Exchange Messaging Outlook
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Greetings! Welcome to Vol. 8, No. 14, 16 Oct 2003, of Exchange Messaging Outlook, a biweekly newsletter about Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft Outlook. Today's highlights:
Regular features:
Critical Security Update for Exchange 2000; Updates Also for Exchange 5.5 Microsoft has released a critical security patch for Exchange 2000 to eliminate a vulnerability in the SMTP service that could result in a denial-of-service attack or an attacker running malicious programs in the security context of the SMTP service. The Internet Mail Service in Exchange 5.5 is also vulnerable to a similar denial-of-service attack. Patches are available for Exchange 5.5 Service Pack 4 and Exchange 2000 Service Pack 3. Microsoft also suggests several workarounds, such as SMTP authentication, that can provide some protection until you install the patch. For complete details, see "Microsoft TechNet Microsoft Security Bulletin MS03-046: Vulnerability in Exchange Server Could Allow Arbitrary Code Execution" http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS03-046.asp A second patch for Exchange 5.5 addresses a cross-site scripting vulnerability related to HTML encoding in a new mail message. Because this patch affects the .asp pages that drive Outlook Web Access, you should back up any customized pages before applying the patch. You will then need to reapply the customizations to the updated pages. For more information, see "Microsoft Security Bulletin MS03-047: Vulnerability in Exchange Server 5.5 Outlook Web Access Could Allow Cross-Site Scripting Attack" at http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS03-047.asp. Links to all three patches are listed below under Updated Utilities. Exchange 2003 does not exhibit either vulnerability. Outlook 2003 Rules May Halt Exchange 5.5 Using Outlook 2003 to modify or import rules may cause the Exchange 5.5 store to halt when it tries to process a rule with a malformed property. Microsoft has released a post-SP4 hotfix to correct the problem. Contact Microsoft Product Support Services (PSS) to obtain Exchange 5.5 Information Store Patch 2657.74. The Microsoft Knowledgebase article "XADM Information Store Intermittently Stops Responding and an Access Violation Occurs in EcDSDNFromSz" at http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=829418 has more information. Note that this is the second compatibility issue known to affect Exchange 5.5 after mailboxes have been accessed with Outlook 2003. The first one, discussed in EMO in August (http://www.slipstick.com/emo/2003/up030820.htm#updatecdo), can prevent Outlook Web Access users from accessing their mailboxes. It, too, has a hotfix available. Microsoft recently moved to provide public download locations for this fix (and the related fixes for Exchange 2000 and Exchange 2003), instead of making you call PSS to get the patch. See http://www.slipstick.com/exs/index.htm#ol2003cdo for download links. Report from Microsoft Office System Connections I'm on my way home from the Office Developer Connections conference, having spent three days learning about new tools and technologies such as InfoPath and Visual Studio Tools for Office (which released this week). Unlike the Professional Developers Conference (PDC) later this month or TechEd, which attract thousands of people, this is a small conference concentrated at one (really nice) resort hotel. The strong lineup of experienced non-Microsoft presenters (as well as a few folks from Microsoft with some really good code to share) were all willing to spend time to tackle specific development questions that attendees brought with them. The next Office Developer Connections conference will take place in April in Orlando, again concurrent with the other developer conference. Outlook on Their Minds Between sessions, I got an earful of questions not just from people doing development on various platforms but also from some involved in their organizations' deployment plans for Outlook. Some of their questions: Does Outlook 2003 eliminate the limit on the maximum number of entries in a personal distribution list (DL)? No, the limit is the same, and it's due to constraints on the Exchange Server, not in Outlook. My feeling is that people shouldn't use large personal DLs in the first place. For one thing, unless users are meticulous, they'll wind up putting the DL name in