Fasthosts Exchange Hosting Public Folders: A Bit Too Public
We recently opted to use www.fasthosts.co.uk hosted Exchange Server for our email requirements at work. Price, support and features are generally very good. However, there's one drawback to be aware of in case you're thinking of doing the same (or already are). That is, top level Public Folders* are not made private to the domains they belong to. You cannot even set user access levels manually. Whatever top level Public Folders you have are visible to any other Fastshosts customer on the same server. They are only visible if you use IMAP to connect to the server, but visible they are.
Much remonstration with the tech support later and they stuck to their guns: allowing us to secure access to Public Folders at the top level to our own users only was not part of the standard installation. The workaround was to create sub folders under the top level. User access can be set at this level.
Quite why Fasthosts think it necessary to stop customers from using the top level safely and securely, I don't know. They don't appear to make it public knowledge (can't find anything on their support pages) that putting your Contact list in Public Folders > Contacts will make that list viewable by any other customer using the same server, so I suspect many customers will have done so without knowing. You have been warned...
* Top level Public Folders in this context are the folders found immediately under the domain in the Public Folders tree
Yes I'm having the same problem as you, just started using IMAP for exchange and bang before i get to sent items I get 200 or so very public folders. I was pointed to your blog post when i took this issue up with O2 as I was viewing my mail on my Iphone.
Well this is the email I got from Fasthosts:
Thank you for your enquiry.
Unfortunately there isn't a way to contact the account holders directly. All it is that the Mac email client is the only application that shows the flaw in the Microsoft Exchange system on shared mailboxes. It would not be possible to manually log into everyones account, seach for mailboxes, cross reference this with the account details, contact the account holder, ask them to contact their customers, and then explain how to change the settings on thier own computer.
What we have decided to do as it only effects Mac customers is leave it up to the other account holder to resolve the configuration issue on their own computers.
If you want to send them an email to advise them that you can see their emails and point them to the following KBA.
http://www.fasthosts.co.uk/knowledge-base/?article_id=1095
Hope this helps and thank you for contacting Fasthosts Customer Support.
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Nicholaus Darley-Jones
Customer Support
Fasthosts Internet Ltd.