Found a two part article from IBM developer works on how to control spam mails using advanced SMTP settings in Lotus Domino. Written by Edmond Stanton, the article illustrates how to control spam mails by using the Configuration Settings document, server mail rules, and inbound SMTP commands and extensions in Lotus Domino 6 and above.

Should be an interesting read for Domino administrators facing problems with mailbox getting filled with spam mails. Part1 and Part 2 of the article titled Controlling spam: Advanced SMTP settings in Lotus Domino can be found in developer works dated 4th Oct 2004.

As mentioned in the earlier posting Lotus Notes Domino falls under the category of servers that support incremental backup. This helps in easy backup of applications and databases with minimum concern about storage memory.

There are several Backup products like IBM’s ADSM back up solution, BakBone’s NetVault, BrightStor ARCserve Backup Agent, Lascon Storage, and Cheyenne’s Arcserve Backup with Notes Agent etc. Most of these products support incremental backup of applications and come with their own unique features.

Cheyenne’s ARCserve is simple to install and configure but seem to have difficulties when large number of servers are to be backed up in a central location. BrightStor ARCserve Backup Agent for Lotus Domino enables backup of a local or remote server without shutting down the server or disrupting user access.

Among the many options available IBM’s Adstar/ADSM back up solution and Cheyenne’s ARCserve Backup with Notes Agent are regarded as the most convenient products used for Lotus Notes Domino backup.

However the pick of the lot is the IBM’s ADSM which has a product line that can suit any kind of enterprise- be it very small or an SME or a large enterprise. It has amazing recovery capability which includes Online, Nearline & Offline recovery. The server speed degradation is also minimal with the use of this product. A centralized backup management system can easily be developed with its ability to support backing up of servers at remote locations also.

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Let us check the Differential and Incremental type of back up today.

Differential Back Up

Differential back up is another kind of back up where only files that have been modified will be backed up. This is quite useful as most of the information backed up is not a repeat of the earlier backups, which help in reducing backup memory usage. However this is not the Ideal method as files that have seen minor changes also will be backed up fully. This is generally performed on File/Print servers but may not be useful in application servers where multiple changes are made to documents everyday.

Incremental Back-Up

Incremental back ups are the most desired among the back up methods. Incremental Backups are performed on servers using automated agents that can identify portions of very large files that have been modified. Only the modified portions of these files are extracted and are backed up. This results in using minimum memory space for the back up process as only very little content may have to be added. Assuming that the back up of an application server has to be taken every day, backing up huge files for small changes in any of the documents can be expensive and unnecessary. It may be useful for you to know that Lotus Notes Domino is one of those kinds that support Incremental back up.

This is the most economical and effective method of backing up servers and is widely used across the globe more than Full and Differential Back Up.

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Server Back-Ups are the key to any organizations Disaster Recovery plan. It helps the organization to function non stop even at times of crisis without losing the information gathered. In this series of posts you can get an idea about Lotus Notes Back-Up capability and how it can help an organization at times of crisis.

Before going onto the details of Lotus Notes backup, let us understand some basics of Back-Up in general so that it will help us when Notes Backup is discussed.

Backups can be classified into different types based on the content being backed up. They are as follows,
1. Full Backup
2. Differential Backup
3. Incremental Backup

Full Backup

Full backup is one type where the entire server content is backed up. This type of backup is not always desired as it takes a huge amount of space. Also it may not be desired because of the fact that it backs up unwanted content like the server Operating System, etc. resulting in the accumulation of unwanted clutter along with the actual content.

What is an internal security threat?

Many network administrators when asked about IT security think only of external threats like virus,hacking,spam, spyware etc., but there is much more to IT security than these visible threats.

Internal security threats are those which arise because of sources within the organization. It could be a disgruntled employee, ex-employees or contract workers, service providers who have/had access to your data. These people could carry your data out or could provide critical information to other hackers about the weakness in the security systems in place. This contributes to a major part of the IT crimes happening around the world.

The most common practice used in moving the data out of the organization is through e-mails. Employees having access to critical data might transfer them to your competitor easily by an e-mail. Other methods could be the use of USB thumb drives/ pen drives.

So how do you prevent them doing it?

• Restrict the use of pen drives in the office premises.

• Use mail scanning applications available to keep a track of the information sent/received.

• Remove the IDs used by the employees when they quit the organization.

• Restrict providing direct access to critical information to service providers, temporary staff, contract workers etc.

• Ensure that a thorough check up is done on the background of new employees recruited to work in data centers and server maintenance.

• Ensure passwords of employees are changed at regular intervals.
• Be cautious when giving access to outside sources to your network through remote login or remote desktop access.

Would you leave your office unlocked without any means of watching over who comes in and does what? Would you let someone come to your desk and take a look at your accounts books without your permission? Would you let someone take a look at your customer files, your billing records, your costing information and other such vital records? Ofcourse not.

You’ll be surprised how many small businesses leave their IT infrastructure unsecured. The main problem is one of awareness and visualization. It is easy to visualize how an office left physically open can lead to losses. It is much more difficult to see when computers/networks are left unsecured.

With this post, we are starting a series of posts that help you identify the security risks your small network faces and how you can stay safe. We will talk about internal threats, external threats, viruses, spam, phishing, identity thefts and many other darker issues associated with managing an IT infrastructure. You will find how you can use Lotus Notes/Domino to get past many of these security issues and how you can feel safe about your network. Keep reading, and please do post your thoughts back to the blog.