can alert and try to contain them, but generally it is too late.  The result is a few hours in billable time spent on clean-up.

 

What is different now?
New threats, like the XP Antivirus 2008, will hurt your organization with just one infection.  Once a user - inadvertently - installs the malicious program it will begin spamming. Whether you catch it immediately or not, the software will get a chance to broadcast spam messages which WILL be intercepted by spam traps.  Spam traps are designed to weed out distributors of spam and stop their mail-servers from delivering mail.  As a result, your mail server will become blacklisted within 24 hours and your office communications with the rest of the world will be crippled.  After the infection is contained you will be able to de-list but it is a manual process and can take up to 7 days to complete with some spam-lists.

 

What can I do about it?

In my view it is no longer an option to risk exposing a network to such threats.  Each outbreak can easily cost a firm $375 (3 hours at $125) of networking time to resolve.  The key to stopping these from spreading is to intercept the malicious code at the internet gateway, and prevent the packets from ever reaching computers inside. Business-class routers with deep packet inspection can do just that.   Your existing antivirus is still important, but it will not handle these threats effectively.

 

Business-class routers/Deep Packet Inspection?

They are popular and come in all sorts of prices and flavors.  My approach is simple: affordable and complete protection.  For me, this means a SonicWall TZ190 TotalSecure.  They are easy to deploy, cost $995 with a 1 year subscription and $295 each year after that in maintenance.   They will check traffic as it flows into your network and stop packets with malicious code before reaching your computers.  However, if you have more than 25 users, you will need a bigger router, the TZ190's will be working hard to keep your office safe, and going past 25 users will slow them down drastically. 

 

What should I do now?

You saved about $1000 a few years ago by buying a basic router.  Hopefully that $1000 helped you do other things, maybe even made some cash for you in the process.  Now it is time to invest it into some hardware.  Odds are you will surrender a chunk of it to a malware infection; get a head start and buy something tangible with it.   Give us a call today and we'll order, configure, and deliver your network security appliance.

 

Additional info about the TZ190 TotalSecure:
The TZ190 TotalSecure is a series of routers with new SKU's for almost ever year they have been around.  We currently offer the latest release of the product. The all-in-one solutions remove the complexity associated with choosing between a host of point products and add-on services by integrating everything you need into a convenient, affordable package.

SonicWall TotalSecure combines a high-performance deep packet inspection firewall and dynamic security services to keep your network safe from viruses, spyware, worms, Trojans and more. Even before new threats are identified, TotalSecure solutions are automatically updated with signatures that stop attacks before they can enter your network, ensuring around-the clock protection.

 

The SonicWall TotalSecure 3G Wireless is a complete high-performance network security platform delivering multi-threat protection and secure 3G broadband network access in an easy-to-use, low cost solution. Combining a deep packet inspection firewall, integrated gateway anti-virus, anti-spyware, intrusion prevention, content filtering and 802.11b/g Wireless LAN access along with type II PC card based 3G wireless broadband support, the TotalSecure 3G Wireless delivers comprehensive security for wired and wireless networks. The foundation of the TotalSecure 3G Wireless is the TZ 190 Wireless which enables organizations to establish secure 3G wireless broadband network access instantly without the need for a fixed Internet connection.

Included with the TotalSecure 3G Wireless is a SonicWall deep packet inspection network security appliance, a one-year subscription to SonicWall Gateway Anti-Virus, Anti-Spyware and Intrusion Prevention Service, a one-year subscription to SonicWall Content Filtering Service Standard Edition, a one-year subscription to SonicWall Dynamic Support 24x7 and a license to use Sonic Wall's ViewPoint reporting software.

 

 

Written by Karl J. 

iPhone 2.0 (3g), iTouch (iPod) 2.0, and Microsoft Exchange!

Last year none of us were thrilled with the iPhone because of its poor Exchange integration.  We've completed all of our testing this week and find that iPhone 2.0 and iTouch 2.0 are a fantastic improvement. If you can get past the on-screen keyboard and willing to stick with ATT for your cellular needs, the iPhone is a good alternative to Windows Mobile and BlackBerry.

 

iPhone 2.0:  Assuming you are running Exchange 2003 Service Pack 2 AND you have the HTTPS functions enabled (you do if you previously used a Windows Mobile phone) setup is a breeze. Just go to Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Add Account > Microsoft Exchange.   Specify your email address, domain\username, and password and have it do the rest.  The iPhone will automatically download and install the SSL Security Certificate. Should it fail, you will be given an option to specify the MS Exchange Server address, which has to be the public address to your network; typically it appears as "mail.yourdomainname.com".  The phone will do the rest, but you might need to tell it to synch your calendar and also adjust preferences.

 

iTouch/iPod:  First you need to use iTunes and buy/download the 2.0 software for $9.95.  Once you acquire the 220 MB file and install it the iPod will synch.  Be prepared to loose all your data, so be sure to back it up before then.  The rest of the setup is just as easy as the iPhone.  Go to Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Add Account > Microsoft Exchange.   Specify your email address, domain\username, and password and have it do the rest.  The iPhone will automatically download and install the SSL Security Certificate. Should it fail, you will be given an option to specify the MS Exchange Server address, which has to be the public address to your network; typically it appears as "mail.yourdomainname.com".  The phone will do the rest, but you might need to tell it to synch your calendar and also adjust preferences.

 

If you need help, give our tech team a call.

 

-Karl J.

Unblocking your mail server from AT&T, BellSouth, SBCGlobal

We have seen a large increase of blocking of email servers done by AT&T since they took over BellSouth and SBCGlobal.  When it came to BellSouth we've had a difficult time communicating with the postmasters and locating the blocklists that would generate delays, SMTP Protocol Connection Failed messages, and just regular rejects.  Just recently an email message from the AT&T servers indicated a delisting page that we've been able to use with much success: http://worldnet.att.net/general-info/mail_info/block_admin.html .  This page can be used by those having issues with all three providers.

 

/Karl J

iPhone 2.0 and the MobileMe - why enterprise users do not need the service.

Just after the last post I had a customer ask me about MobileMe from Apple.  All Exchange Server users should know is that MobileMe is for all those who do not have Microsoft Exchange in their corporate environment.  It is a service that provides iPhones, iPods, MACs and PCs with a simple way to keep E-Mail, Calendars, Contacts, etc.. up to date when Microsoft Exchange is not an option.  In other words, corporate users do not need this service.

iPhone 2.0 will support Microsoft Exchange Active Synch

Today the new iPhone 2.0 was unveiled in San Francisco, and among the new features is the Microsoft Active Synch support.  This is a large improvement over the iPhone 1.0's support for Microsoft Exchange which used the IMAP protocol to download mail.  With the new software the iPhone will be capable of synchronizing live data from the MS Exchange Server including e-mail, calendar, and contacts. Moreover, with the push technology (also available on Windows Mobile phones) the synchronizations for e-mails should be fast and use less battery power to complete each time.   We'll know more about that on July 11th (or sometime thereafter). 

Some of the benefits to the iPhone (aside from the love some people have for Apple products like the iPod) is support for attachments including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.  Furthermore, it will also handle images and PDF files. 

 

We've tested the iPhone 1.0 version and felt it did not fit our customers as it was not an enterprise product.  iPhone 2.0 looks more promising but there are some red-flags on the horizon. For one, it uses the touch interface where as many of our customers prefer keyboards. More important, however, is that not being a Windows Mobile Device it may not support the security features - such as remote wipe - that we can accomplish with regular Windows Mobile Devices.  We will put that to further testing once it becomes available.

 

/Karl J

Free BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express Days Are Over Thanks To BlackBerry Professional!

The good old days of free BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express are officially over (well, they actually ended a couple of months ago). For those of you that may have tried using BESExpress in the past, you may have realized that it was possible to register multiple BlackBerries for individual BES accounts, and use the BESCAL license key in the existing installation. Thereby, an office could get up to 15 free BESCAL licenses for their use. The licenses were available for purchase (for about $100) but no one bothered as it only took a few minutes to get the free ones. Apparently that practice was frowned upon by Research In Motion, which took a very dramatic step in preventing that from happening.

They rebranded the product as BlackBerry Professional (BPS). It operates just like BESExpress did except that it will not allow the use of the “initial” BESCAL keys on an existing install. This means that an office can get 1 (ONE) free BPS license but the rest are subject to the ~$100 purchase price.

