Microsoft has been mailing free copies of its Office productivity software to government employees, but CNET News has learned that at least two federal agencies are warning recipients to return the gifts or risk violating federal ethics policies.

Registry Defragmentation physically defragments the Windows registry file to give it the proper linear structure. As a result of regular registry defragmentation, computer users get a more stable operating system, shorter application/system response time, and the most optimal linear registry structure.

ChemTable Software has announced version 2.0 of its registry maintenance solution allowing Windows users to take control over the registry database using a set of easy-to-use tools for optimizing system performance. The application offers advanced registry management methods that are not included in Windows package making it possible to preview ..reg file before adding data to the registry, automatically find, replace and delete multiple instances of user-specified registry keys and values as well as clean up obsolete registry entries and monitor certain registry keys modifications.

Dr. Thomas Shinder tells us how the ISA 2004 firewall protects your Exchange Server by acting as the first line of defense against spam and viruses.

Microsoft is expected to reveal a new patch management strategy at next week’s Microsoft Management Summit 2004 in Las Vegas, including introducing new versions of Software Update Services.

WindowsSecurity.com has launched a new sister site, WindowsNetworking.com, a site completely dedicated to Windows networking related topics such as setting up Windows NT/XP/2000/2003 networks, troubleshooting, connectivity and much more.

If you’re an Outlook Web Access 5.5 and Exchange 5.5 user and have ever encountered the Password expires in 0 days error, this tip from SearchExchange will help you deal with it.

A security vulnerability in Outlook 2002 could allow Internet Explorer to execute script code in the Local Machine zone on an affected system. The parsing of specially crafted mailto URLs by Outlook 2002 causes this vulnerability.

PROMODAG Reports for Microsoft Exchange Server will measure the usage of your electronic messaging system from inside and outside the organization, analyze traffic patterns and establish the cost of using the system, by creating reports and graphs.

If you use Outlook 2003, then you know it has many new features compared to its predecessor. This Tip explains how to get the most from them and other changes.