Grant's Geek Blog

2007-03-11T12:27:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone - Over the last few days I've been doing a lot of updates to Exchange Servers for the DST. I jotted my notes down here, based on information I gleemed from Microsoft's website, and several blogs out there.

These steps avoid having to run Grant Mailbox Permissions.vbs that is referenced in http://support.microsoft.com/kb/930879

DISCLAIMER: These steps worked for me - but there is no guarantee they will work for you. This is advice only. Please review http://support.microsoft.com/kb/930879 before proceeding, so you are familiar with the known issues.

===========

1. Load the DST patches on Workstations and Servers

a. Use Windows Update, Microsoft Update or a WSUS
b. Or Download from http://support.microsoft.com/kb/931836

2. Load the DST patch for Exchange SP2

a. Use Windows Update, Microsoft Update or a WSUS
b. Or Download from http://support.microsoft.com/kb/926666

3. Upate the calendar entries with the process below:

Using Active Directory Users and Computers, create an account (I called mine TZFix – so I’ll call it that the rest of the way through) and give it a password and a mailbox.

DO NOT delegate Exchange permissions to this account, and do not put it in any other Domain Groups except for the default - Domain Users.

Using Exchange System Manager, navigate to each Exchange server, select Properties, select the Security Tab, and grant the TZFix user Full Control of the Server.

This will give them permissions to each mailbox in each database.

Repeat for the other servers in your Organization.

Server work is done.

=================

Go to a Windows XP w/SP2 workstation that has Outlook 2003 (or higher) on it. Login as a user with Administrator Permissions.

Right-click on My Computer and select Manage. Drill down to Local Users and Groups Groups.

Add your TZFix to the LOCAL Administrator’s Group of the Workstation (this is so entries can be created in your event log)

Close out of Computer Management and log off. Login as TZFix.

Double-click on an Outlook Icon and configure a profile, using the TZFix mailbox. DO NOT enable Cache mode.

Close Outlook

Download TZMove.exe from http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=e343a233-b9c8-4652-9dd8-ae0f1af62568&DisplayLang=en

Run TZMove.exe to extract the files.

Cancel when it actually tries to run (we just need it to extract to C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office 12\Office Outlook Time Zone Data Update Tool\

Download MsExTmz.msi from http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=A9336886-4B28-4010-9416-36D38429438D&displaylang=en and install it.

Navigate to C:\Program Files\msExTmz and double-click on the MsExTmzCfg executable(MsExTmzCfg Information: This utility will examine the mailboxes and attempt to determine what time zone the user is set to. It will determine it by looking at what time zone Outlook, CDO, and OWA last accessed it with. )

Set the following options:

Clear/DO NOT Check: Skip ExtractionServer
Name: Your Exchange Server Name (Ex1, Server1, Mailroom, etc) (Note: you will need to repeat for Each Exchange Server in your Org)
Outlook Profile Name: Select the one created for TZFix (there should only be one)
Output File From Extraction: Output.txt
Check/Enable Extract Recurring Meeting Time Zone (takes longer, but better chance at figuring out time zone)
Click Next

Now - the Timezone Extraction will complete.

DON’T PANIC - It is OK to get HrProcessMailboxTable:Unable find mailbox timezone:Error 0x80004005 – we’re running it the first time to get a list of users that don’t have a time zone available, as well as finding out who does have it set and what it is

Click Next

You should see a screen with the paths to Confirm the Conflicting and NonExistent file names. Close the window with the X in the upper right corner.

In the C:\Program Files\MsExTmz folder – open the file called Output.txt using Microsoft Excel.

You will see the following

Column A: Users DN
Column B: Time Zone #1
Column C: Time Zone #2
Column D: Time Zone #3

Any users that do NOT have a time zone listed in Column B, C or D – add one to column B or C.

Each user should have a Time Zone Set in either B, C or D.

From the File Menu, select Save and click YES to confirm the file should remain as a .txt file.

Close Excel. If prompted, click NO to save the file(we just did)

Double-click on the MsExTmzCfg executable again.

Check/Enable: Skip Extraction – we want to use our modified Output.txt.
Server Name: Enter the same server nameClick NextLeave the defaults (output files)

Click Next

Note the Number of Affected Users Count – this is how many Users it will attempt to modify
Set Number of Batch Files to 1 (unless you have hundreds of users – then make it 1 batch file for every 100’s users (so if you have 500 users, make it 5)
For TZMove.exe path – click browse and navigate to C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\Office Outlook Time Zone Data Update Tool\TZMove.exe (VERY IMPORTANT! – DON’T LINK TO THE DOWNLOAD – YOU NEED THE EXTRACTED VERSION)
Check the Recurring meetings only if you just want to update those, and have users fix their individual meetings themselves

Click Finish and then Close.

The Data Files will be created.

In the C:\Program Files\MsExTmz folder, there should be a new folder now with the name of your server. Open that folder.

