Tips

Tips

• Synchronously changing the mail sender name

  How to synchronously change the mail sender name in Outlook and Exchange.  Continue Reading

• Recover from corrupt Windows 2000 security settings

  How to recover from corrupt Windows 2000 security settings.  Continue Reading

• On BLAT, a command-line mailing utility

  A useful utility that can enable systems to send e-mail without setting up a mail server.  Continue Reading

• Basic DNS records for Active Directory DCs

  Be careful with the Active Directory Wizard, it may generate incorrect entries. This tip tells you what to look for to make sure your DNS records are correct.  Continue Reading

• Microsoft certification 2003: A look back and a look ahead

  The year's big stories in Microsoft certification and what to expect in years to come.  Continue Reading

• Control when messages leave the Exchange server

  Control when messages leave the Exchange server  Continue Reading

• Microsoft Adsizer tool works out your Active Directory domain

  Learn about the Active Directory Sizer tool, a Microsoft utility design to determine the hardware requirements for your AD domain.  Continue Reading

• On the Microsoft Log Parser

  A look at the specs and many uses of the Log Parser.  Continue Reading

• Archiving filtered messages

  You're filtering for spam, but what if a message isn't spam and needs to be retrieved. Here's how you can archive these messages.  Continue Reading

• Why certify? Some benefits of Microsoft partnerships

  Some benefits of Microsoft partnerships.  Continue Reading

• Avoid problems with using DNS in Exchange

  Why it happens, and what to do.  Continue Reading

• Share your remote desktop session

  Stumped by a remote user issue? Get a second opinion from one of your IT colleagues by sharing your remote desktop session.  Continue Reading

• Windows and hyper-threading

  How to get the most out of it.  Continue Reading

• Take your pick: Native or mixed mode in Windows

  Learn the differences between native and mixed mode domains in Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003.  Continue Reading

• Remove Windows password for home users

  Change settings so Windows doesn't ask for a password at startup  Continue Reading

• Modify user Terminal Services settings for a Windows 2000 OU

  A step-by-step process for applying the same Terminal Services settings to all the users in the same Active Directory organizational unit.  Continue Reading

• Check your Windows port associations

  Free tool to find out what's what.  Continue Reading

• The changing face of Microsoft certification

  How certifications impact job market and how Microsoft plans to maximize certification value.  Continue Reading

• Terminating a system administrator

  There are different considerations when letting a sysadmin go.  Continue Reading

• Managing distribution lists in Exchange 2000

  A look at how management of the distribution list has changed in Exchange 2000.  Continue Reading

• How to use non-Microsoft DNS for AD

  You don't have to use Microsoft's DNS to deploy an Active Directory domain. Expert James Michael Stewart explains how.  Continue Reading

• Outlook restrictions? Check the registry

  If you didn't set them, then it's probably a damaged registry key.  Continue Reading

• Reducing spam e-mail

  Some features in Outlook 2002 that can be applied to help reduce spam e-mail.  Continue Reading

• What MCP Exam 70-282 says about MS exam strategy and design

  What MCP Exam 70-282 says about MS exam strategy and design.  Continue Reading

• How to climb the career ladder

  Yes, times are tough, but smart IT professionals can still advance their careers with these tips.  Continue Reading

• Why can't I create new Active Directory objects?

  From time to time, AD administrators may have trouble creating new objects. Fortunately, this is usually quite easy to fix.  Continue Reading

• Disabling user accounts? Apply behavior modification

  How to maintain security while disabling accounts.  Continue Reading

• Exhibit grace under pressure

  Because of its interdependency, shutting down Exchange gracefully is essential to keep from losing any e-mail.  Continue Reading

• When backup domain controllers go bad

  While it's rare for admins to stop receiving replication updates from the Windows Server domain controllers, there are several steps you can take to resolve the issue in Active Directory.  Continue Reading

• Securing the IIS metabase

  Make sure you secure the metabase in IIS 6.0.  Continue Reading

• DES is not sufficient

  How to harden DES if you are still using it.  Continue Reading

• The real firewall strategy

  Use both hardware and software for real protection.  Continue Reading

• End the EFS wars

  Watch out for EFS decryption problems.  Continue Reading

• Active Directory replication failing? Check the topology

  Learn why automatic replication can sometimes fail in Active Directory and what admins can do to troubleshoot the problem.  Continue Reading

• Security policies should work from home too!