The latest service pack for BESExpress (or BPS) allows admins to upgrade the software to the BES Professional version. Fortunately, it does not impact existing blackberry licenses – if you got away with it in the past you can continue to do so with the existing licenses. However, if you choose to add new BlackBerries - you have to pay. Since the old registration keys are no longer available for the previous install, even without the upgrade the users have to pay the fee.

Comparison between Small Business Edition BES Vs. BlackBerry Professional Software BPS

http://na.blackberry.com/eng/services/server/small_business.jsp#tab_tab_compare

Author: Karl J

Helpful hint for TrialWorks Addin for Outlook Users!

If a user tags a message to a case but chooses not to file immediately, that message will remain in the inbox indefinitely. Fortunately there is a simple process for expediting the transfer of the tagged message to TrialWorks at a later time. Outlook 2003 and 2007 users should be familiar with the Favorite Folders option. The first step to making this process simple is to find the “Outbox > TrialWorks” folder and add it to the Outlook Favorites. The process is simple, just find the folder, right click, and choose “Add to Favorites”. Next, the user will see the “TrialWorks” folder show up in the favorite folders section of Outlook. At that point any message (which was previously tagged) can be dragged to that folder; from there, messages will automatically file to their designated case. This is also useful for instances where the message remains in the mailbox for other reasons.

TrialWorks version 9.5 is available for Tobacco Fund Firms!

TrialWorks version 9.5 will be officially released later this week. The release, which closely follows the 9.4a, has additional features in Mass Torts for Tobacco Fund cases. For example, tens of thousands of ill Florida smokers and families of those who died are lining up for a share of a $600 million fund created by major tobacco companies as part of a 14-year-old lawsuit against cigarette manufacturers. TrialWorks Case Management Software is now equipped to efficiently process the necessary information from the potential clients and streamline the litigation. Any firms in receiving this functionality are encouraged to schedule an upgrade by calling 800-377-5844 or using the Online Account Manager to create the request.

TrialWorks version 9.4a Released!

Last week we posted version 9.4 followed shortly by version 9.4a. Most of the changes will be under the 9.4 heading, so you can use the following link to get the details: http://www.trialworks.com/UpgradeCenter/Customer/check.cfm?version=9.4 . This release included several fixes, an array of suggestions, and a few new features. Our upgrade calendar has been very busy this week but we still have room for upgrades. Version 9.5 is due out to be released shortly - read about that in my next blog.
-karl j.

TrialWorks v. 9.38b has been posted to the website.

We've posted the changes and files pertaining to 9.38b. It has a few adjustments form our original 9.38 release but anyone who has 9.38 should consider getting this quick upgrade. For most it will not include a database upgrade; prior version customers have to do the whole thing.

Our upgrade schedule will be limited over the Thanksgiving Holiday, so new requests scheduled through our Online Account Manager will be for next week. Keep in mind that if you are running 9.37 or higher you can automatically log into the account manager from TrialWorks's Help Menu.

Daylight Savings Time: Round 2

This is a reminder that the 'fall back' of the daylight saving time change this year is one week later than last year, as mandated by the Energy Savings Act of 2005. It will go into effect on November 4th.

As we advised you in the spring, unless certain Microsoft updates are applied to your computers, it is possible that the time zone settings for your system clock may be incorrect during this period. Note that Microsoft has made additional Daylight Savings Time and time zone changes since those released in January 2007. For full information, including directions to Knowledge Base articles, recommended preparation, and general sequence of update actions, see the Microsoft Daylight Saving Time Help and Support Center, at http://support.microsoft.com/gp/cp_dst.

Provided that you apply the applicable Windows updates to all your computers, TrialWorks products are not directly affected by this change. However, those who use TrialWorks third-party integrations that affect your calendar scheduling (like Outlook, Palm and other mobile devices) should ensure that they apply any patches or updates made available by those third-party vendors and follow their recommendations for avoiding appointment inconsistencies.
It is recommended that you check your TrialWorks appointments during the adjustment.

/Author: KJ

TrialWorks version 9.37b and Outlook Add-In Functionality.

TrialWorks 9.37b with the latest TrialWorks Add-In is available as of 10/24/2007. The package is a supplemental patch, and not a complete upgrade. Version 9.38 is expected in the next few days, so users are encouraged to wait for the next release. The version of the TrialWorksAddin.dll is 7.3.0.3253

This version addresses a few e-mail filing problems which would have resulted in messages not being filed from the INBOX, under certain cricumstances. Issues related to this fix typically involved e-mail messages with attachments, but were not limited to that.

TrialWorks Add-In problems may result from an array of problems. Assuming that all other potential problems have been reasonable dealt with (such as WinWord as email editor, LoadBehavior, DisabledItems, Registration, and that users are running MSG functions) the next step is to examin the TrialWorkAddIn.LOG file for this error:

"Error in EmailFilerTimer_Timer:Object variable or With block variable"

IF the error is seen and all other potential failures have been eliminated apply this update immediatley.

Since it is crucial that OUTLOOK be closed during the install of the new add-in, in some cases it may be more efficient to deploy the patch using the Windows logon script than using our TrialWorks messaging option.

Here is a list of commands that may be helpful:

----[ open SBS logon script in notepad from RUN command]------

notepad file:////[servername]/NETLOGON/SBS_LOGIN_SCRIPT.bat


---[insert the text below to the logon script] ----

REM - TrialWorks Aoutlook Addin Update 10/24/2007
xcopy file:////[SERVERNAME]/TrialWorks/Temp/Binn/TrialWorksaddin.dll %windir%\system32\ /D /Y /C
%windir%\system32\regsvr32.exe %windir%\system32\TrialWorksaddin.dll /s

---- [ save the file ] ------

Ask the users to restart their computers. ASking them to Log off and back on can be misunderstood.

Defragment the Exchange Information Store after MSG Conversion

If you are the system administrator for a firm using TrialWorks Case Management Software, than you may have already switched to the Save as MSG function for the TrialWorks/Outlook Add-In available since version 9.36. Well, if you have than you may need to complete a few cleanup procedures to improve performance of your Microsoft Exchange Server.

After the TrialWorks Save as MSG Conversion you should be able to export the existing Public Folder to a PST file. After the folder is copied to a PST (or exported) you can delete it from Microsoft Exchange. However, you will notice that the Exchange Public Folder Store does not decrease in size after deleting the Public Folder. By the way, the expected change in size will likely be huge.

Microsoft Exchange Public Folders will not immediately decrease in size, by design, until you complete a Defreg (defragmentation) on that specific public folder store. To do so you must budget about two hours of Public Folder downtime. When you are ready to complete procedure, you will need to dismount the Exchange Public Folder Store and trigger a defrag from Command Prompt using the ESEUTIL.EXE utility available in Exchange. For more details please review the Microsoft Documentaiton on Exchange Defragmentation.

//KJ

TrialWorks 9.37 Released

The TrialWorks 9.37a release has been available for about one week now. The majority of the changed focused on internal functions associated with the Outlook Plug-In for TrialWorks (using the new MSG functions). In addition, we have added a feature to streamline access to the TrialWorks Account Manager.

In regards to the TrialWorks/Outlook integration, 9.37 addresses several problems that affected ability to file certain types of messages. Primarily, errors that were caused by repeated opening and closing of previously filed e-mails (this item is locked error messages). In addition, it enahances the Public Folder to MSG Migration options with new procedures to verify the migration.

As far as the Account Manager is concerned, we have added a Help Menu item that automatically populates the firm's logon credentials. The Account Manager can be used to submit trouble tickets, view basic account information, and schedule/download upgrades.

What Every User Needs to Know About TrialWorks Add-In and the MSG Conversion.

As previously mentioned in our blog (http://trialworks.blogspot.com/2007/04/trialworks-version-936-is-now-available.html) the 9.36 release of TrialWorks supports a new e-mail filing feature that no longer depends on Microsoft Exchange Public Folders to file e-mails. We've been getting lots of questions and insight from our users about the change, and I wanted to take a minute to share with you some of the things that your office, your techs, and your users should know about the new feature.

In a nutshell, until version 9.36, the only way TrialWorks filed e-mails was by tagging case information to a message and moving it to the associated Exchange Public Folder. Last year Microsoft announced to do away with the legacy public folder system and introduced new functionality to Exchange 2007 that would boost functionality and completely replace the old-school system. As a side-note, due to the outcry from the Exchange community, Public Folders are still available in Exchange 2007 - but we moved on. So we introduced the Save as MSG function to TrialWorks. MSG is simply the file extension on Outlook Messages saved to the file system, instead of Exchange. They retain their e-mail properties but are saved outside of the e-mail system; Outlook is still used to open them.

