The end of the year is upon us, and for most of us this means time off from work to celebrate Christmas with our families and take a much needed break.  But before we shut down our computer and head out the door there are a few extra things that email admins need to think about.

Patches and Security Updates

Before taking an extended break is a good time to double check that your email servers are up to date with the latest security updates.

This includes updates for the server operating system, the email server application, and any other components on the servers such as backup agents, faxing software, and antivirus agents.

Even if your patching is automated it might pay to manually apply the latest updates now so that any problems that arise can be dealt with while you are still at the office.  You don’t want to get a phone call while you’re relaxing because the server was knocked offline by an automated update.

Backups

A lot of businesses use the end of the year to take a full backup of systems to store as a long term archive.  This is best performed while you are still available to assist with any issues and make sure that the backup is 100% successful and can be relied upon later for recovery if necessary.

At the same time some businesses halt their backups over the holidays if no staff will be present to change backup tapes.  For Exchange servers it is important to ensure that enough transaction log space is available for the server to run without backups for a week or more.

Support Calls

Nothing is worse than getting phone calls on your holiday for simple questions or problems.  If the business is still operating over the Christmas period and you might get phone calls from the Help Desk or on call staff then you can save yourself from being bothered by putting the right documentation and systems in place.

Make sure your fellow IT staff know how to troubleshoot email problems and have the minimum level of access they will need to deal with routine support issues.

You can also avoid simple support requests such as spam quarantine releases by putting in systems that support end user self-service for those functions.

Passwords

Most networks have a password policy that forces a new password to be chosen every 30 or so days.  Depending on the remote access infrastructure in place it is not always possible to update an expired password via remote access.

I’ve been caught out by this before and had to drive into work on holidays to fix an issue that would have taken me 5 minutes over remote access, all because my password had expired.

Take a moment before you go away on holidays to update the passwords on any accounts that you need so that they won’t expire again for another 30 days.

Lock the Door Behind You

Ever created an account with a weak password just for a “quick test” and then forgotten to delete the account afterwards?  Spend some time checking your email servers and accounts for any test accounts or other administration oversights that might lead to a security breach while you are away.

Remember that hacking activity increases over holiday periods both because the hackers are bored and because they know a lot of networks are unmanned during these times.

Double check your firewalls and other access points to make sure they are still locked down the way you intended.

This can all mean the difference between returning from holidays to a healthy network or starting off the new year with a disaster on your hands.