XCON: User Interface to Suppress Automatic Forwarding to the Internet

In Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5, a user can set up a rule with either the Inbox Assistant or the Outlook Rules Wizard to automatically forward mail to another address. This poses a security risk for several e-mail installations. To counter this problem, a user interface (UI) has been provided in Exchange 2000 to disable automatic forwarding on a per-domain basis.

In Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5, you can turn automatic forwarding on and off but this option is tied to the automatic reply feature. In Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5 Service Pack 2, the automatic forward feature is separated from the automatic reply feature in a limited way. That is, you can enable or disable automatic forwarding when the automatic reply feature is disabled. However, no UI is provided for this feature; changes must be made through the registry.

In Exchange 2000, you can enable or disable the option to automatically forward messages on a per-domain basis. By default, automatic forwarding is disabled. To change the setting:

1. Start Exchange System Manager.
2. In the left pane, click Global Settings.
3. In the right pane, double-click Internet Message Format. This populates the right pane with the various defined domains. By default, there is a single domain representing the wildcard (*).
4. Right-click the object that represents the domain, and then click Properties.
5. Click the Advanced tab on the Properties dialog box.
6. In the Allowed Types section, click to select the Automatic forwarding check box to enable this feature. Click to clear the Automatic forwarding check box to disable this feature.
   
   NOTE: Disabling automatic forwarding ensures that no automatic forwards are allowed for all domains in this case.