1. First and foremost, users have asked whether the change is necessary. Although we do not require any office to switch to the new Save as MSG format, our future developments of new Outlook E-mail integration are focused on the nonexistence of Public Folders, therefore firms that are still utilizing the legacy system may not benefit from new functionalities available to those that have switched to Save as MSG.
   
   
2. What are the benefits of switching to Save as MSG, apart from future developments? There are several benefits to both users and server administrators, so I rather list them separately:
   
   Users: More reliable e-mail filing system that works better with larger e-mails (specifically those carrying attachments) and less problems associated with unfiled messages or add-in not loading that users have experienced, especially after the January 2007 Outlook Security Bulletin that affected add-in function. The upgrade to 9.36 coupled with the Save as MSG conversion will resolve outstanding add-in problems that may be a result of not having the latest TrialWorksAddin.DLL or Redemption.DLL (which we made available after the security bulletin).
   
   Server Administrators: Massive reduction in Exchange resource use as the Exchange Public Folder Store will contain minimal amounts of data. Although the Save as MSG Conversion will not delete the public folders, all server administrators are encouraged to backup exchange and move the existing TrialWorks Public Folder to PST and out of Exchange. The reason for keeping the PST and backup is simply to maintain all precautions. Furthermore, future server migrations will become far easier to manage as the TrialWorks SQL Server-2-Server Migration protocols is reduced to 2 stages, instead of 3.
   
   
3. What practices do you recommend for the migration? It is important to know that the actual Save as MSG Conversion is a 2 step process; the first step involves a check-box in Global Settings and the second is a single-click activation of the conversion process from TrialWorks. However, prior to triggering the migration all IT admins are encouraged to 1) backup exchange server and save the backups 2) backup SQL server and save the backups 3) change settings trigger the conversion 4) review and save the log files 5) disable user access to public folder for a few days 6) move the public folders out of exchange.
   
   
4. What can users expect to see after the migration? The TrialWorks Choose A Case button will remain the same through 9.36, with new functionality in version 9.37 (currently in BETA). However, there are some changes that you should be aware of:
   
   Outlook Folder Button: no longer displays the Outlook E-Mail Window, instead opens with Windows Folder containing e-mails for that case. That screen does not offer a preview pane or message header information. You are expected to utilize the E-Mail Tab.
   
   "BackDoor" to Saving E-mails: historically users could Move to Folder any message they chose (or a number of messages) through Outlook. That feature is no longer available. Technically Save As function could be used, but it is too cumbersome. So no backdoor ability.
   
   Messages Are Now Indexed: As long as your Index Server is running, and it should be, your TrialWorks Catalog will collect all e-mail message information and include it in search results. This makes it possible to search all e-mails within fractions of a second.
   
   Messages Are Now in Deleted Items: After a message is "filed" to a case, it is also moved to Deleted Items in Outlook. Those messages will remain there for as long as the Deleted Items are not purged. This makes it easy to quickly reference filed messages without having to go to a case. Please remember that those are only COPIES of the messages you filed, but they are available for reference and we have received lots of positive feedback about that feature.
   
   More reliable E-Mail filing: The new feature resolves various issues since the Microsoft Security Bulletin. Although we addressed them in 9.35 and packed the fix in 9.36, the MSG function helps resolve outstanding problems by default.
   
   Windows Security Message When Opening E-Mails From TrialWorks: Windows by default will prompt with a security/caution message whenever you double click on an e-mail item in TrialWorks. You can change the behavior by going, inside of Windows Explorer, to Tools > Folder Options > File Types > MSG > Advanced and unchecking the "Confirm Open After Download" checkbox.
   
   
5. Are There Any Known Technical Problems? The Save as MSG function had been in development and testing for over 12 months, but ultimately it is our users that help us notice potential problems and work towards a speedy solution. Just recently we have noted that in some instances messages that are opened from TrialWorks E-Mail Tab, then closed, and then opened again Outlook may randomly generate a "permission" error message (which pops under the active window, so you don't notice it until you minimize TrialWorks). We are working on resolving the issue for 9.37, which will be out soon. There is no reason to wait for the next release as the upgrade has many benefits and the reported problem is rare.

/KJ author.
/KJ updated on 8/8/07

WiFi (Wireless) Intel Pro Adapter in Dell Laptops and VISTA

Turns out that a large number of Dell Inspiron and Latitude notebooks are affected by a problem with the IntelPro Wireless Adapter in Microsoft Windows VISTA. Basically, the computer connects to the internet on the WiFi, works for a few minutes, and then quits. If you look carefully you can notice that the Wirless Network Connection is disabled, and you cannot enable it. More close examination reveals Error Logs in Event Viewer.

Well, although I am not sure of the precise cause of the problem, it appears to be an issue with the Intel Drivers used to operate the Wireless device. Fortunately, Windows Vista has available drivers for the adapter that seem to do the trick according to the Dell Forums.

To go back to Vista driver first Turn the Wi-Fi off (FN-F2). Then proceed to uninstall the Intel Driver (Control Panel, Uninstall a Program).

Next, go into Device Manager (right Click Computer, select Properties, then Device Manger on the left side, or Control Panel, Hardware and Sound, Device Manager). Expand Network adapters, Double Click Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection. Click the Driver Tab.Click the Uninstall Button.

After vista uninstalls the driver, the adapter will be removed from Network adapters.Reboot immediately. Make sure the radio comes back on, while Windows is shutting down, hit the FN-F2 key combo to turn the radio back on. Upon reboot, Windows will install its own driver.My driver is by Microsoft, dated 6/21/2006, version 10.6.0.15.

TrialWorks Integrates with Internet Explorer!

That's right, we integrate -sort of- with IE (and FireFox in a few day). As part of the nWeb effort (that's the catchy sign for our "New Website") we also developed the TrialWorks ToolBar. It is a plug-in for Internet Explorer, and FireFox, that makes life a little easier for the average TrialWorks user.

We add just a few small buttons, with menus, to your IE that make it quicker for you to access support, our website, and the Account Manager. It even has a nifty update feature that will alert you whenever something important happens - but don't worry, we will not send out the alerts too often. Mostly reserved for upgrade notifications.

And the best part is, this toolbar has no search plug-ins, no spy-ware, no ad-ware, well, nothing fun really. We made it small, simple, and convenient for our users. We hope you like it!

You can get the toolbar from http://new.trialworks.com/TWToolBar

/KJ author

TrialWorks nWeb - The New TrialWorks Website

We have been working on a new site for many months now and it is nearly complete. Web development is not overwhelming, but we do prioritize and many of the web projects were frequently put on the back burner as we focus on customer support. Well, we have aggressively pursued the completion of the new site, and it is done (well, more like version 1.0).

Apart from a fresh look and updated content we have added new features. For instance, the TrialWorks Labs section will slowly grow with quick Flash-based "How To" guides to TrialWorks. We are still working on adding the knowledgebase and updated documentation -- all that will come soon.

One of the largest new features is the TrialWorks nWeb Account Manager which consolidates upgrade distribution, trouble tickets, and customer features into one main site. In future releases of TrialWorks, starting with 9.37, users will be able to automatically log-into the site directly from TrialWorks, but for now QuickAccess links are easy to make and speed up the log-in process; it requires a serial and registration number.

Our trouble ticket system is back, and developed in-house. Traditional trouble ticket systems typically allow for submission and then dialogue between user and tech; we decided to limit the function only to problem submission. The rationale is that we find communicating by e-mail and phone are the two most convenient and effective wasy of dealing with issues, so the online ticket system is an expansion of the existing procedures. We encourage you to use the ticket system instead of e-mailing techsupport directly to make it easier to track messages.

We hope you enjoy new features and look forward to feedback.