In here are several files – open each of the text files so they make sense (Hopefully ConflictUsers and Errors willb e empty)

ConflictUsers – these users have multiple, different time zones set. They will not be updated
Errors – these are users that it was not able to determine a time zone for. They will not be updated
Mailboxes_1.txt – these are the users that will be processed(you may also have Mailboxes_2, Mailboxes_3, etc - if you asked for more than 1 batch file)
MSExTmz_1.bat – this is a batch file to do the migrations

Double-click on MSExTmz_1.bat and sit back – the system will now:

Build a dummy Outlook Profile
Open the mailbox
Update the timezone and any meetings
Close the mailbox
Remove the dummy Profile
Repeat 1-5 for each user in the file.

As it runs, you will see files being creates – MSExTmz-USERNAME-0xHEXNUM.txt – these are individual logs that record what events were updated. If no changes are made to a mailbox, no file will be present.

When complete – review msextmz.txt and examine for errors.

Repeat the MsExTMZCfg.exe for each Exchange Server, running it twice – the first time to extract the time zones into Output.txt, then modify the Output.txt to set timezones, then run it again (without the export) to create the batch files.

=============

Time for cleanup

Back on the Exchange Server, Use Exchange System Manager and navigate to each server's properties.

Select the security tab, and remote the TZFix user account.

Using Active Directory Users and Computers, remove the TZFix user

=======

2006-10-19T14:23:00.000-07:00

Outlook Autocomplete addresses - where does it store them? (aka the Nicknames)

So - we use Outlook on a daily basis - and it remembers addresses that we type (for fun - I just typed Fred.Flintstone@confuzer.com into my To line. Now, whenever I start to type f - fred is in the list. That is all and good - so here are some common issues with them:

1. What if I build a new outlook profile or move to a different computer?
It forgets them. Turns out these are stored in a .NK2 file on your hard drive. Default for Windows XP is c:\Documents & settings\USERNAME\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook\PROFILENAME.NK2

If the profile name changes, it will create a new one
If you got to a new computer, it will create a new one

So - how can you fix it - copy/rename the old one to the profile name.nk2 (or replace the one that gets created)

2. What if it corrupts? Delete it and a new one will be created

3. How can I manipulate it?

Head-on over to the NK2 project and download nk2csv. As of this writing, version .06 is out there.

http://www.nk2.info

It adds/deletes entries from the file, and it will export them into a CSV file (it even works on corrupt NK2 files to get some of the data out). You can them make them into contacts, or whatever.

2006-07-19T11:31:00.000-07:00

Using the Windows XP x64 or Windows Server 2003 x64 Versions and Adobe Acrobat Standard/Professional 7.0 to create PDFs

If you are running either of Microsoft's x64 operating systems, you are probably quite frustrated with the fact you can't create PDFs even though you have a licensed version of Adobe Acrobat Standard or Professional. Turns out Adobe's Print Driver is not a 64-bit driver - so it won't load. Adobe says because Acrobat 7.0 was released before the x64 versions - they are not going to support it or something like that.

However, there is a workaround. Distiller will take a .ps file (postscript file) and turn it into a .pdf for you - so you just need a way to make a .ps. That's easy - here is how to do it:

Add a post-script printer to your system. I suggest using a color Postscript Printer so you get color PDFs. Windows x64 versions include lots of good candidates - I use the HP Color LaserJet 8550-PS. Add the printer and have it use the FILE: port (instead of LPT or COM)

Now, whenever you need to create a PDF, send it to that printer. You will be prompted for a path (I use C:\Adobe\) and save the document with a .ps extension (default will be a .prn)

Using Windows Explorer, Navigate to C:\Adobe\ and check the name. If it ends with a .ps and you have Adobe Acrobat 7.0 Standard or Professional (no - this doesn't work with just the reader), double-click it. Adobe Distiller will start up, convert the document and spit out the PDF in the same folder.

Enjoy!

2006-07-17T17:22:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've put anything in here!

Administrators are having problems with the Windows Update KB917537. Turns out if you try to install it (and any other updates that are part of the Windows Update/Microsoft Update/Windows Server Update Services batch it is working on) while IIS is running - it fails and you have to reboot.

Try stopping the IIS Admin service before installing the update. To stop IIS, do the following
Open Administrative Tools Services
Select IIS Admin and right-click on it
Select Stop and confirm the dependant services

Now, load the updates - everything should go fine

2006-01-06T12:46:00.000-08:00

Exchange 2003 SP2's Intelligent Message Filter Customization (this only works with the IMF that is now part of Exchange 2003 SP2)

With the New Intelligent Message Filter in Exchange 2003 SP2, you can now provide a your own Custom XML file with keywords that either raise or lower the score, but there are a couple of tricks to it - two I had to figure out the hard way!

The biggest problem is you can now configure the Intelligent Message Filter to update via Windows update - but it puts the updates files (and runs them) in a new folder.