the To box, which means that all those dozens or hundreds of names will have to print out before the actual message. My preference is either to manage a large DL in the Exchange GAL (and there are some nice tools for that -- see http://www.slipstick.com/exs/lists.htm) or to use mail merge to send individual messages, rather than one message to all recipients. Mail merge is almost essential if you're sending outside your organization, since messages with many recipients may be more likely to be classified as spam. Why does Outlook sometimes prompt for credentials for my POP server but still works OK if I cancel that dialog? That one (from an Access guru) has me stumped. It rings a bell, but it's impossible to remember all the problems with Outlook, so I'll have to do some digging. What's the future of Outlook as a programming platform? Ah, that's the big question, isn't it? There aren't many changes in Outlook 2003, which supports the same approaches as earlier versions -- custom forms, VBA, COM add-ins, and folder home pages. I spent some quality time looking at InfoPath this week and realized that its combination of easy form design and XML data representation might point to the direction Outlook could take someday. But, for now, we'll just have to wait to see what Outlook 12 has to offer a couple of years down the road. And, by the way, in case you're wondering whether you can use Visual Studio Tools for Office to create managed .NET code for a Word template that Outlook uses for email, that just won't work. The security for VSTO applications won't permit it. Office 2003 and Exchange 2003 Launch Next Week In case you've been on another planet recently and haven't heard the news, the official launch of Microsoft Office System 2003 and Exchange 2003 takes place next Tuesday, October 21, in New York. I'll be there and expect that it will be an exciting event. Launch events will be happening in many locations over several days; you can sign up for one near you at http://www.officesystemlaunch.com/. |
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New Utilities |
ABOUT:TIME FOR EXCHANGE SERVER http://www.eoptimize.com/exchange.htm Scheduling engines to analyze resource availability within Exchange to solve complex scheduling problems, such as engagements that involve multiple pieces of equipment, multiple time zones, significant travel time for mobile resources, and other issues. Works with Outlook Web Access, as well as Outlook 2000 or later. EXCHANGE DISASTER RECOVERY SERVICE PAYPAL PAYMENT WIZARD REMINDER MANAGER ROOMSERVICE CENTRAL SPAMCATCHER WINDOWS SHAREPOINT SERVICES |
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Updated utilities |
CONTACTS VERIFIER http://www.mapilab.com/outlook/contacts_verifier/ Version 2.0 of this tool for verifying that email addresses are correct adds support for Outlook 2003 and can verify addresses in a Word mail merge or any other one-time addresses. LOOK.WEB OCTOBER 2003 CUMULATIVE PATCH FOR INTERNET EXPLORER SCOPEWARE VISION SECURITY UPDATE FOR EXCHANGE 2000 (KB829436) SECURITY UPDATE FOR EXCHANGE 5.5 (KB828489) SECURITY UPDATE FOR EXCHANGE 5.5 (KB829436) TABTAG |
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Other resources |
CUSTOMIZE OUTLOOK'S DISPLAY MAP OF ADDRESS LINK http://www.poremsky.com/displaymap.htm The Display Map button on a contact in Outlook 2000 does not properly redirect to the MapPoint site that Microsoft uses for maps in Outlook 2002 and Outlook 2003. You can correct the mapping site with a registry entry for Outlook 2000 and even switch to using a different mapping site in Outlook 2000 or Outlook 2002. Outlook MVP Diane Poremsky has worked out the details not just for MapPoint, but also for MapQuest and Yahoo Maps. EXCHANGE 2000 SDK DOCUMENTATION AND SAMPLES SEPTEMBER 2003 EXCHANGE 2003 SDK DOCUMENTATION AND SAMPLES SEPTEMBER 2003 EXCHANGE SERVER 2003 HELP UPDATE DEPLOYING PROJECT 2003 WITH OUTLOOK 2003 ISA SERVER 2000 EXCHANGE 2000/2003 SECURE REMOTE EMAIL
DEPLOYMENT KIT (BETA 1) MAPI EXAMPLE CODE FOR GETTING FOLDERS AND MESSAGES MICROSOFT OFFICE SYSTEM PRODUCT EVALUATION KITS OUTLOOK 2003 OBJECT MODEL MAP OUTLOOK TIPS FROM MICROSOFT'S KC LEMSON WORKING WITH STORE PERMISSIONS IN MICROSOFT EXCHANGE 2000 AND
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More Information |
ISSN 1523-7990 |
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Updated Jul 30 2006
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