/kj author

Top 10 Reasons to Install Windows Server 2003 SP2

1. Security Updates/Hotfixes
   Windows Server 2003 SP2 will get all of your Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP Professional x64 Editions up to date with the latest Security Bulletin updates and Hotfixes, ensuring the highest level of security, reliability, stability, manageability, supportability and compatibility.
2. Deploy your operating systems more effectively
   Building upon our previous deployment solutions, Windows Deployment Services (WDS) offers customers a complete ‘out of the box’ provisioning solution. WDS provides organizations with manageable image store, remote booting, PXE boot support, and more; all in a greatly improved management interface. WDS also uses the new file-based Windows Imaging Format (WIM) which facilitates deployments on Windows Vista and Windows Server “Longhorn”.
3. Improved networking performance
   Windows Server SP2 offers solutions to network traffic challenges in an era of the multi-Gigabit Ethernet. Increases to CPU resources required to handle high network traffic can potentially inhibit scaling and effectively reduce the performance gains that are possible with increased link speeds. Windows Server 2003 SP2 Scalable Networking Pack (SNP), introduces technologies that helps organizations cost-effectively scale network-based applications to meet growing demands. The Scalable Networking pack Increases network and application performance by freeing up CPU cycles and more efficiently using processor resources. More information on the Scalable Networking Pack can be found at www.microsoft.com/snp.
4. Improved manageability for IPsec
   Server and Domain Isolation are key security benefits offered on Microsoft Networks. By using Active Directory, domain memberships and group policies, Server and Domain Isolation allows companies to logically segment their networks. This means that you can restrict non-domain computers which aren’t managed at a corporate level (lab computers, guests or other unsecure systems) from communicating with non- domain members. Service Pack 2 improves Server and Domain Isolation by reducing the IPsec filter set that needs to be managed from potentially hundreds of filters to as few as 2 filters. More information on Server and Domain Isolation can be found at www.microsoft.com/sdisolation.
5. Utility improvements
   Making common tasks easier, SP2 introduces customer-driven improvements to the Domain Controller Diagnostics tool (DCDIAG) and MS Configuration (MSCONFIG) tool. SP2 also has an updated Access Control List (ICACLS) program to allow for greater flexibility when backing up Access Control Lists.
6. Management tools made easier
   SP2 includes the Microsoft Management Console 3.0 (MMC 3.0). MMC provides a framework that unifies and simplifies day-to-day system management tasks on Windows by providing common navigation, menus, toolbars, and workflow across diverse tools. MMC tools (called snap-ins) can be used to administer networks, computers, services, applications and other system components. MMC does not perform administrative functions, but hosts a variety of Windows and non-Microsoft snap-ins that do.
7. Single install experience
   It patches both the R2 and non-R2 versions of Windows Server 2003. This reduces the amount of patch management for an organization.
8. Support for additional languages
   Service Pack 2 will be released in 9 additional localized languages for Windows Server 2003 x64 Editions including: German, French, Korean, Chinese Traditional, Chinese Simplified, Spanish, Italian, Russian and, Portuguese (Brazilian).
9. Performance improvements
   Service Pack 2 offers performance improvements for Windows Server 2003 running as a Virtual Server guest under high Advanced Processor Interrupt Controller (APIC) rates. It also improves SQL Server performance under intensive workloads. Both of these improvements lead to more efficient data processing.
10. Manage new wireless settings without the hassle
    SP2 provides the ability to manage the WPA2 protocol for wireless networks. This supports and simplifies the process of discovering and connecting to wireless networks in your home or on the road.

/posted by KJ source: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windowsserver/bb229702.aspx

Exchange Server 2003: Is Yours About to Crash?

I don't want to scare anyone but networks where Exchange Server had been running for a while might have a potential problem. Basically the store databases are dismounted without warning or users cannot log on to their mailboxes in Exchange Server 2003 or in Exchange 2000 Server, because the Exchange uses transaction log files that are numbered sequentially. The first file name in the transaction log file sequence is "E nn 00001.log." The file names increase sequentially to "E nn ffff0.log."

Microsoft udpated their Knowledgebase Article 830408 on March 9, 2007 advising for this problem. Furthermore, just yesterday (April 26) they released the latest version of the debugging tools - which are used to correct the problem, if it happens to you.
Basically stores dismount but a defrag and scan of Exchange show healthy state - but the stores refuse to mount.

WORKAROUND
To work around this problem, reset the log sequence. To do this, you must move all existing transaction logs to another location. After you do this, a new sequence of log files that starts with 0x00001 is generated.Important Before you move the transaction logs, you must verify that all databases in the storage group are in a Clean Shutdown state. To do this and to reset the log file sequence, follow these steps:
1. Mark all the databases in the affected storage group to not mount on startup. To do this, follow these steps:

2. Kill the store to dismount the database that could not be dismounted.To download the latest version of the Debugging Tools for Windows package, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/devtools/debugging/default.mspx (http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/devtools/debugging/default.mspx)

3.Restart the store so that other storage groups can be mounted.

4.Run the ESEUTIL recovery on all the databases that are in the affected storage group.

5. Verify that the databases were in a Clean Shutdown state.

6.Move logs and checkpoint files to another location in case a recovery is required from an old database. The log files have the .log file name extension. The checkpoint files have the .chk file name extension.

7.Mount all the databases in the storage group.

8.Click to clear the Don't mount this store at start-up check box for all the databases in the affected storage group.

9.The storage group must be backed up when delivery settles down on this computer because you cannot recover log files past the new log file generation point.

/KJ

TrialWorks Version 9.36 is now available!

The long awaited version 9.36 is now available. To get the latest feature information, your best choice is to go to Help > Check for Updates directly in TrialWorks. We have added many new features and fixes, but the biggest is what this blog is about.

Microsoft announced last year that Exchange Public Folders are being phased out; initially it was going to be in Exchange 2007, but that did not happen (although they are now optional). Fact is, starting with Exchange 2007, public folders are not useful. So to prepare for the future, we too changed our integration to deal with the lack of Public Folders.

As you may already know TrialWorks version 9.36 supports the ability to save e-mails as .MSG files. These files are stored in the E-mails folder in CaseFiles instead of using Exchange Public Folders. To use this feature a few things need to be done.

1. Check the box “Store E-mails in CaseFiles” in the ”E-mail/Fax Settings” tab in Global Settings
2. Save the TrialWorks Public Folder to a .pst file for backup and save it to \\\\MSGConversion\ (Manually create the folder MSGConversion)
3. Back-up the SQL Database and save the .bak file to \\\\MSGConversion\
4. Convert existing E-mails to .MSG files by running “Admin > Recreate Items > Save E-mails to .msg files for All Cases” . (This should be done after hours when no new e-mails are being filed. FYI this process took 6 hours on our system TWPDC01\TWCustomers which had a 3.4 GB public folder. The e-mails in the public folder will remain since we only save them to an .msg file without modifying the original e-mail )
5. Save the log file from %appdata%\TWLogs\TrialWorks.log to \\\\MSGConversion\
6. Search the log for entries that read “WARNING! Not all emails where saved as msg. (This entry means that for that particular case not all e-mails where saved to an msg file and there are more e-mails in the Public folder that in the new E-mail Folder in CaseFiles)

/jc + kj

You cannot use the Windows SBS 2003 client deployment tools to join a Windows Vista-based computer to a Windows SBS network

You try to use the Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003 (Windows SBS) client deployment tools to join a Windows Vista-based computer to a Windows SBS network. However, when you click Connect to the network now on the Network Configuration Web page, you receive the following error message even though you are already logged on as a local administrator:

• "The Small Business Server Networking Wizard was not installed. You may not be a member of the local Administrators security group on this computer or your Local Intranet security settings may be set to High. Click Connect to the network now to try again and click Yes when prompted. If the wizard fails to install, contact the person responsible for your network"

Also, when you click Connect to the Network, and then you enable the ActiveX control when you are prompted by the Internet Explorer information bar, a dialog box is displayed that contains the following message:

Additionally, when you try to use the Outlook Profile Settings option in the Setup Computer Wizard or in the Assign Applications Wizard to configure Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 for a Windows SBS network, the settings are not applied.

The full resolution to the issue can be found in this Microsoft Article: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/926505;

Daylight Savings Time and Your Office

In August of 2005 the United States Congress passed the Energy Policy Act, which changes the dates of both the start and end of daylight saving time (DST). When this law goes into effect in 2007, DST will start three weeks earlier (2:00 A.M. on the second Sunday in March) and will end one week later (2:00 A.M. on the first Sunday in November) than what had traditionally occurred.

I've cut and pasted the contents of the article to my blog, so feel free to go straight to it: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/timezone/dst2007.mspx

This article summarizes the updates and tools that Microsoft is developing for its customers to address the DST change.

