Moving to Google Apps? What about all those old emails?

Wrote this today as part of a migration from MS-Exchange to Google Docs (Gmail)

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WARNING - Technical Content. Use at your own risk. 8-)

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One way to migrate existing Outlook email to Gmail:

--Set up Gmail account

--Set up Outlook IMAP account for Gmail

--Drag & drop old mail from Exchange into Outlook’s IMAP Gmail Inbox

Seems to work with the limited testing I did today.

Note: There is a Calendar sync tool from Google that seems to work for the non-subscription (Docs.Google) Calendar. I couldn’t fully test because I have Outlook 2010 and the tool only supports up to 2007.

http://www.google.com/support/calendar/bin/answer.py?answer=89955

The one-time, Calendar import tool also works well.

Note2: There does not appear to be a “Contacts” sync tool for the non-subscription Gmail contacts. Although, a one-time, Contacts import tool does work well.

Scenario #1 (Abandon Exchange but still use Outlook)

1) Leave the Exchange/Outlook setups as is

2) Setup everyone’s Gmail account

3) Add a Google IMAP account and .PST (for Contacts, Calendar, Tasks, etc.) to everyone’s Outlook

4) Flip the MX records to Google as primary and Exchange as secondary

5) Run like that for a few days to make sure all goes well

6) Remove the secondary MX records (Exchange)

7) Revisit the desktops to move the Calendar, Contacts, and email to the .PST from the Exchange .OST

8) Remove the Exchange account

9) Everyone continues to use Outlook like nothing happened

Advantages

--Easy and low risk

--Users see little difference in functionality

--Email available off-site

Dis-Advantages

--.PST file (containing Contacts & Calendar) is vulnerable to hard drive crash

--Contacts and Calendar not available off-site

Scenario #2 (Abandon both Exchange and Outlook)

1) Leave the Exchange/Outlook setups as is

2) Set up everyone’s Gmail account

3) Add a Google IMAP account to everyone’s Outlook

4) Flip the MX records to Google as primary and Exchange as secondary

5) Run like that for a few days to make sure all goes well

6) Remove the secondary MX records (Exchange)

7) Revisit the desktops to move the Calendar, Contacts, and email to Google

8) Teach everyone how to use Gmail (w/Contacts) and Google Calendar

Advantages

--Minimal risk

--Everything available off-site

Dis-Advantage

--Users must learn how to use Google’s web interface to read email and calendar

Windows 7 / Windows XP: Getting them to play nicely with each other.

WARNING - technical content. Proceed at your own risk.


One of the not-so-wonderful things about moving to a new computer system is that things don't always work as expected...

Case# 3425:    Windows XP machines intermittently lose their connection to Windows 7 file shares.

Lots of people have been talking about this problem with what seems like limited success. Most mention turning off HomeGroup sharing, or turning off the requirement for passwords, etc.

We tried all the popular suggestions but still had the problem. Then I stumbled upon an article talking about EventID 2017 on the Win7 box. Within the article are instructions on tweaking your Windows 7 registry to make the computer function more like a file server. Well, since yesterday when we made the changes mentioned in the article, our intermittent problem has gone away. Sweet!

Now - if you haven't looked at the Windows 7 registry in a long time (or ever), it is probably best to just call your computer guy. Changing the registry should not be taken lightly.

If, however, you are intimately familiar with the Windows registry, you may continue.

Source:  http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en/w7itpronetworking/thread/b8b33345-3998-4e24-80b5-ae54bad1f15b


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"Apparently you need to tell Windows that you want to use the machine as a file server and that it should allocate resources accordingly.

Set the following registry key to ‘1′:
HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\LargeSystemCache

and set the following registry key to ‘3′:
HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanServer\Parameters\Size

After making these changes and restarting, I haven’t seen this issue arise again."
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Internet Safety

I am often asked:  “How do I know that my identity won’t be stolen if I buy something on the Internet?”
Secondary to that question is:  “How do I prevent my computer from getting a virus?”

So – let’s list a few of the possible responses…

1. There is no way to protect yourself
2. Don’t worry about it
3. Use a fake identity
4. Buy a MAC
5. None of the above

Ding Ding Ding - #5 – Yes, you are a winner

[This reminds me of checking out at our grocery the other day.  Cashier gives me a small card with a game piece and says “Run it through the scanner to see if you are a winner.”  Yeah – right.  I run the card through the scanner which replies so quickly that it couldn’t possibly have read my card.  It said something like “Hey guy, this card is not a winner.  Please try again.”  Come-on, tell it like it is.  Why not just say “Dude, you’re a loser and you’re holding up the line.”   Anyway – the pain is still fresh so I’ll move on.]

Back on topic: 

1. Yes – there are ways to protect yourself
2. Yes – you should be concerned about your personal & online identities
3. Fake-ID:  let’s not even go there
4. Not that I have anything against MACs.  In fact I had one in my last job.  But, you’re kidding yourself if you think that using a MAC “protects” you
5. So – how do you protect yourself and your computer?