  Make sure your remote workers follow your security policy.  Continue Reading

• It's not Exchange's fault

  Other things that cause e-mail trouble.  Continue Reading

• Stop a deleted object's reappearance in Active Directory

  What you delete from Active Directory doesn't always stay that way. This tip explains why those AD objects reappear, and what admins can do to stop it.  Continue Reading

• What if OWA stops responding?

  Why it happens and how to fix it.  Continue Reading

• View your Kerberos tickets with free Microsoft tool

  Learn about a useful utility designed for Windows admins to help with viewing Kerberos tickets in Active Directory.  Continue Reading

• Auto replies? Use a public folder

  Why you should, instead of running a copy of Outlook.  Continue Reading

• Easily manage multiple systems using MMC

  How to easily manage multiple systems using MMC.  Continue Reading

• Recover Exchange public folders through OWA

  Recover Exchange public folders through OWA  Continue Reading

• System.ced is missing? Probably not

  If System.ced is missing, what probably is wrong, and how to fix it.  Continue Reading

• Active Directory account lockout help

  A quick Active Directory trick for when users complain about account lockout issues.  Continue Reading

• Simple Kerberos configuration

  Check out these five Group Policy configuration settings you can adjust to improve your Kerberos security setup.  Continue Reading

• Set a mailbox store policy

  How to set a mailbox store policy.  Continue Reading

• Security policy and the law

  A look at how security policy and the law should fit together and some links to legal resources.  Continue Reading

• What's up with MVM for Java?

  The state of the machine, upgrades, etc.  Continue Reading

• What time is it? Keeping your domain on time

  This tip explains how to ensure that your PDC emulator domain controller is able to access an Internet timeserver.  Continue Reading

• Round-robin DNS with different subnets

  Round-robin DNS with different subnets  Continue Reading

• Fixing mismatched Active Directory accounts

  Learn to solve issues with mismatched Active Directory accounts and mailboxes after ADC replication  Continue Reading

• Some help with RunAs

  Let users run programs with different parameters without making them admins.  Continue Reading

• Preventative maintenance checklist

  A helpful checklist of preventative maintenace instructions.  Continue Reading

• The bascs of managing computer Active Directory accounts

  In this short tip, learn the essentials every admin should know about account management in Microsoft Active Directory.  Continue Reading

• Task Manager: Help for helpers

  How to use Task Manager to manage a help desk.  Continue Reading

• XP Professional deployment options

  Explore your XP Professional deployment options.  Continue Reading

• The domain account lockout mystery

  Disconnected terminal server sessions can cause problems with account lockouts.  Continue Reading

• Watch out for NetBEUI in NT to XP upgrade

  NetBEUI can cause problems with NT 4.0 to XP client upgrade.  Continue Reading

• Ten tips for safe computing on a public LAN

  Before your remote users connect to a public LAN, be sure you've taken these security precautions.  Continue Reading

• Seize the day (with FSMOs)

  Learn a procedure called "seizing", an emergency procedure for moving FSMO roles to a different Windows server.  Continue Reading

• What are those Exchange stats telling you?

  Learn how to tune Exchange for the best storage performance and keep it running optimally.  Continue Reading

• SD2003: NAS user case study - consolidation strategies that work

  How do you manage 500TB of spinning disk, 1PB of tape, and deliver 12 billion page views per day? Welcome to the world of Yahoo's Storage Operations Manager.  Continue Reading

• Juggling your Active Directory FSMOs

  Learn how admins can move roles from one server to another in Microsoft Active Directory.  Continue Reading

• Maintain consistent folder views

  How to do it, and why you need to.  Continue Reading

• Regain service-account access to user mailboxes

  How to get access back after switching to Exchange 2000.  Continue Reading

• Batch file that makes hotfixes easy -- and only one reboot!

  With this process you can insure all your servers are running your last release of hotfixes within 30 minutes per server with only one reboot.  Continue Reading

• Creating printer ports and shared printers in a clustered environment

  This tip explains how to create printer ports and shared printers programmatically in a clustered environment.  Continue Reading

• Changing the IP address on a domain controller

  Step-by-step instructions for changing the IP address on an AD domain controller, as well as a method to make sure it is resolving properly after the change.  Continue Reading

• Quick Tips: Exporting AD account information to a spreadsheet

  Learn how to export Active Directory account information like email addresses, last name, etc., into a spreadsheet.  Continue Reading

• Open an MS-DOS prompt using drag-and-drop

  It's easy to start a DOs program by using drag-and-drop. Just follow these five steps.  Continue Reading

• Keep the core system in RAM

  Use this registry trick to improve system performance by preventing your OS from sending user-mode and kernel-mode drivers to the paging file.  Continue Reading

• Use the shadow copy client

  What it is and how to get it, even if you aren't running Win2K3.  Continue Reading

• Microsoft Mobile Information Server and OWA

  Having problem connecting to a Microsoft Mobile Information Server (MMIS) server on Exchange with Outlook Web Access (OWA) installed?  Continue Reading

• Keep secrets with Active Directory containers

  Once you have your forests, trees and domains, don't forget that you can have sub-containers called OUs that offer a number of very nice features -- like keeping secrets.  Continue Reading

• Do you want a mixed-mode domain?

