How to enable message tracking
I need to find out who in my organization sent an e-mail to someone@domain.com. Is there any way to find that information out?

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VIEW MEMBER FEEDBACK TO THIS ASK THE EXPERT Q&A.

Yes, the easiest way is to use message tracking. However, message tracking is not enabled by default. To enable message tracking open your Exchange System Manager (ESM), navigate to each Exchange server in your organization, view Properties and enable message tracking on the right on the General page.

It is important to enable message tracking on each server in order to be able to track any message sent to and from your organization. After message tracking is enabled, you can use the Message Tracking Center, which is located under the Tools folder in the ESM to search for someone@domain.com.

If this is something that you need to be able to do on an ongoing basis, you might want to jump on the archiving bandwagon. Many companies are now implementing e-mail archiving systems not just for data retention but also for the forensic capabilities.

MEMBER FEEDBACK TO THIS ASK THE EXPERT Q&A:

So are you saying that, if message tracking was not previously turned on, there is no way to track that specific message?
—Lynne W.

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You are correct. Unless something like message tracking is enabled, the events that occur during the transport of a message will not be captured and will not be available retroactively.
—Richard Luckett, Security expert

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    • This was first published in May 2005

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