Microsoft Security Bulletin Search

Starting a patch management plan can be very daunting due to the amount of patches Microsoft have created. This is exactly what I am now in the process of doing and found this great site.

Microsoft Security Bulletin Search.
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/current.aspx

This will definately be worth adding to your favorites for future reference for easy searching of your MS updates.

Video's for Configuring Groundwork

Look here for video's to help with configuring Groundwork. Also Youtube Groundwork.

How to Move Exchange Database and Logs

To move log files

1. Start Exchange System Manager.
2. Click Administrative Groups.
   
   Note If Administrative Groups does not appear, it may not be turned on. To turn on Administrative Groups, right-click Exchange Organization in Exchange System Manager, and then click Properties. Click to select the Display Administrative Groups check box.
3. Locate the storage group where you want to change log file paths, right-click the storage group, and then click Properties.
4. Click the General tab, click the Browse button next to the Transaction log location box, and then specify the new drive or folder location for the log files.

Back to the top

To move databases

1. Start Exchange System Manager.
2. Open the administrative group that contains the database that you want to change.
3. Under Storage Group, right-click the mailbox store or the public folder store that you want to change, and then click Properties.
4. Click the Database tab.
5. Next to the database that you want to change, click Browse, and then specify a new drive or folder location for the files.
   
   Notes
   • With the databases, you can decide to move the Exchange Database (.edb file), the Exchange Streaming Database (.stm file), or both.
   • If the databases are still mounted, you receive the following message:
     You are about to perform the following operation(s):
     - change Exchange database location
     To perform the requested operation(s), the store must be temporarily dismounted which will make it inaccessible to any user.
     
     Do you want to continue?
     Click Yes to dismount the database automatically and move the location.
6. When you finish moving the databases, remount the databases manually.

You can move the log files and database files to any folder that you want to create. When you move logs and database files, you may want to create the Exchsrvr\Mdbdata file structure for consistency reasons, but you are not obligated to do so.

You must grant the following default permissions to the new Mdbdata folder that contains the log files and database files:

• Administrators: Full Control
• Authenticated Users: Read and Execute, List Folder Contents, Read
• Creator Owner: None
• Server Operators: Modify, Read and Execute, List Folder Contents, Read, Write
• System: Full Control

Note Only assign permissions to the Server Operators group if the Exchange server is a domain controller. Otherwise, assign permissions to the Power Users group. Only domain controllers should have permissions to the built-in Server Operators group. Stand-alone and member servers should have permissions to the built-in Power Users group.

You may also have to grant the following permissions to the root drive that contains the new Mdbdata folder:

• System: Full Control

During the process of moving log files and database files, your store is temporarily dismounted. Because the store is temporarily dismounted, it is inaccessible to your users until the process is completed. Moving log files or database files invalidates all existing incremental and differential backups; therefore, make a full backup after these changes.

Do not delete or rename the Old MDBdata Folder path after you move the Exchange database. If you want to delete the old MDBdata folder, make sure that the following working directory parameter in the registry points to the new location:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSExchangeIS\ParametersSystem
Value name: Working Directory
Value type: REG_SZ
Value data: C:\Program Files\Exchsrvr\Mdbdata

For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

298415 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/298415/ ) Messages that have attachments are not delivered as expected, and Event ID 12003 and 327 messages are logged in Exchange 2000 Server and in Exchange Server 2003

Do not move databases to the root of a drive. Instead, move databases at least one subfolder down from the root drive. For example, do not use C:\ as the path of the database or log files. Instead, you could use the C:\Subfolder path. In an organization that uses Exchange 2003 and Exchange 2007, the 2007 management tools will flag database or log files that are the root of a drive as an error. For more information, visit the following Microsoft Web site: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc411334(EXCHG.80).aspx

