Monitor User Email with Exchange 2007

Since I'm on, let me briefly explain how to monitor your user's email, both incoming and outgoing. I used to do this in a similar way in Small Business Server 2000.

In Exchange 2000, I simply created a Distribution group with me being the member. Then I placed the group into the Exchange server's properties for "Archiving." Then simply create a rule in Outlook to organize all this email your inbox is going to get flooded with.

Of course there was another way, by using a journal type feature which I believe was more demanding on the server, but that is just my opinion.

In Exchange 2007 you can still "archive" the same way using the Journaling feature but unless I find a reason not to, I will be doing it by using Transport Rules instead. Some references mentioned performance degradation using Journaling. At the same time I've also read that the transport rules take a dump after a handful of them. In any case, that's what I've read and not what I've experienced, at least not yet.

Here are the simple steps:

Using Exchange 2007 Transport Rules to 'Monitor' Users Emails Inound/Outbound

1. Organization Configuration > Hub Transport > Transport Rules
2. Create a New Transport Rule
3. Step 1 Select Condition(s): [x] Sent to a member of distribution list
4. Specify the distribution list that all your users belong to
5. Select Action(s): [x] Blind carbon copy (bbc) the message to addresses
6. Select the email address, for example your own
7. Select Exception(s): [x] Except when any of the recipients in the To field is people
8. Select yourself again. This should prevent redundancy if you belong to the distribution list too.
9. Finish

Then create a rule in Outlook that filters this email to a subfolder in your "Inbox." You can use "Where my name is not in the TO box" rule to accomplish this.

Hope this helps better manage email monitoring. Remember to keep in mind the legalities and invasion of privacy when it comes to email interception. In most cases a detailed email policy can inform all employees of such monitoring which would release you of liability, however check with your own state laws to be sure.