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Thread: is it possible to track email activity....

  1. #1
    Senior Member
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    is it possible to track email activity....

    is it possible to track email activity from a user account in a Microsoft Exchange environment? Activity such as email coming in and coming out, edits and etc... Your input is appreciated

  2. #2
    Senior Member nihil's Avatar
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    Yes it is, I am not surewhat is native to exchange itself, but there are plenty of third party tools for monitoring and managing exchange environments.

    http://www.promodag.com/ad/TGNX/prodlisting.aspx

    I don't know about "editing" though?


  3. #3
    AOs Resident Troll
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    Yes


    Will all depend on how you send receieve mail...

    Exchange 2003 System Manager>tools>message tracking

    Pretty sure its in previous versions too...

    Not sure about edits.....

    there are 3rd party tools to track edits and changes....


    Guess it depends on what you are trying to do??

    MLF
    How people treat you is their karma- how you react is yours-Wayne Dyer

  4. #4
    In Exchange, from version 5.5 (from my experience, anyway), there is message tracking. Between that capability and event logs for SMTP, all the activity could be tracked by user, message subject, etc.

    There are other possibilities, as well, depending on the additional capabilities applied to your specific network. SMTP Gateway firewalls, content filters, SPAM appliances, whatever.

    Also, depending on how your local system is set up, email from months ago can be reproduced and examined from backups.

    BTW, everything is saved in the email server. You may delete something, but it still exists on the server, in backup, or in transit.

    For edits, that depends on where your Inbox or saved messages are stored. If they are maintained on the server--yep, they have them and they have them in more than one location.

  5. #5
    Master-Jedi-Pimps0r & Moderator thehorse13's Avatar
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    This seems suspiciously like a worried end user wondering about what the admins can do. Anyone who actually admins an Exchange server knows the tracking and reporting capabilities.

    Don't Feed The Bears

    --TH13
    Our scars have the power to remind us that our past was real. -- Hannibal Lecter.
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  6. #6
    AOs Resident Troll
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    Don't Feed The Bears
    oh but they seem sooooo hungry

    and they are kinda cute too......the way they look up to you with those pledding big eyes....

    Its so hard not too

    MLF
    How people treat you is their karma- how you react is yours-Wayne Dyer

  7. #7
    Senior Member nihil's Avatar
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    Hmmm,

    I was under the impression that to get most of the reporting, you have to download the tools from MS:

    http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/d...DisplayLang=en

    There are certainly lots of third party products that do Exchange reporting.

    I don't think that this is an "end uder" question, based on the contents of the OPs other posts.


  8. #8
    Nope, johnno, message tracking and logs as I described above are either native to the Exchange install or part of the OS. Add in spam and malware SMTP gateway scanners, other content filtering tools, and you have a pretty deep look into the activity in your email environment.

    The link you supplied requires SQL server, and leverages the database to help track statistics. I don't know how deep it goes since I haven't used this particular tool. If you add that to your environment mix, it just makes it harder and harder for naughty little kiddies to mis-behave in email.

    ... activity from a user account ...
    The wording of the question leaves things a little confused. I suspect the question is: "can the system admins track my email to and from <so and so>?"

    In a word: Yes.

    That is why email server stores are often listed in court orders.

  9. #9
    Senior Member nihil's Avatar
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    I agree that the basic answer is yes, although how you would go about it will probably depend on what you are trying to achieve.

    For example, not all monitoring is to enforce AUPs or for security reasons.

    Resource management, SLAs, productivity and even personnel management are other considerations.

    For example, in some environments, the number of e-mails handled would be considered a measure of productivity. Conversely, if someone is having to deal with a disproportionate amount then they are probably under stress, are being over tasked or lack delegation skills.

    We would need to know more to provide a more definitive answer?

  10. #10
    Right on that, nihil. The SA isn't just going to track an email stream for grins and giggles. It takes time and effort. There are already way too many other things competing for their attention. Just ask MLF.

    Automating the process makes it much simpler, granted, when you can get and afford the tools to do so.

    In my previous life, when I did go looking and tracing, it was with a vengence because it was never at a convenient time and took me away from the fun things.


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