Open DNS vs Conficker

The Best way to keep secure is to prevent the malware in the first place. OpenDNS.com

http://blog.opendns.com/2009/02/09/stats-are-back-and-conficker/

The second announcement is significant to all OpenDNS users as well as the entire Internet community. Today we’ve rolled out a way for you to see if Conficker is living on your network. The Conficker worm, also called Downadup and Kido, is massive. Some estimates of how many PCs are compromised are as high as 10 million. What’s interesting about this particular virus is that it uses the Domain Name System in a unique way: Conficker contains an algorithm that checks 250 new domains per day for instructions on what it should do. This puts us in a unique position to keep you safe since we’re in the unique position of providing insight and intelligence into your DNS service. We’ve teamed with Kaspersky Lab to identify those 250 daily domains, and stop resolving them. This means if you’re using OpenDNS, Conficker will do your network no damage. Yet another reason for your friends and colleagues to make the switch. While OpenDNS represents just a tiny drop in the sea of the Internet users today, we think this is a smart move forward.

To find out if Conficker has penetrated your network, simply log in to your account and select Stats on the left sidebar. From there choose Blocked Domains and filter “only domains blocked as malware.” This will generate a list of malware sites your network has attempted to connect with.

This is just the beginning, folks. We’ve got a year’s worth of new features we’re cranking hard on to make your network better performing and more secure. Stay tuned…

Exchange Offline Defrag

For when you must do that Manual Offline Defrag of your Exchange Database - http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;192185

Server Boot Drive Management

This is a great post for Server boot drive maintenance. I will read through it all one day...
http://www.lwcomputing.com/tips/static/bootdrivesize.asp

Free Mail Archiving Solution

Checkout the 'Free' version of Mailarchiva here.

http://www.mailarchiva.com/downloads.htm

Conficker Worm Removal

Do you think you have a PC infected with Conficker / Conflicker / downadup /Kido?
If your PC is infected you will not be able to navigate to Microsoft.com or any of the following domains.

cert. sans. bit9. vet. avg. avp. nai. windowsupdate wilderssecurity threatexpert castlecops spamhaus cpsecure arcabit emsisoft sunbelt securecomputing rising prevx pctools

norman k7computing ikarus hauri hacksoft gdata fortinet ewido clamav comodo quickheal avira avast esafe ahnlab centralcommand drweb grisoft eset nod32

f-prot jotti kaspersky f-secure computerassociates networkassociates etrust panda sophos trendmicro mcafee norton symantec microsoft defender rootkit malware spyware virus

Here are the removal instructions for the Conficker Worm.
Be aware new variants are surfacing regularly.
http://www.secureworks.com/research/threats/downadup-removal/

ESENT Event ID 215 - Certsrv.exe

Backup fails on a computer running SBS 2003 -

To resolve this problem, re-register the Sqlvdi.dll file. To do so, follow these steps:

1. Stop SQL Server.
2. Click Start, click Run, type Regsvr32 Path\SQLVDI.DLL in the Open box, and then click OK. The default path of the Sqlvdi.dll file is C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\80\COM.
3. Restart SQL Server.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/830575

Outlook 2007 Performance Troubleshooting

When your Outlook 2007 is running poorly this article is the one to checkout!

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/940226


Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor includes a tool to guage how fast your Outlook will run in terms of disk operations. Download the Tool Here: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=42B5AC83-C24F-4863-A389-3FFC194924F8&displaylang=en

After installing this tool the only file you need to use is winsat.exe. So this can be found in the
c:\program files\microsoft windows vista upgrade advisor\ path. Navigate there and Type in winsat disk -seq -read -drive c

Here is the output of a SATA II 320 GB drive

WinSAT V1.0 Build-0 Private-Build
Built By:wmbla Branch:vista_rtm Date:Dec 11 2007 01:21:02
Windows System Assessment Tool
> Running: Feature Enumeration v1.0.0.0 ''
> Run Time 00:00:00.64
> Running: Storage Performance Assessment via Profiling v1.0.0.0 '-seq -read -dr
ive c'
> Run Time 00:00:03.39
> Disk Performance 111.41 MB/s
> Total Run Time 00:00:04.58

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor>


Also Checkout this Post for more details on the drive speed ratings including SSD's:http://msexchangeteam.com/archive/2009/03/24/450881.aspx