How to Add Google Search Box

You may have noticed a new search box from google on the right column of this blog! Adding a google search bar to your blog is free and very easy just follow the link and customize your own search box:
Want to drive traffic? Try the Google Free way.

How A Criminal Might Infiltrate Your Network

We need to know the enemy first to learn how to fight him back!
Hacking: Fight Back: How A Criminal Might Infiltrate Your Network -- TechNet Magazine, Winter 2005

Firefox RSS Live Bookmarks

This is a fascinating and innovative feature that Mozilla has added to its firefox version 1.0 preview release. Cool for everyone especially for those without a feed reader. With Live Bookmatrks feature available on this version an RSS symbol appears on the bottom right corner of the browser on RSS enabled websites. Once a site is added to the bookmark list the latest posts are dynamically added to the contents of that bookmark entry so that it keeps you update.
Mozilla Firefox - Live Bookmarks

The 12 Commandments of Exchange Deployments

For those looking for Exchange Server deployment recommendation here are the "12 Commandments of Exchange Deployments" from Brien M. Posey (MVP & MCSE):

1- Do not connect your mail server directly to the Internet
2- Do not use questionable hardware
3- Place Branch Offices into Routing Groups
4- Do Not Install Exchange on a Domain Controller
5- Make global catalogs globally accessible
6- Use a front end/back end configuration when possible
7- Purchase Exchange-level antivirus software before you deploy Exchange
8- Think about redundancy when setting up routing group connectors
9- Plan for patch management
10- Do not overload a single Exchange server
11- Have an antispam plan
12- Take a training class

Follow the link to get the details on each commandment:
The 12 Commandments of Exchange Deployments

Clear Cookies to Fix Gmail Notifier Bad Data Issue

I could finally find the resolution to Gamil Notifier "Can not read your messages (bad data;1)" problem. Just close the notifier from system tray and clear your cookies. If it didn't work uninstall Gmail Notifier, clear cookie and then install notifier again.
Clearing Cookies in Mozilla Firefox:
Tools>Options>Privacy>Cookies>"Clear"
Clearing Cookies in IE:
Tools>Internet Options>"Delete Cookies"

Update:
Thanks for everyone for their helpful comments on this post. I have included some of them as part of the main post:

Anonymous:
You don't need to delete all your cookies! Just delete those of them that are like this ...@gmail... and ...@google...
And stop the notifier before that.

fridgemagnet:
Note - even if Firefox is your main browser, if you've ever looked at google on IE, you will also need to clear cookies on IE as well. Clearing on both should fix it (did for me anyway).

Google Desktop Search Available!

I have just learned (through Ali's weblog) that google has released its beta version of desktop search engine. This desktop engine can index Microsoft Outlook/Outlook Express, Word, Excel, PowerPoint files as well as local web history, text files and even AOL IM based on users preferences configuration. The search results are presented in web browser and can be sorted by date or relevance. It is also possible to filter results to show only files, emails, chats, and web history. The search engine starts indexing when the system is idle so it doesn't impress system performance during activity.
I have been using Microsoft "Lookout" since its release and experienced performance issues but didn't notice any such issues on Google Desktop Search Engine yet.
Download a free copy from here:
Google Desktop Search Download

Protecting Microsoft Exchange with ISA Server 2004 Firewalls

Another great ISA Server topic from "Thomas W Shinder" telling how to protect Exchange Server by ISA 2004 and minimum changes to the current network.
Protecting Microsoft Exchange with ISA Server 2004 Firewalls

Love It But Can Not Trust It!

Notices the following issues on my Firefox since now:
- High CPU utilization on PDF pages
- System crashes when lots of tabs are open and in the loading state at the same time
- In some occasions the cache mechanism stopped loading websites (Gmail) and clearing the cache was the work-around solution
- It does not support FlashGet
- Some websites can not be shown as supposed
This doesn't mean I am giving up on firefox but it means I am expecting compatibility and stability improvements by providing updates and hotfixes soon.

Being a Microsoft Exchange Fan!

I didn't mean to write on exchange server when I first started this blog but it turns out most posts are Exchange related now! I have become a Microsoft Exchange Server fan and dealing with this lovely and challenging beast cheers me up!

Gmail Notifier: Can not read your messages

It has been a week since my Gmail Notifier stopped functioning correctly saying "Can not read your messages (bad data;1)" So I need to check my Gmail box manually :(

The Top 10 SANs vs. NAS Decision Factors

Storage technology is an interesting area and I always try to keep up with it. Here you can find a topic helping to make the decision when it comes to select SAN or NAS.
ONLamp.com: The Top 10 SANs vs. NAS Decision Factors

Protecting Exchange Data from Hard Disk Failure

For every Exchange Server Administrator failure on mailbox stores that seem to be from the lack of storage space is a nightmare and special considerations and monitoring is needed to stay away from long downtime when a drive reaches its capacity and mailbox stores stop functioning. Making daily full backups, making sure half of the drive is empty and keeping transaction logs and Exchange database files on separate disks are recommendation to stay safe.
328794 - How to protect Exchange data from hard disk failure

Customize SMTP Email Addresses by Recipient Policies

Using Recipient Policy in Exchange Server we can define the SMTP namespace that our mail system accepts emails from as well as the way email addresses are generated for each individual recipient. Basically the format that is used in recipient policy is @domainname and no control over individual email addresses is given by default. To customize and define the email alias scheme we can provide some arguments like %s (surname) and %g (first name). This means I can define a naming policy for generating email aliases using firstname and last name combinations. Lets take a look at some examples:
1)The SMTP namespace is "itbuzzer.net" and alias should be generated in "Firstname.Lastname" format: %g.%s@itbuzzer.net --> saeed.pazoki@itbuzzer.net
2) The SMTP namespace is "itbuzzer.net" and the policy should use the users Firstname plus the first 3 letters of the Lastname: %g%3s@itbuzzer.net --> saeedpaz@itbuzzer.net
Microsoft emphasizes that this replacement arguments should not be used in the default recipient policy and a new recipient policy should be created to prevent problems.
In the following KB more replacement arguments are explained:
822447 - How to Modify an SMTP E-Mail Address by Using Recipient Policies