Well – before I give you a few good Internet resources, allow me to suggest a few general rules:

• Never use a public computer to logon to your private accounts (i.e. bank, brokerage, credit card, retailer account, etc.) – EVER!  The last hotel computer I considered using was so infested that I felt dirty after touching the mouse.  Never, ever use a public computer to logon to your accounts – period!

• Always use a reputable Anti-Malware (virus) product.  There are only a limited few that I recommend.  Email me if you wish to know what they are – I’d rather not enrage their competitors by mentioning their full names online.  Just be aware that here are fake Anti-Virus programs out there, and that they can and will do you damage.  My general rule is to only use Anti-Virus products from the short list of safe, effective titles.  And remember, “Friends don’t let friends use Syma…, Nort…., or McAf…. products.”

• Use “strong” passwords for your important accounts.  I mentioned the rules on that in one of my other blogs - http://thecomputerconnectors.blogspot.com/2010/04/email-hacker.html: “mix of at least 3 types of characters - uppercase, lowercase, symbol, number - and at least 8 characters long”

• Never click on an email link that asks you to “verify” your information

• Be wary of all email attachments – even if you know the person sending the email.  Never “Run” anything that is attached to an email.

• Porn – seriously.  How old are you?

• Notify your credit card (or other creditor) immediately if you notice anything “odd”

So – those are some general rules, but know that even the best rules are not perfect.  The Internet is a great tool, and with careful use can be reasonably safe.  Here are a few more good resources on the topic…

http://thecomputerconnectors.com/foryourfamily.aspx
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/index.html
http://www.idtheft.gov
http://www.onguardonline.gov
http://internetsafety101.org

Printer / Scanner / Fax recommendation

A friend recently asked for a suggestion for a home 3-in-1 printer / scanner / fax.

We've had pretty good luck with the HP DJ F340, but it has been replaced with a newer model. It seems that the F4480 (and a few others) has taken its place. We haven't had any direct experience with this model, but the www.Staples.com reviews look good. It seems like the models in this market change daily - thanks for the confusion HP.

If it were our choice - instead of experimenting with the new F4480 model, we'd probably find a new F340 from some reputable web retailer.

The down side of all of these retail models is TCO (total cost of ownership). HP and other retailers get away with selling their models on the cheap by selling the replacement ink for sky high prices. In a lot of cases (especially if you are a business that prints a large number of documents), a larger upfront investment in the machine will gain you a lower TCO.

Email Hacker

Yesterday, I received the following from a friend:

"Dear Ron,
Hope all is well with you. This morning, some Chinese hacker hacked into my gmail account and sent a bunch of e-mails to people I correspond with using this account. What an ordeal! I had to change my password, send a bunch of e-mails to those people explaining what had happened... what a mess. This is the account we use for 'non-work related' and 'non-personal' correspondence, i.e. bills, alumni stuff, lawn-care, etc.
Any advice on how to prevent this from happening? We got so rattled. What if somebody hacked into our bank accounts - could they transfer our money and rob us blind? Anyway, we would really appreciate any advice you could provide us ... I hate this!!
Love,
......."

It is very likely that we've all had an experience that goes something like this...
--Someone we know receives a message from me
--Message is either profane or for some medication or both
--Friend replies to our message with - "Huh - what are you talking about?"
--We disclaim all knowledge of said email

Here was my roughly constructed response:
"Yeah - that is scary!
Do you know for sure that this person actually hacked your gmail account, or was he/she just using your name & return address (there is a difference)?
How do you know it was a Chinese hacker?
The recommended strategy for an actual hack includes:
1) make SURE that your Anti-Virus & Anti-Spyware are up-2-date and effective (good brand)
2) make SURE that all unknown software is removed from your computers
3) use a "strong" password for all accounts (mix of at least 3 types of characters - uppercase, lowercase, symbol, number - and at least 8 characters long)
4) use a different password for each account, OR at least, use a VERY "strong" password for your important accounts
5) some banks offer you a "token-key" (also known as 3-factor authentication) for account access (VERY secure)
6) rarely (preferably NEVER) use a publicly accessible computer to logon to your accounts - Especially important accounts. (doing so on computers infected with "key-loggers" could send your logon info to undesirable people.)
In the case where someone just uses your name and return email address, there really isn't much of a preventative strategy for that. And unfortunately, this technique is very easy to accomplish and nearly untraceable. Luckily though, it's more of an annoyance to you and your contacts than an actual threat."

Now - some would argue the point within the last sentence. Is it really just more of an annoyance? Are the implied assumptions made within that sentence valid assumptions? What might those assumptions be?
--That your friend(s) didn't click on any links in the email
--That you are SURE someone didn't really hack your account
--That the event won't repeat itself over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, ...
What do you think?

One of several good resources: http://www.idtheft.gov/

RL