Overview

In an era where virus-carrier and spam messages outweigh the volume of legitimate e-mail messages, mail administrators have been supportive of Microsoft s efforts since 2000 to add security features to Outlook. This chapter covers how to use those features to make Microsoft Outlook a safe and secure e-mail client, including the following:

• Using encryption to protect sensitive e-mails

• Applying security to Personal Folders .pst files

• Protecting message content using Windows Rights Management Services (RMS)

• Configuring the Outlook Junk E-mail Filter and filter lists

• Protecting against malicious e-mail Web content

• Blocking dangerous attachments

• Understanding the protections guarding against malicious programs that automate Outlook to harvest addresses or send messages

6.1 Locking Down Outlook the Big Picture

Deploying a secure platform for your Outlook users involves examining and responding to threats in three separate categories:

• Threats to information in transit and at rest

• Threats to unwanted information dissemination

• Threats to incoming e-mail, including spam

Besides securing the Outlook client, your messaging security plan should also consider security for the Exchange server (or other mail server) and the server s base operating system. For information on Windows Server and Exchange Server security, see the references provided in Appendix D.

6.2 Threats to Information in Transit and at Rest

This section discusses threats to outbound Outlook messages sent to recipients inside or outside the user s organization and to Outlook message stores, primarily the .pst file, which is generally stored on a user s computer. (Items...