Configuration and Security-Related Update Recommendations for Exchange Server 2003

Configuration and Security-Related ...

Topic Last Modified: 2009-04-28

Updated: February 07, 2006

Find the information you need to implement recommended security-related practices and to maximize the performance of your servers running Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 and Exchange Server 2003 Service Pack 2 (SP2).

Note:
For information about configuration recommendations for previous versions of Exchange Server, see Configuration and Security Update Recommendations for Exchange 2000 Server.

Configurations

For optimum performance and the strongest security, build the system configurations listed in the following tables.

Server Configuration
Operating system	Microsoft Windows Server 2003 recommended for optimum performance and security. Microsoft Windows 2000 is also supported. For both, install the updates available from the Microsoft Update site.
Browser	Internet Explorer 6 with the updates available from the Microsoft Update site.
Server	Exchange Server 2003* with Service Pack 2

*Do not install Microsoft Outlook on servers running Exchange Server 2003. For more information, see Microsoft Knowledge Base article 266418, Microsoft does not support installing Exchange Server components and Outlook on the same computer.

Note:
For information about how to use URLScan in conjunction with Exchange Server 2003, see Knowledge Base article 309508, IIS lockdown and URLscan configurations in an Exchange environment, and Knowledge Base article 823175, Fine-tuning and known issues when you use the Urlscan utility in an Exchange 2003 environment.

Client Configuration
Operating system	Windows XP with Service Pack 2 (SP2) and the updates available from the Microsoft Update site.
Browser	Internet Explorer 6 with SP1 and the updates available from the from the Microsoft Update site.
Client	Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 with the updates available from the Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 Solution Center Web site.

Service Packs, Updates, and Security Guidance

Keep your Exchange Server 2003 deployment up-to-date with the latest security enhancements.

Exchange Server 2003

Service Pack 2 for Exchange Server 2003. Get all the updates and enhancements to help keep your servers more secure and more robust. Among the improvements included in SP2 are anti-spam enhancements. For more information, see Anti-Spam Enhancements in Exchange Server 2003 Service Pack 2.

Security Update for Exchange 2003 (KB832759). Protect all your servers in case they are ever designated as front-end servers with this update from the Microsoft Download Center. We also recommend you visit the Microsoft Update site to download and install other security updates for Exchange Server and Windows Server.

Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer. You can scan for missing security updates on Exchange Server 2003 by downloading Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA).

Microsoft Exchange Intelligent Message Filter. Help reduce the influx of spam when you combine the Exchange Intelligent Message Filter with Outlook 2003 for advanced server-side, heuristics-based message filtering. For details on how to keep the Intelligent Message Filter updated, see Microsoft Knowledge Base article 907747, The "Microsoft Exchange Server Intelligent Message Filter v2 Operations Guide" is now available.

Microsoft Exchange Server Best Practices Analyzer.This tool, available as a free download, remotely collects configuration data from each server in the topology and automatically analyzes the data. The resulting report details critical configuration issues, potential problems, and non-default product settings. By following these recommendations, you can achieve greater performance, scalability, reliability, and uptime.

For technical security guidance, visit the Exchange 2003 Security Resources website.

Windows XP

Windows XP Service Pack 3. Windows XP SP3 is designed to ensure Windows XP compatibility with newly released software and hardware.

For automatic update detection, see the Microsoft Update site at the Microsoft Update site. To manually search for critical and recommended updates, see the Windows XP page.

Windows Server 2003

For automatic update detection, see the Microsoft Update site at the Microsoft Update site. To manually search for critical and recommended updates, see the Downloads for Windows Server.

Outlook 2003

For automatic update detection, see Office Updates on the Office Online site. To manually search for updates, see the Downloads page on the Office Online site. Updates for Office 2003 are also available at the Microsoft Update site.

Internet Explorer 6

For automatic update detection, see the Microsoft Update site. To manually search for critical and recommended updates, see Downloads for Windows Server.