Author: Adam the 32-bit Aardvark

Exchange 2010 – end of life is now… rescheduled. What to do next?

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Dear Microsoft Exchange 2010, you’ve brought us, admins, a lot of joy. But your end is drawing near and fast. The end of Extended Support, also known as the end of life was planned on January 14, 2020, together with Windows Server 2008 and Windows 7. However, because of all the love for the good old 2010 version, and the fact that it still remains very popular, Microsoft reschedules Exchange Server 2010’s demise. The current date is October 13, 2020. This might seem like a lot of time. But if you have some experience performing Exchange Server migrations, you probably know that the time for planning and migrating is running out quicker than one might expect…

Exchange 2010 end of life
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How to prevent Office 365 users from sending emails outside the organization?

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There might be situations when it’s necessary to block the mail flow outside an organization for specific users or user groups. Let’s find out how you can use Exchange Online mail flow rules to prevent Office 365 users from sending emails to external recipients.

Block users from sending emails outside your Office 365 organization.
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Advanced eDiscovery in Office 365 explained

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First, it is crucial to understand what eDiscovery (Electronic discovery, e-Discovery) is. There are two most important meanings:

Legal perspective – eDiscovery is the electronic aspect of hunting for electronically stored information in case of a law suit or investigation. It also relates to legislation which regulates this aspect. eDiscovery applies to all systems.

Microsoft 365/ Office 365 perspective – eDiscovery is a mechanism, or a set of features, designed to help with searching, collecting and exporting data from Microsoft 365 organizations. As the name suggests, the primary purpose of eDiscovery (mechanism) is to help in case of litigation and to comply with the legal definition of eDiscovery. This article is about the Office 365 / Microsoft 365 mechanism and its premium version – Advanced eDiscovery – in particular.

Advanced eDiscovery in Office 365
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Microsoft 365 security center and exporting mailbox data to PST

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Microsoft 365 security center is the new home for monitoring and managing security for your Office 365 tenants and all the other Microsoft 365 resources. The new security-related platform takes the spot previously occupied by Office 365 security & compliance center. Even though the new security experience offers more options, the old center is still available, although buried a bit deeper. Read on to learn what’s new in the Microsoft 365 security center, and how to find the old Office 365 security and compliance center.

Microsoft 365 security & compliance center and exporting to PST
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How to block external access to Exchange admin center in Exchange 2019 via Client Access Rules?

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One of the most interesting security options in Exchange 2019 is the Client Access Rules feature. It allows the administrator to define rules to block or limit access to EAC (former ECP) and to EMS (Exchange Management Shell). This functionality was not present in previous versions of Exchange and now it is a security milestone for small organizations, which cannot afford solutions like firewall operating at OSI layer 7 (application layer) to restrict access from the outside of the organization.

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What is the difference between archive and backup? – Infographic

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I can see very often that the difference between archive and backup is not equally sharp for everyone. If you are an active user of tech forums, you perhaps also noticed the foggy conception when it comes to deciding on whether the company actually needs backup or archive or maybe both. As a response to that, CodeTwo has created an infographic Archive vs Backup to show the key differences between these two options.

It seems that the most common misconception is that when companies look for backups but what they actually need is archiving. And vice versa, when the company looks for a way to archive data but the real need is to have operational backup copies. To suit your company needs when it comes to data protection and ensuring data availability, you should be aware of the differences between backup and archive as they are meant for different purposes.
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Distribution lists in Office 365 – administration tips

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Distribution lists are known under a few different names. Distribution groups, contact groups and distribution lists – all refer to the same feature. The primary purpose of a distribution list is to send emails to multiple recipients – yes, as simple as that. The simplicity of their design and the idea behind distribution groups make them an essential email feature. It’s no wonder they have been around since the earliest versions of Exchange Server and that they can be found in Office 365, as well. Although they have survived in a very similar form, Office 365 also offers a redesigned form of distribution lists – Office 365 Groups.

Distribution lists in Office 365

Office 365 focuses on using the upgraded version of distribution groups – Office 365 Groups. I will start with a quick comparison between the two features. Later on, I will describe a few common administration tasks concerning Office 365 distribution lists.

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