Microsoft is dedicated to working with customers to make this transition as seamless as possible for companies and organizations affected by these new time changes. Microsoft is further committed to working with others in the industry to address the broader challenges presented by this U.S. statute. Please check this page at least weekly to ensure you have the latest information available.

Change in daylight saving time:
Previously DST started on:
With the new law, DST will start on:
Previous DST ended on:
With the new law, DST will end on:

First Sunday of April
Second Sunday of March
Last Sunday of October
First Sunday of November

Would have been: April 1, 2007
Will now be: March 11, 2007
Would have been: October 28, 2007
Will now be: November 4, 2007


While the change in daylight saving time applies to U.S. and Canada, the change may affect users based outside of these countries.

• Mexico will not be following the new DST 2007 rules with the U.S. and Canada. Accordingly, systems configured to use U.S. time zones (for example, Pacific Time) will need to change their system configurations to use the new Mexico time zones.

• Companies or organizations with operations, customers, or vendors based in the U.S. or Canada may be affected.

• Companies or organizations that interact or integrate with systems that are based in the U.S. or Canada or rely on date/time calculations may be affected.

• Users in U.S. areas that do not observe DST (see below) but who travel to or interact with people in locations that do follow DST will be affected and should install the Windows operating system update.

Areas affected by this change in daylight saving time:
All of the United States except:

Arizona, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and American Samoa
Canada

Canada and the United States share DST
Mexico

Mexico will not be following the new DST 2007 rules


The change in DST will have an affect on many automated and technology reliant products. Individual consumers, small to medium size businesses, and large enterprises may be affected by the new change in time. Computer-system related issues include, for example:

• Calendar / scheduling applications

• Date / time calculations (current and historical)

• Transaction logging (UTC vs. Local Time)

• Tariff billing applications


In many cases, making the necessary changes to accommodate the new DST legislation will be a relatively minor task. Users may need to manually adjust the time on their devices when the change occurs.

In other cases, more substantial efforts may be required. In some cases, systems and applications may need to be updated directly, while in others, the application may simply inherit or "read" the date and time information from the underlying system that it resides on so the changes need only be made to that underlying system. Given the broad range of technology in use today-and the integration of systems between customers, vendors, and partners-business and IT managers should determine what actions should be taken to mitigate the affects of DST 2007 on their organizations.

/// posted by kj

To Vista or Not to Vista? How about Office 2007?

I am taking a break from posting technical information to share with you some personal perspectives on Windows Vista and Office 2007. Without question, law firms will be faced with a decision to upgrade to these two products in the near future, but some of you may need a reason or two.

Let me start by saying that Microsoft has come a long way and introduced a suite of products that are phenomenal. I've been using both products for months and have nothing negative about them. However, there is a learning curve - about a month for moderate computer users - to get used to the changes and benefit from them, so is it worth it?

On the subject of Windows Vista - it is a significant upgrade. To run vista you should have a high-end processor, 2 GB of RAM, and a seperate graphics processor (GPU) with at least 256 MB of RAM to properly display the beauty (strictly appearence) of the new operating system. I would do it just for the looks alone. There are however vast security, performance, and usability changes that don't need the pretty face to improve your computing experience. However, I would not rush.

However, the Microsoft Office 2007 System - in my view - is worth thinking about right away. Apart from the new interface, the largest change is the new file format (eg: *.DOCX, *.XLSX, *.PPTX) which incorporates XML, and is NOT backwards compatible with Office 2003 and its predecessors. Not to say that it cannot be opened by older versions, because it can - using a plug in. To me, that may be enough to justify the upgrade, but not necessarily because of the technology.

Let's set up a hypothetical situation. Imagine someone just e-mailed a Word 2007 document to a basic computer user in your office. The person double-clicks to open it and is surprised by an incompatibility message. At that point they would click on OK, follow the prompts to the Microsoft Website, possibly clear validation, trigger the ActiveX component, download the plugin, and finally have the document in ReadOnly format. From there, they try to make a change, hit save, are prompted to Save AS. Find a spot... and so on. Granted, that only happens once per user - but let's think about it for am moment. When I asked people about this process I was surprised when most people elected to click CANCEL on the initial prompt, never getting past it to open the document. After all, we're all trained not to install stuff that pop's up.

The point is, dealing with the backwards compatibility may be too much for most users that are interested in opening MS Word and writing a letter. It interferes with productivity and may create scenarios that are simply an annoyance. Of course your network administrators can assist you in preparing for these situations, but is it worth the hassle?

I say, download the Microsoft Office 2007 trial that fits your needs. It will install everything but MS Outlook parallel to your existing install. Check it out. Once you feel comfortable call your software provider, ask them for Open Volume licenses of Microsoft Office, and schedule a deployment. Prepare your staff, and just get it done. It's worth it.

According to Microsoft, after the initial 1 month adjustment period, you can see a 20% productivity increase in moderate computer users. How? Well, 8 years of studies revealed that users spend an enormous amount of time looking for things... not files.. but things. The save button, the table button, the font, the format, the spacing, etc... All the things that take a precious 4-5 seconds to locate. Well, Microsoft believes that by changing the interface they actually reduce that time. Think of all the money you can save....

//posted by KJ

Update: TrialWorks HOTFIX for Microsoft Security Bulletin MS07-003.

Microsoft has released security bulletin MS07-003. The security bulletin contains all the relevant information about the security update for Microsoft Office Outlook 2003. The included update has an adverse effect on the TrialWorks Add-In for Microsoft Outlook. Customers running TrialWorks version 9.35 you may need to download an additional TrialWorks HotFix. TrialWorks users on versions lower than 9.35, must Schedule Upgrade if they have the problem.

TW935_TrialWorksAddIn_KB924085_HotFix.exe

• For simplicity you can download the above mentioned exe file from our FTP and run it on any user machine with TrialWorks 9.35 and with KB924085 installed. The exe will copy and register the two DLLs. Both TrialWorks and Outlook need to be closed prior to running the exe.
  




• This fix is exclusively designed to ONLY fix the issue with the TrialWorksaddin caused by installing the Outlook Security Update KB924085. The machine MUST be on version 9.35, if you do not have the version, go to our website and Schedule Upgrade. The issue is that after filing an e-mail it will not move into the corresponding e-mail folder for the case.
  




• If you are a user having the problem
  
  Self-Install Download Link for Client:
  If you have TrialWorks 9.35 you can use this file .
  Click here to download the TW935 HOTFIX for the Add-In Problem.
  
  Download the above file and run it from it's location, only after you CLOSE TrialWorks and Outlook. For best results, save the file to your desktop, log-OFF and back ON to the computer, and then run it. This will ensure all applications closed.
  
  
• If you are a network administrator, you may choose to deploy network wide using our built in upgrade scripts in TrialWorks.
  Manual Deployment file for Server - Download Link: ftp://files.trialworks.com/FTP/public/TrialWorks%20SQL/Upgrades/TW935_TrialWorksAddIn_KB924085_HotFix.ZIP
  
  Download the above file and extract it's contents to [servername]\TrialWorks\temp\Binn
  Overwrite the existing files.
  Use the BAT file to update all computers.

Previously posted under: http://trialworks.blogspot.com/2007/01/trialworks-outlook-addin-stops-working.html

For more information:

• Security Bulletin: http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=924085
• Details for Home Users: http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/update/bulletins/200701.mspx
• Details for IT professionals:http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms07-003.mspx (http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms07-003.mspx)

/posted by KJ.

New Remote Desktop Client, version 6.0

On December 8, 2006 Microsoft Released the Remote Desktop Connection Client, version 6.0. This is an upgrade from the previous 5.0 version available in Windows XP. The new client bring in new fetures designed to work with Windows Vista and Windows "Longhorn". The client is installed automatically by computers set for Automatic Microsoft Update.

The new functionality has been problematic by some users. Because of new Authentication procedures, many have found the new features to be slightly frustrating. In addition, we have discovered that in some - not yet fully investigated cases - 3rd party printing software, like TriCerat Simplify Printing - cause errors in the Remote Desktop Connection.

If you are using TriCerat Simplify Printing you may wish to roll back to RDP Client v. 5.0. To do so, follow these directions:

* Control Panel -> Add/Remove Programs
* Check the "Show Updates" box at the top
* Scroll down to Windows XP - Software Updates
* Remove "Update for Windows XP (KB925876)"

KB Article and Downloads: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/925876

/Posted by KJ.

TrialWorks Outlook Addin Stops Working: Microsoft has released security bulletin MS07-003.