The default IMF (from 8/2005) will be held (by default) in
C:\Program Files\Exchsrvr\Bin\MSCFv2
The December 15, 2005 update (the most current update at this time) is in
C:\Program Files\Exchsrvr\Bin\MSCFv2\6.5.7757.0

So - guess where the Custom XML file should go?
Documentation says in the \MSCFv2 folder\ - doesn't work - that's the old version of the IMF!!!
Put it in the MSCFv2\6.5.7757.0 folder - it will work!!! (or the latest directory next time it updates)

Next, you have to register the MSExchange.UceContentFilter.dll - and you will want to make sure you register the correct one - the commnd (all on one line):
regsvr32 c:\Program Files\Exchsrvr\Bin\MSCFv2\6.5.7757.0\MSExchange.UceContentFilter.dll
should do it for the version I have.

Now To use it, you need to create the file MSExchange.UceContentFilter.xml in the above directory, as a UNICODE text file with the following data:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-16"?>
<CustomWeightEntry Type="SUBJECT" Change="MIN" Text="SAFE SUBJECT"/>
<CustomWeightEntry Type="BODY" Change="MIN" Text="SAFE BODY"/>
<CustomWeightEntry Type="BOTH" Change="MIN" Text="SAFE BOTH"/>
<CustomWeightEntry Type="SUBJECT" Change="MAX" Text="BAD SUBJECT"/>
<CustomWeightEntry Type="BODY" Change="MAX" Text="BAD BODY"/>
</CustomWeightEntries>

To save it as unicode file - in notepad Select "Save As" and make the following changes
1. File name needs to be called "MSExchange.UceContentFilter.xml" (hint - use the "quotes" around the filename to prevent the default ".txt" on the end.
2. From the Encoding Dropdown, select "UNICODE"

Put it in the correct folder - and - just to be on the safe side - restart SMTP Services (and make sure you have the IMF configured at the ORG level, and enabled under the Server Protocols SMTP)

So - how does the file work?
First two lines are the XML header and CustomWeight header

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-16"?>
<CustomWeightEntry Type="SUBJECT" Change="MIN" Text="SAFE SUBJECT"/>

This line says if the SUBJECT of the message contains the text "SAFE SUBJECT" - give it a minimum Spam Confidence Level (0) (the Change="MIN")

<CustomWeightEntry Type="SUBJECT" Change="MIN" Text="SAFE SUBJECT"/>

This line says if the BODY of the message contains the text "SAFE BODY" - give it a minimum Spam Confidence Level (0) (the Change="MIN")

<CustomWeightEntry Type="BODY" Change="MIN" Text="SAFE BODY"/>

This line says if the EITHER the SUBJECT OR BODY of the message contains the text SAFE EITHER- give it a minimum Spam Confidence Level (0) (the Change="MIN")

<CustomWeightEntry Type="BOTH" Change="MIN" Text="SAFE EITHER"/>

So - what else can you do?

This line

<CustomWeightEntry Type="SUBJECT" Change="MAX" Text="BAD SUBJECT"/>

Changes the Change = "Min" to Change = "Max" and the Text="SAFE SUBJECT" to Text="BAD SUBJECT"

This will set give the message a maximum Spam Confidence Level (9)

So - to stop the current batch of annoying SPAM that is coming in with the title "NOTIFICATION - Headline News" - add the following line to the file

<CustomWeightEntry Type="SUBJECT" Change="MAX" Text="NOTIFICATION - Headline News"/>

If you change "MIN" to a number between -9..0..9 - it will add that amount to the SCL - so if you specify 5 to all messages with the word "Viagra" in it - all messages with that word in the subject will have their score increased.

<CustomWeightEntry Type="BOTH" Change="5" Text="Viagra"/>

So - what does this line do?

<CustomWeightEntry Type="SUBJECT" Change="-5" Text="Grant's Geek Blog"/>

Once it is working, changes to the XML file should be immedately effective!

So - combine this with a nice Event sink that adds text to a incoming message that meets a criteria (like e-mail address) and you can make a nice whitelisting utility for free! (I'll show you that one over the next couple of weeks)

Good luck with the war on SPAM!

My First Blog Entry

2006-01-03T10:49:00.000-08:00

Wow - my first Blog Entry.

Something to watch:
www.zubbles.com - Colored bubbles - there is an awesome article in Popular Science about the development of this stuff.

A nifty Exchange Trick:
Getting the Exchange 2003 SP2 IMF to be updated with Windows & Microsoft Update - so you automatically get the twice-monthly update to the SPAM filtering code
*Add the registry value HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Exchange\ContentFilterState DWORD 1

And a nifty Windows 2003 Server trick:
To add a wildcard DNS entry to Windows DNS - just add a * entry into your Windows 2003 DNS zone. Now people can ping anything (ie: try going to my website via blogs.confuzer.com, nowhere.confuzer.com, even zubbles.confuzer.com - they'll all get you to the same place!

And for the real Geeks out there, try this from a command prompt on 2000/XP/2003
rundll32.exe advapi32.dll,ProcessIdleTasks
(Note: ProcessIdleTasks is case-sensitive) - it will force any pending idle processes to be executed immedately. This way they won't decide to run at a later time on you