  Learn about the pros and cons of using a mixed-mode domain in Microsoft Active Directory.  Continue Reading

• No MX record? Send anyway

  How to get around the lack of a mail exchange record for destinations.  Continue Reading

• Developing a Windows XP backup plan

  There are a number of different options you can pursue when creating a Windows desktop backup strategy. This tip looks a few of these options.  Continue Reading

• Good news for MCP test takers

  Microsoft is once again offering information to exam candidates about their areas of strengths and weaknesses on MCP certification tests.  Continue Reading

• Disable connections in Win2k Pro

  How and why to disable connections in Win2k Pro.  Continue Reading

• Grant full access rights to a user's Exchange 2000 mailbox

  Get step-by-step instructions on how to grant full access rights and permissions to open a user's mailbox in Exchange 2000.  Continue Reading

• Part Two: Windows NT and SCSI disk performance

  Bits and Bytes: Dilip Naik looks at how you can best configure your SCSI systems to maximize throughput and minimize chance of data loss in the Windows environment.  Continue Reading

• The nightmare upgrade: Windows NT 3.51 to Windows 2000 or 2003

  Is your network system extremely dated? Learn to ease the migration to Windows 2000 Server or Windows 2003.  Continue Reading

• Remotely administer Exchange Server 5.5

  Get step-by-step instructions on how to remotely administer an Exchange 5.5 server.  Continue Reading

• Here comes a Microsoft desktop technician certification?

  Sources inside and outside Microsoft have recently let slip some details about a supposedly forthcoming new desktop technician certification program.  Continue Reading

• Lock down HOSTS files

  Placing name/address pairs in HOSTS allows the system to default to the IP address for that network name at all times -- saving DNS lookup time and traffic to the DNS server.  Continue Reading

• Turn off SIS for small RIS installations

  Single Instance Storage (SIS) can slow down you PC imaging when using RIS.  Continue Reading

• Protect Exchange

  A comprehensive background of e-mail protocols, security measures, and advice on dealing with open relaying and blacklisting issues.  Continue Reading

• Active Directory flexible logon script

  Learn how to use the Active Directory organization unit (OU) structure to drive your script.  Continue Reading

• Add intranet as a trusted network subnet to the firewall

  Add the intranet site as a trusted network subnet to the firewall. When it was not set to trusted, it wouldn't run the scripts and objects correctly.  Continue Reading

• Access multiple mailboxes with one account, part 2

  Set up one account for multiple mailboxes, using forced authentication to access individual mailboxes.  Continue Reading

• Batch cleanup of temp files, part 2

  You can use the Deltree command to remove unwanted files and directories.  Continue Reading

• Check the IMCDATA\QUEUE.DAT file

  How to diagnose problems with QUEUE.DAT.  Continue Reading

• Missing domain controller policies? Help!

  How to replace without reinstalling Windows.  Continue Reading

• Change the Win2000 terminal services port

  Under some conditions, you may be forced to use another port for TS -- like if you're dealing with a firewall or proxy that doesn't allow certain ports for security reasons.  Continue Reading

• Stop users who employ EFS

  How to stop your users if they start using EFS to hide illicit information.  Continue Reading

• Here's help with PST files

  Learn how to repair damaged or corrupted Microsoft Outlook .PST (personal folders) files.  Continue Reading

• The first rule of Active Directory design? Keep it simple

  It's easy to get carried away when designing your Active Directory environment, and things can get complex very quickly. Learn why when it comes to AD, less is often more.  Continue Reading

• Active Directory upgrade gotchas to consider

  Advice on common issues to be aware of before upgrading to Microsoft Active Directory.  Continue Reading

• Handle a former employee's mail, part 2

  Manage an ex-employee's e-mail account with minimal administrative overhead.  Continue Reading

• Force domain changes in Microsoft Active Directory

  you make a change to your domain, you don't have to wait for AD's replication schedule to occur before having that change replicate to all of your other DCs.  Continue Reading