Microsoft has released security bulletin MS07-003. The security bulletin contains all the relevant information about the security update for Microsoft Office Outlook 2003. At the present time the security update is preventing users from filing messages from Outlook to TrialWorks. This is true for TrialWorks versions 9.35 and below.

As a temporary fix to the issue, you can remove the Security Update:

• Go to Control Panel
• Go to Add/Remove Programs
• remove: Security Update for Outlook/Office KB924085
  and/or
  remove: Security Update for Outlook/Office KB925938

For more information:

• Security Bulletin: http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=924085
  
• Details for Home users:
  http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/update/bulletins/200701.mspx (http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/update/bulletins/200701.mspx)
  
• Details for IT professionals:
  http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms07-003.mspx (http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms07-003.mspx)

/kj

Outlook Header Information is Missing from Printed E-mails

This issue was reported along with the previous post about small font printing out of Outlook. Supposedly they are not related to eachother, moreover they are not realted to Internet Explorer 7 Update, which was blamed. I am not sure what the fix is just yet, but here are some suggestions:

1) Turn off Word as the e-mail editor because Headers are not printed when it is on. In Outlook, go to Tools, Options, Mail Format and make sure the Use Microsoft Word checkbox is UN-checked.

2) Another suggestion involves one of these two choices:
1. When printing and email goto file, page setup, memo style and set the top and bottom margins to zero. Click ok and then print. You may have to change these settings each time you print.
2. In Outlook goto Tools, Options, Preferences Tab, Email options and tick 'read all standard mail as plain text' and 'Read all digitally signed mail in plain text'. You loose the html formating of the email but it prints the headers correctly, this also solves the problem of some emails printing in a very small font.

-kj

UPDATE June 28. 2007
The e-mail message header does not print when you try to print an e-mail message by using either Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 or Microsoft Outlook Express. Click this link:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/931657

Outlook Messages Print in Small Font After Internet Explorer 7 Update

Several users reported to me recently that printing messages from outlook, randomly, has started to do so in very small font. According to various techno-posts the reason is the recent Internet Explorer 7.0 Update. Its not all html emails however. It appears to be html emails formatted in previous versions of office... ie... office 2000 and office 2002 html authored emails printed with ie 7 are screwed up (according to one post). Here are some potential ways to fix it:

NOTE: If you are having an missing Outlook Header issue, thats' a seperate article.

1) You can disable font styles: Open Internet Options. On the general tab, click the Accessibility button. Check mark "Ignore font styles specified on webpages".This will allow you to print headers on HTML emails.

2) Another user suggested a less practical approach:
He was able to print e-mails fine after doing the following:-Tools, options-In preferences tab, click e-mail options...-Under Message Handling, check "Read all standard mail in plain text"-Restart oulook, and you should be able to print e-mails fine.

3) This Microsoft KB Article deals with a similar problem that happened after IE 5.5 was introduced. Click on the Link to go to the Microsoft site: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/276435

// UPDATE -- FIX --- May 10, 2007
When you print an e-mail message in either Office Outlook 2003 or Outlook Express, the printed message is so small that it is unreadable.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/932538/en-us

Public Folder Calendar issues in Exchange 2003: a permanent solution.

SUMMARY:
As of Microsoft Exchange Service Pack 2 and/or Outlook 2003 Service Pack 2 *updating* appointments on a Public Folder Calendar has not been possible.  When a user attempts an update from their Personal Calendar or from TrialWorks Docket Tab a new appointment is created on the Public Folder Calendar, but the existing (changed) appointment remains.  The original appointment cannot be changed, only deleted (assuming Default=Owner rights).  This is because Microsoft modified calendar processing in those service packs.  Public Folders never processed Free/Busy Information, but now we see its effects.  This article presents an alternative as well as Materials & Methods for converting existing customers to the updated system.

Users that are not running these service packs will eventually be affected by the conversion as upgrades are unavoidable.  It is recommended that all users follow this guide to convert their calendars to the alternative method.


DETAILS:

Creating a New Master Calendar

Note: If you plan on converting and existing Public Folder Calendar to the alternative setup, please go to the next section

Introduction
The following series of steps describes how to create a Master Calendar user mailbox and an account used by a 3rd party application for managing mailboxes as resources.  In our case we use Simpler-Webb Exchange Resource Manager to manage the Master Calendar.  Without a resource manager the mailbox would need to have an instance of Outlook open at all times to automatically process appointments;  in some cases manual “acceptance” of appointments would be required.  The ERM automates that process by treating the Mailbox as a Resource.  Please visit their website for licensing, technical information, and updates.
Materials and Methods.

• Download Exchange Resource Manager from Simpler-Webb.


• In Active Directory create two accounts:


• “Master Calendar”.  This account will be your calendar.  


• “ERM Account”. This account needs to be assigned “BUILTIN\Administrators” group and will manage Mailboxes as Resources.  This step is part of the installation procedure for Simpler-Webb ERM.  


• Install ERM according to their protocol.  Specify the admin account you created.


• Update Exchange Recipient Update Services and Offline Address Lists to ensure mailbox information propagation.


• In Active Directory > Master Calendar User Properties > Exchange Advanced tab grant Domain Users full mailbox permissions (or whatever you feel is appropriate for your organization).


• Open the ERM Console and enable ERM Management on the Master Calendar Account (refer to ERM documentation for more info).  


• Test the configuration by:


• Closing your Outlook.


• Adding Master Calendar to your Exchange Mailbox “Open additional mailboxes” options.


• Launching Outlook.


• Downloading the latest Offline Address Book.


• Placing an appointment on your personal calendar and inviting Master Calendar.  Once you hit send verify the appointment arrives on the Master Calendar mailbox.  


• Updating the appointment to a different time – verifying once again the appointment was properly updated.  Note: this is where Public Folders would make a new entry but leave the old entry on the calendar post SP2.


• At this point you may configure TrialWorks to always invite this calendar and train users on how to use this function properly.

Converting a Public Folder to User Mailbox Calendar

Introduction.

This set of steps is designed to provide a low-impact conversion to the new system.  You will first adjust Active Directory addressing to allow for the insertion of a Master Calendar. Then proceed with ERM setup. Finally you will complete the conversion and import calendar data.

Please be aware that in regards to TrialWorks – ALL DOCKET-CALENDAR links will be invalidated. Consequently you will not be able to update from the Docket previously placed appointments.

Materials and Methods

• In Exchange System Manager hide the designated Public Folder from address lists (Exchange Advanced screen).


• Assign a new SMTP address that you will recognize but will not be accidentally used, for example MCPF@domain.local.


• Set the new e-mail address as primary. Uncheck the box that automatically updates the recipient based on policy.


• Make a note of Remove existing e-mail addresses. You will use them in the creation of the new account.


• Update Recipient Update Services and Offline Address Lists.


• Proceed to CREATING A NEW MASTER CALENDAR section of this article (listed above), but be sure to name your new calendar the same way as your old one to limit confusion. -------


• Change security on the old public folder giving Administrator “Owner” rights and denying default.  This will prevent accidental updates.  


• Now you have to copy all items to the new calendar.  You may do so in two ways


• Export/Import using PST.  Although effective, this method may miss appointments due to corruption or other factors.


• Copy and Paste. Although very effective you must sort all Public Folder Calendar Items by Category, and then by Item Type.  Copy only one item type at a time and delete any “junk” items (sometimes public folder calendars accumulate “MAIL” items which do not process correctly). Finally, copy only one item type (you can tell by the icon) at a time because some item types do not copy correctly – one bad item will prevent an entire copy/paste routine.


• Update network / application settings and train users.

Data Protection, zero-downtime, and Small Business Server

As new technologies in file replication and storage are developed it is critical for companies to re-evaluate their data backup and data protection strategies. Data backup is typical of any computer user, at least I hope it to be a case, but data protection has continuously proven to be a practice reserved for the larger companies.

Recently new products like Windows 2003 Server R2 and smaller 3rd party devices like the Seagate Mirra appliance have made it much easier to maintain live, continuously replicated, copies of all shared files on a separate storage media. Those media could then be used to restore to the point-of-failure, instead of the traditional “last night” backup. Even though such tools are easy to use and fairly inexpensive, they do not provide all the protection a small business needs.

In a perfect world a small business utilizes Microsoft Small Business Server 2003. Although it is a valuable asset for any small company, Small Business Server has one flaw: most continuous protection and, especially, auto-failover (Zero Downtime) solutions do not work with it.

