Greetings! Welcome to Vol. 3, No. 3 of Exchange Messaging Outlook, an occasional newsletter about Microsoft Exchange, Windows Messaging and Microsoft Outlook, both for users of Windows 95 and NT 4.0 and for organizations using Microsoft Exchange Server.

Visitors to my Slipstick Systems Exchange Center web site may have noticed things were a little slow the past few weeks. That's because I was on vacation and took time out only to file updates for Windows 98. However, I'm back in gear now and plowing through many new add-ins and techniques, so watch for one or two updates each week.

Today's highlights:

Regular features:

Outlook 98 Security Patch

Last week, Microsoft posted a must-have patch for Outlook 98 and Outlook Express to address a security issue related to file attachments received from the Internet. Attachments using very long file names could cause Outlook to crash and offer a way for hackers to subject your system to malicious code. There are separate patches for OL98 and OE. You need both if you are using the newsreader included with Outlook 98. For more information and links to the downloads and security bulletin, see http://www.slipstick.com/outlook98/secpatch.htm.

You do not need this patch if you use Outlook 97 or if you use Outlook 98 and get all your mail through Exchange Server, Microsoft Mail Server or some other enterprise mail server.

The story doesn't end there. The security bulletin describing the problem states that Microsoft found an additional security issue that may need to be fixed. Stay tuned.

Waiting for SP1

Microsoft has posted information on Service Pack 1 for Exchange Server 5.5. A few of the highlights:

U.S. and Canadian customers can order SP1 on CD, but there is no downloadable patch yet. Apparently, the download was posted briefly last month, then pulled, and has yet to reappear. We'll post information about the download when it surfaces again, hopefully soon.

Office SR-1 Patch -- now for Win98 and OL98

In the last issue of EMO, we discussed problems related to installing the Office Service Release 1 (SR-1) patch on Windows 98 systems. This has also been a problem for people running Outlook 98 on Windows 95 or Windows NT.

Microsoft has now updated the SR-1 patch so that it works with Win98 or OL98. This is an important development because, to upgrade to Office Service Release 2 later this summer, you must already have SR-1 installed.

If you have already successfully installed SR-1, you do not need the new version of the patch. How can you tell? Open Word, Excel, Access or PowerPoint, then choose Help | About. You should see "SR-1" listed as the version. If it isn't, you don't have SR-1 yet.

If you recently bought Office 97, check the box. If you have Small Business Edition and the box says Publisher 98, then you have SR-1. If it was regular Office or Office Professional, an MMX sticker on the box means that you have SR-1.

If you don't have SR-1 installed yet, here are your options:

For Windows 95 or NT using Outlook 97:

For Outlook 98:

For Windows 95 or NT using Outlook 97:

The new patch is located at these sites:

Other language versions should be available soon from local Microsoft affiliate web sites.

If you are in doubt as to whether you have the right patch, check the size of the file you downloaded. The U.S. English version of the patch is 8,890,664 bytes or about 1.5mb larger than the original SR-1 patch. Other versions should be a similar size.

For information on ordering the Enterprise Update on CD, see http://www.slipstick.com/exchange/ol802.htm#order.

In the U.S. and Canada, you can order the forthcoming SR-2 patch by calling the Microsoft Order Desk ((800) 360-7561). Once SR2 is released, it will be possible to order the SR2 Patch CD via a form on the SR2 website.

Outlook 98 "run from network" - Part II

Another issue we looked at last time was how to get Outlook 98 to work in a "run from server" environment. Microsoft has finally seen the need to provide pointers for administrators on this issue in the form of a nine-page white paper describing a recommended installation procedure using the Network Installation Wizard from the Office 97 Resource Kit. For details, get the 85kb white paper from http://support.microsoft.com/download/support/mslfiles/OLRNS.exe.

MEC '98 reminder

Don't forget that the third annual Microsoft Exchange Conference will take place September 9-11 in Boston, MA. Registration is now under way at http://www.microsoft.com/exchange/community/events/MEC98.asp. You can read about the detailed program -- including many sessions on the forthcoming Outlook 2000 -- at http://www.microsoft.com/exchange/community/events/MEC98/program.htm.

New and updated utilities

My Outlook Calendar
Customizable Word template for generating and printing Outlook 97/98 weekly and monthly calendars. Print any Outlook calendar that you have access to, including calendars from other users' mailboxes and Public Folders. Add color coding by category or by type of item (one-day event, multiple-day event, etc.) Specify time and date formats and the title for the calendar. Slower than the Microsoft template, but it does much more and follows progress in the status bar.
http://www.slipstick.com/exchange/gallery.htm#myolcal

Control Data IMAP4 MAPI Service Provider
MAPI transport to allow access to IMAP4 servers from Exchange, Windows Messaging, Outlook 97 or Outlook 98 in Corporate/Workgroup mode. Versions available for both Win 3.1x and Win95/NT.
http://www.cdc.com/imapsp/

Control Data LDAP MAPI Service Provider
MAPI service to allow access to LDAP directory servers from Exchange, Windows Messaging, Outlook 97 or Outlook 98 in Corporate/Workgroup mode. Versions available for both Win 3.1x and Win95/NT.
http://www.cdc.com/free/

DeRedirect
Freeware utility for decoding messages sent with the CaRedirect custom action, in cases where the recipient does not use ExLife or CaRedirect.
http://www.mokry.cz/add-ins/deredir.htm

S/MIME Everywhere
Free S/MIME security component for Exchange/Outlook 97. (Outlook 98 has S/MIME built in.) For U.S. and Canadian citizens only.
http://www.worldtalk.com/Products/SMIME%2520Everywhere/sme.shtm

Panda Antivirus for Microsoft Exchange/Outlook Client
Detects viruses in OLE embedded documents and compressed files, as well as normal attachments. Available in English and several other languages.
http://www.pandasoftware.com/

Banyan MAPI 2.0
MAPI transport to connect Exchange or Outlook to Banyan Vines servers. Distributed as part of Banyan's Intranet Messaging Suite. Adds support for Outlook PIM functions.
http://www.banyan.com/notices/98/prod_124.html

Visual MAPI '98
(Formerly MAPIMate) Utility for generating VB or VBA code for MAPI projects through a visual interface, updated to fix a problem with code generated for creating filters based on fields.
http://www.slipstick.com/exchange/gallery.htm#mapimate

Exchange Templates (ver 1.1)
Free upgrade for Exchange Templates 1.0 users providing better support for Outlook 98, including HTML formatting, plus new features such as public templates and some new template actions.
http://www.nsoftware.com/

MaX Compression (ver 3.1)
Update fixes a few problems and improves performance.
http://www.c2c.com/products/maxcomp.htm

Micro Eye Script Director
Deployment and administration tool to help developers and administrators manage Exchange folders with scripting or routing agents. Requires Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5 Service Pack 1.
http://www.microeye.com/scriptdirector/

FAQ review

Search the Slipstick Systems Exchange Center at http://www.slipstick.com/exchange/search.htm.

Get the answers from the Microsoft Exchange, Windows Messaging and Microsoft Outlook FAQs at http://www.slipstick.com/exchange/faqs.htm.

The Microsoft Outlook FAQ has a Table of Contents at http://www.slipstick.com/exchange/outlfaq.htm to help you find answers faster. New and updated items are at the bottom of the page.

Ask new questions and provide other feedback for the Slipstick Systems Exchange Center FAQs at http://www.slipstick.com/exchange/faqfdbk.htm.

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