02Apr2021
13Oct2020
Goodbye, Exchange 2010 (And advice moving forward)
The end of an era. Exchange 2010 is End of Life today--no more security updates, no more extended support. I know there are quite a few servers left out there in the world, but many of them are not even in use (or they were merely in place for hybrid...
22Nov2019
Updates to my Exchange Online and Office 365 ATP scripts
Just a quick note--this week I updated the Exchange Online and ATP scripts that I publish and use to provision new tenants--to fall more in line with the new best practices that were published by the...
02Nov2019
You give Encrypt button back NOW, Microsoft!!!!
Recently Sensitivity labels were brought to Outlook, across all the various apps now, including mobile, desktop and web access.This drama has certainly been worth watching. I think Sensitivity labels should gain a lot of traction in general over the...
06Aug2019
Updated: Exchange Online baseline / best practices scripts
I recently updated the scripts that I use to provision new Exchange Online tenants and configure them according to best practices, and I just uploaded these edits to GitHub. The main script is Baseline-ExchangeOnline.ps1--this is like a "master" script...
14May2019
Introducing the Microsoft Office 365 Email Security Checklist
Update March 2023: This project morphed into the Microsoft 365 Best Practices Checklists, which includes a checklist and guide for each of the major services in Microsoft 365. You can get the product here. Okay. I think I have had enough. Enough of what? Enough of reports like this...
09May2019
Three ways to disable basic authentication and legacy protocols in Exchange Online
One of the most common (and often successful) attacks we see in the wild is a simple brute force / password spray against weak accounts. Especially against shared mailboxes. From that foothold, the most common next step attackers will take is to send out spam/phishing emails from the compromised account,...
08May2019
How to deal with departed user data in Microsoft Office 365
Going from one organization to the next, I am always amazed at how different people implement their own take on new user setups or decommissioning departed users. Some have no real organized methodology and it's a hassle every time, while others have a well-developed practice or script around each process.It...
27Apr2019
Differences between Shared Mailboxes, Distribution Lists and Office 365 Groups
Before we begin our article today, I just want to say this: if you guys and gals aren't aware of the CIAOPS community yet, then you should definitely check it out. It's a great place to hang out, with...
14Apr2019