After three months of research and experimenting with solutions from Neverfail, DoubleTake, SonaSoft, Microsoft, and Symantec it became clear that Small Business Users simply cannot experience the effects of Zero-Downtime in a disaster scenario (unless you are willing to spend about $20,000.00); but they can get close.

Keep looking for updated posts that will present our recommendations for Small Business Data Protection.

BlackBerry Enterprise Server 4.1: free of issues, runs on SBS server, and FREE?????

That's right folks, BlackBerry Enterprise Server - or more specifically BES Express - is a relatively new product from RIM that is free to BlackBerry Subscribers, runs on existing servers - such as Small Business Server 20003 - and does not experience the nasty issues we've blogged about this past week. The reason for the give-away, well RIM does have to compete with the Windows Mobile Technology from Microsoft.

Today I had my first successful deployment of BES Express, and found it to be a far easier project than deploying the regular BES. Not to mention, the customer saved over $4000.00 in hardware and software costs.

Traditionally BES required its own Windows 2003 Server with NO exchange installed on it and NO Outlook -- the MAPI client was flaky and calendaring was an issue if you tried any other setup. But the BES Express version has none of these issues.

Standard deployment takes about 90 minutes. The server supports up to 14 users. Each user must visit RIM's website and sign up for their own, individual, license (BES Express is not licenses to companies).

If you would like the benefits of BES Express such as:

• live synchronization
• control over blackberries from the server
• remote wipe and lock abilities
• flawless synchronization not dependant upon the Redirector or Web Client...

contact us and we'll get you started. There is a link to our contact form near the top of this blog, on the right side, just use it to submit your info.

-- Karl J.

BlackBerry issues - final step...

One more thing to make things work - reboot your PDC.... If you are not sure what that means... reboot your main server (so if you have Small Business Server, it would be that). This is critical.. I've found out that even though everything may appear to be set right, nothing really is until a reboot. Go figure..

-Karl J.

Update to BlackBerry: Problems sending messages when using Enterprise Server

I forgot to mention one - very important - step that needs to be done. If your users were Domain Admins, even if you strip the Domain Admin rights from them, they will still be considered a protected account. Therefore it is necessary to follow a few additional steps to do that. Here is the informaiton you will need for that:

(UPDATE ON THIS: I am sort of inserting this paragraph after the post was published. I am still debating whether this is really necessary, especially if you strip Domain Admin rights. On one hand research suggests that it is... but then I was able to get around this for some users).

Special rules for adminSDHolder Protected Accounts
If you use the script to grant the Send As permission for a mailbox owner that is also a domain administrator, the Send As permission will not be effective. We strongly recommend that you do not mailbox-enable user accounts that have domain administrator rights or that are adminSDHolder protected.

The adminSDHolder object is a template for accounts that have broad Active Directory administrative rights. To prevent unintended elevation of privilege, any account that is protected by the adminSDHolder object must have access rights that match those that are listed on the adminSDHolder object itself.

If you change the rights or the permissions on the adminSDHolder object for a protected account, a background task will undo the change within several minutes. For example, if you grant the Send As permission on a domain administrator object for an application service account, the background task will automatically revoke the permission.

Therefore, you cannot grant the Send As permission to an application service account for an account that is protected by the adminSDHolder object unless you change the adminSDHolder object itself. If you do change the adminSDHolder object, this will change the access permissions for all protected accounts. You should only change the adminSDHolder object after a complete review of the security implications that may occur with the change.

To associate a mailbox with an account that is protected by the adminSDHolder object, follow these steps:
1. Start the Active Directory Users and Computers management console.
2. On the View menu, make sure that the Advanced Features option is selected. If this option is not selected, the Security page will not be visible for User account objects.
3. Create an ordinary user account to act as the mailbox owner.
4. Assign the ordinary user account a mailbox on an Exchange server.
5. Open the properties of the new mailbox owner account.
6. In the Exchange Advanced box, grant the Full Mailbox Access permission to the protected administrator account.
7. In the Security page, grant the Send As permission to the protected administrator account.
8. Click OK to exit the properties of the mailbox owner object.
9. Right-click the mailbox owner account object, and then click Disable Account to disable the account for all logons.

BlackBerry: Problems sending messages when using Enterprise Server

Many users that are currently utilizing BlackBerry Enterprise Server are experiencing a problem sending messages. Basically the message attempts to send and comes back with a red "X". The issue is documented by BlackBerry and Microsoft, however the information provided has proven inaccurate to a degree, at least in my experience. I am happy to announce that there is a fix for the problem, one slightly different than what is suggested.

First off, a little backgroun. If you are running Microsoft Updates on your MS Exchange Server than you are experiencing the problem. The same is true if you applied the hotfix described in "“Send As” permission behavior change in Exchange 2003", Article 895949, of the Microsoft Knowledgebase. Basically the behavior of the "Send As" feature has changed, and been torn away from the previous setting that controlled it - known as "Full Mailbox Access." According to Microsoft, the reason there is an issue to begin with is due to BlackBerry's installation and security assignment procedure that improperly utilizies the "Full Mailbox Access" setting. Microsoft suggests that they are simply enforcing a behavior in security that has been documented a long time ago and simply been patched now.

The solution to this problem is described by Microsoft KB-912918 and BlackBerry KB-04707. (NOTE: if the BB KB article link fails, increase the last number in the h-link incrementally as new versions will have higher numbers). However, it is my view that the articles miss out on vital information. So, I've written out the procedure with additional - critical - information. The revised procedure I've used successfully is as follows:

1. Stop the BlackBerry Router first (contrary to 04707). This prevents users from sending. If a send is made during this procedure, all changes will be undone.
2. Go to Active Directory and REMOVE all Domain Admin / Administrator privlidges from the users that have BlackBerries. If not, your changes will be automatically undone within 60 mintes of you doing them (again not documented). Currently there is no work around.
3. Go to the domain level and assign BESAdmin (or whatever you use) "Send As" rights (in Security Tab) to the *User Objects*, from the Advanced Button. This will propagate to most users but not all (Microsoft KB-912918 has the details).
4. Go to the users that were Admins before and go to Properties > Security > Advanced. You will likely have to add BESAdmin to their list. When doing it, make sure to switch to USER OBJECTS first, and then check "Send As". Failure to use User Objects will be a problem, so dont miss that.
5. Wait 20 minutes for the cache to clear and start BlackBerry Router.

This does clear up the issue, I've been able to do it successfully on multiple servers. Keep in midn that the alternative is not to do Microsoft Updates or not apply the hotfix, but then you are left with a potential security problem. It is a catch 22. My oppinion, I rather keep MS Update and deal with issues if they arise.

-Karl J.

Security Issues You Need to Know About

I think most of us glance at Microsoft Security Bulletins and count on Windows or Microsoft Update to handle things, but sometimes that's not enough. Having a reasonable secured network is a multi-step process, but even wtih all precautions in place the threat of hackers is real.

Recently Microsoft published a bulletin - like all the others - named MS06-019 (kb: 916803) called Vulnerability in Microsoft Exchange Could Allow Remote Code Execution. In fine print it is labeled as "Critical", but we already know that Microsoft Critical Updates offer a broad range of software patches.

Before I tell you why you need this updated *immediately* applied to your Microsoft Exchange 2000 or 2003 server, I suggest you go and get it. Otherwise you may join a group of network owners that experience a chain of events that goes a little like this:

• User receives a calendar appointment, it is auto accepted. Nothing catches it as unusual - after all, its just a calendar appointment - with a little code to it that exploits a hole in Exchange.
• The sender of the appointment now has full control of your server - without your knowledge.
• The sender goes in and does a few things to cover his tracks like: change your backup jobs so they appear to be running each night without actually backing anything up (for example changes the job to catalog or index, rather than back up).
• Disables all logging features.
• Installs various mail server updates.
• Spams for a while.
• Formats your servers C drive (erasing most data and killing your server).
• leaving you with no server, no data, and no backups.

Can this happen to you? Yes - I've seen it. Can you prevent it - yes. Go - now - and do your windows updates. Switch your system to Microsoft Update to get comprehensive protection. Keep in mind you need Microsoft Update to install larger updates to Windows and patches to other Microsoft Applications, otherwise you remain an open target for hacker.

This article is based on: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS06-019.mspx .

- Karl J.

