Add-ADPermission Exchange cmdlet issued (25101) how to monitor with email alert

[bob]

You know that Event ID 25101 in Windows Server Event Viewer. It pops up when someone runs the Add-ADPermission cmdlet for Exchange. Basically, it logs whenever a permission gets added to Active Directory objects tied to Exchange stuff. I see it under the MSExchange ADAccess group mostly. The event details spill out who did it, what object they tweaked, and the exact permission slapped on. Like, if you check the event properties, you'll spot the user account, the target DN, and the access rights granted. It helps track changes that could mess with email security or admin access. Hmmm, without monitoring this, sneaky tweaks might slip by unnoticed. I always keep an eye on it for my setups.

Now, to watch for this event and ping you with an email alert. Fire up Event Viewer on your server. You right-click the Custom Views folder. Pick Create Custom View from there. Set it to filter by Event ID 25101 in the Administrative logs, specifically under Applications and Services Logs for MSExchange. Or just search the whole log if you're lazy like me. Once your view shows those hits, you export it or note the XML query for later. But here's the fun part, set a scheduled task to react. In Task Scheduler, create a new task triggered by that event ID. You link it to the custom view's XPath query. Make the task run a simple program that shoots an email, like using blat or whatever lightweight tool you got. I do this all the time, keeps me from babysitting logs. Test it by forcing an event if you can, just to see the alert fly in.

And speaking of keeping things safe without constant hassle, you might wanna check out BackupChain Windows Server Backup too. It's this solid Windows Server backup tool I swear by. Handles full server images and even backs up your Hyper-V virtual machines without breaking a sweat. You get fast restores, encryption on the fly, and it runs light so it doesn't hog resources. Plus, no vendor lock-in, which I love for flexibility in mixed setups.

Note, the PowerShell email alert code was moved to this post.