Received TWBlog Invitation? Some useful info.

Welcome - again - to our blog. Some of you visiting may have received an electronic invite to our blog and now are trying to figure out what to do with it. Well, you could just ignore it, but then you would miss out on our rants syndicated through RSS/ATOM/e-mail/WEB/etc feeds that make this form of publishing so very cool. So, here is some useful info:

• What is a blog?
  A web-based publication conisting of periodic articles - which are generally less formal and more personal - that generally consist of information, thoughts, ideas, etc.. In our situation, we use a popular blogging system, available to anyone, to syndicate our articles. Publishing is fast and easy, so is news delivery. Once a new article is published subscribers can be instantly notified using e-mail or RSS. End result, you're always current on the latest scoop.
  
• What is the TrialWorks Blog?
  This is a free news syndication service available to anyone designed to increase communication with our customers and deliver important information realted to our industry. Our mission is to publish articles quickly on new developments that may affect your busienss. To date we've published valuable information about missing calendar appointments and freeze-ups in office that have affected dozens of companies. Our topics are generally triggered by patterns discovered by our support/networking team. In addition, we will also use this to publish relevant information to TrialWorks, including new software releases.
  
• What is RSS?
  Really Simple Syndication is a web feed format used for delivering news and podcasts. It consists of a title, date, description, and the article which are standardized to a universal publishing system. Users can "subscribe" to these feeds using various tools like:
  > Microsoft Live (www.live.com)
  > Google Desktop Side Bar
  > Microsoft Internet Explorer 7.0 (now in BETA, will be available in Windows Vista).
  > All sorts of RSS Readers.
  
  As a side note, I use IE 7.0 but I do not recommend it - just yet - for non-advanced users. I suggest signing up with Windows Live, a free website operated by Microsoft.
  
  For more info on RSS feeds, check out WIKIPEDIA: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSS_%28file_format%29
  
• How do I subscribe to TrialWorks Blog RSS?
  Simply go to http://trialworks.blogspot.com/atom.xml. You will see the feed. Some software will automatically detected. If using Windows Live, you will be able to "add" the feed using one of their gadgets - most other software works that way also.
  
• How do I subscribe to the TrialWorks Blog E-Mail Notifications?
  The easiest way is to use the RSS feeds above. If you are not doing RSS, you are behind the times. It's the only way to stay current on all the latest news from multiple sources. Even if you are new to it, it's easy, just use some of our recommended tools mentioned above.
  
  If you want to do things the hard way, you can always e-mail an article to yourself using the envelope below each article. That will keep you updated - somewhat. A potentially easier choice is to sign up with Blogger.Com and FLAG this blog using the option on the top blue bar across the top. HOWEVER, we are using Blogger services because they are simple and readily avialable. Please be sure to review Blogger.com's privacy policies and terms of use agreements before signing up (here is the link: http://www.blogger.com/privacy).
  

That's all I can think of for now. Feel free to e-mail us/me with questions. To limit spam we have a blog inquiry form you can use for questions. Click on this link: http://www.trialworks.com/form_blog.htm

-Karl J.

Microsoft Word suddenly freezing when trying to browse for files.

Today I have had several reports of people freezing in Microsoft Word and Outlook for no particular reason. Well, the problems is a result of a recent series of Microsoft Updates that affect browsing. Fortunately there is a fix published April 15, 2006. You can read Microsoft Article 918165 and retrieve the fix.

This is the link: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/918165

SYMPTOMS
After you install security update MS06-015 (908531) - THIS IS NOT THE FIX!!(http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms06-015.mspx), you may experience one of more of the following issues:

• Unable to access special folders like "My Documents" or "My Pictures".
  Microsoft Office applications may stop responding when you attempt to save or open Office files in the "My Documents" folder.
• Office files in the "My Documents" folder are not able to open in Microsoft Office.
  Opening a file through an application's File / Open menu causes the program to stop esponding .
• Typing an address into Internet Explorer’s address bar has no effect.
• Right-clicking on a file and selecting Send To has no effect.
• Clicking on the plus (+) sign beside a folder in Windows Explorer has no effect.
• Some third-party applications stop responding when opening or saving data in the “My Documents” folder.

- Karl J. 4/18/06

Missing Calendar Appointments - One last update.

We have found a way to undo the service pack modification byediting the registry, but it is not intended as a final fix/adjustment/correction for the problem. Also, Ihave noticed users are more likely to experience this situation when updating appointments from the Docket Tab in TrialWorks, simply because of the nature of the system. So, these 3 articles apply to new appointments (Outlook and TrialWorks), and updates (Outlook and TrialWorks).

As far as changing the registry key - use it as a temporary solution. The final fix is is really to educate users and change your internal work-flow processes to accomodate the changing technology.

WARNING: If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.This step-by-step article describes how to add, modify, or delete registry subkeys and values by using a Registration Entries (.reg) file. Regedit.exe uses .reg files to import and export registry subkeys and values. You can use these .reg files to remotely distribute registry changes to several Windows-based computers. When you run a .reg file, the file contents merge into the local registry. Therefore, you must distribute .reg files with caution.

Description of the Microsoft Windows registry
(256986) - Describes the Microsoft Windows registry and provides information on how to edit it.http://support.microsoft.com/kb/256986/en-us

How to back up, edit, and restore the registry in Windows XP and Windows Server 2003
(322756) - Explains how to export or backup the registry in case something goes wrong when you edit the registry and you must restore the registry.http://support.microsoft.com/kb/322756/en-us

So - here is the key:

Key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\11.0\Outlook\Options\Calendar DWORD: DisableMeetingRegeneration Values: 1 = revert to the pre-SP2 behavior; 0 = use the new SP2 behavior

-Karl

Missing Calendar Appointments in Outlook: UPDATE

While dealing with the disappearing calendar appointment issue we've learned a lot from the Microsoft Developer websites. Mainly, Outlook and Exchange handle calendar appointments differently now, and it is imperative that you DO NOT DELETE Accept/Decline e-mail messages unless you want the relative calendar appointment to vanish from the calendar. Here is a short summary of the current situation:

1. That things are different now, since Outlook 2003 Service Pack 2 and Exchange 2003 Service Pack 2. The entire meeting request process is handled differently, and helps account for the behaviour. Different does not mean wrong - something we may have to get used to.
2. TrialWorks can automatically resolve this issue. In Admin > Edit Global Settings > Global Defaults > E-mail Tab > Invite as Resource checkbox.
   If you choose to use this option, every Outlook appointment generated through TrialWorks will be sent to people in a different format, bypassing the ACCEPT / DECLINE error message. This setting is global, so you would have to first alert all users of the changes.
3. In order to have Outlook invite users as Resources you must go through these steps:
   - Create New Appointment
   - Hit the TO box
   - Change to Scheduling Tab
   - Click Add Others button
   - Choose Add from Address List option
   - Select the name(s) you want.
   - Click the Resources button
4. If you delete the messages in your inbox without Accepting / Declining you will loose the calendar from your appointment. We're still looking for a possible work around, but for the time being users have take caution.
5. This is especially critical for BlackBerry users that can easily delete their calendar appointments. BlackBerry offers this information: Click here for a BlackBerry article

This article helps explain a lot: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/899919/en-us but its more technical.

- Karl

Missing Calendar Appointments in Outlook

I have recently discovered an anomaly in Microsoft Outlook 2003 in which Calendar Appointments disappear from personal calendars. At this point I suspect a vast number of users that may experience this issue. Although we are researching this further to find the root cause, I've so far learned of similar problems fixed by a hot-fix for Microsoft Exchange 2003.

This is what you can do to see the problem.

1. Go to your personal calendar in Outlook 2003.
2. Create a new appointment, and invite someone else in the office.
3. Make sure that the other person has Auto Accept enabled. Also, for test purposes, choose a time that will not conflict with anything on the invitees calendar.
4. Send the appointment.
5. At this point the other user will see the appointment on their calendar, but will also have an ACCEPT notice in their inbox.
6. If you DELETE the inbox message, you will also delete this appointment.

This is especially critical when UPDATES are being sent to appointments, which they often are when Docket Entries are changed in TrialWorks.

I've learned of a Microsoft Exchange Hotfix that we are currently testing to see if it resolves the issue. Keep reading my blog for more details, I'll post them as they come about.

Related KB Articles:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/899704/en-us
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/883672/en-us
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/894470/en-us
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/889097/en-us

- Karl J