Welcome

We are happy to announce the public preview of ORF's next update, version 6.9. This release introduces integrated GeoIP Blocking, Automatic Error Reporting, along with a host of other changes and improvements.

Read on to learn what's changed and get the new beta.

What's New?

NEW: Service & Administration Tool

  • Integrated GeoIP Blacklist, enabling country and region-based blacklisting.
  • Optional automatic Error Reporting added for smoother issue resolution.
  • Plus Addressing exception lists have been added, offering greater control.
  • Selective logging for Remote Access and Configuration Subscription events have been added to reduce unnecessary data.

NEW: Log Viewer

Sender Location information is now recorded and displayed in logs.

NEW: Reporting Tool

GeoIP Blacklist statistics are now included in reports.

IMPROVED: Service & Administration Tool

  • Configuration Errors and Warnings are now visually highlighted and marked in the UI.
  • The DKIM Test's Blacklist on neutral or permerror feature received a list-type configuration interface, allowing for further customization.
  • Attachment Quarantine now resends attachments that were removed from the same email in a single email.
  • The System > Status page now also displays DNS and HTTP proxy status information.

IMPROVED: Log Viewer

  • Auto Sender Whitelist events logged for outbound messages with multiple recipients are now grouped for easier overview.
  • ARC-related event messages now include the sealing/signing domains.
  • You can now toggle between System and ISO-like date formats in the Time column header's right-click menu.
  • The Event Properties window now features convenient copy-to-clipboard icons, and double-clicking items now auto-selects relevant values.

CHANGE: Network Settings page

Introduced the System > Network Settings page, which now includes both DNS and HTTP proxy settings.

CHANGE: DNS page removal

Removed the System > DNS page.

CHANGE: Proxy Settings

Removed the Proxy Settings buttons from individual test configuration pages.

CHANGE: Network Settings naming

Renamed the management tool-specific Network Settings to Connection Preferences in the File menu.

CHANGE: Client IP naming

Renamed the Client IP special field to Remote Peer IP in the External Agent Properties window to improve clarity.

CHANGE: DKIM Test signature verifier

The DKIM Test signature verifier now allows for unencoded headers containing special characters.

CHANGE: SPF Test

The SPF Test now allows for non-standard representation of IPv6 addresses during validation.

BUGFIXES

  • The DMARC Test checked exempted email addresses found in the display name section of the From header address.
  • The DKIM Test did not produce a permerror when the cryptographic algorithm of the signature differed from the one specified in the public key, as required by RFC.
  • The Authentication-Results header incorrectly marked a DKIM policy hit alongside the correct pass result for multi-signed emails.
  • User-defined Log Viewer filters that included the deprecated Related IP field were not transferred during the update to v6.8.x.
  • The Tarpit Delay status was incorrectly logged as enabled at service start, even when it was actually disabled.
  • In some cases, the hard-coded SQL network connectivity timeout did not take effect, causing extended timeouts.
  • Enabling sender validation before whitelisting led to slower filtering due to an error in the automated filtering point selection.
  • The default settings of the Local Features on the Configuration Subscription page were incorrect in the previous release.
  • Resolved issues with hotkey overlap in the Log Viewer's Filter Builder window.

Other minor fixes, user interface improvements and various minor UI glitches were resolved

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Downloads

Be sure to read the Installation Notes before installing the beta version.

ORF Fusion

for Microsoft® Exchange and IIS SMTP Service
version 6.9 BETA R02
released on March 21, 2024
expires on April 30, 2024
size 14.5 MB
Download System requirements

A separate download of the ORF management tools is available below. Install this package on workstations to manage ORF remotely. Note that management tools are included in the full installer packages above (for local management).

ORF 6.9 Beta R02 Management Tools-only Installer

The 6.9 Management Tools are not backward compatible. You can only manage ORF 6.9 installations with the 6.9 Management Tools package. Side-by-side installation of 5.x or 6.x Management Tools is currently not available.

Installation Notes

Please consider that this is pre-release software and may contain bugs. Install the beta for testing purposes only.

Upgrading

When upgrading from an existing ORF installation, make sure to create a configuration backup prior the upgrade, as described by the Configuration Backup Guide. If you need to revert back to the previous version, this backup can be used to restore your previous version quickly.

Important Exit from the Windows Event Viewer MMC before the upgrade (see this FAQ article).

Known Issues

The list below contains the issues that we know about the current beta release. This list is maintained during the lifetime of the beta; be sure to check back here before reporting an issue. Issue severity levels are explained in the FAQ.

Severity Issue
Minor

Memory usage

Slightly increased memory usage (does not affect filtering or system stability).
Minor

HTTP proxy setting replication

Local-only HTTP proxy settings (these settings are not replicated by configuration subscription).
Minor

Some website links may not work

A few links pointing to our website from ORF and its help system will not be available until the final release of ORF.

ORF Beta Issue History

The list below contains the issues that have been fixed since the R01 beta release.

Support

A dedicated support forum is available for the beta version. Please use this forum for technical support and bug reports. Registration is not required.

Go to forum ⇾

Reporting bugs

When reporting bugs, please share any information with us that you consider important for reproducing the bug. A few tips on what we might need:

When sensitive information (such as logs) needs to be shared, please send these to [email protected].

You can report issues of all severity, even the smallest things like typos or grammatical errors.

FAQ

What are the limitations of the beta version?

The beta release is fully functional and contains all planned features. It is also time-limited and the current release will expire on April 30, 2024. We will release either the final version or another beta release before the above date.

What do the different issue severity levels mean?

We define four simple levels for issue severity.

Cosmetic issues are harmless and do not affect any functionality. These are typically typos, grammar mistakes and other interface issues.

Minor issues render some functionality of ORF broken, but they are generally harmless and do not affect the overall operation of the product.

Medium severity issues cause an important ORF functionality to be broken. If you rely on the affected functionality, you may not be able to use the beta until a fix is released.

Major issues affect the overall reliability of the software. If such issue is published, you are recommended to stop using the beta until a fix is released. Make sure to read the description to understand the risks.

Unknown severity is assigned to issues where the scope of the issue has not been determined yet.

Setup says "DeleteFile failed; code 5.", how do I fix this?

You may receive "DeleteFile failed; code 5. Access denied." error from the Setup regarding orfeesvc.exe when updating an existing ORF installation.

This is caused by a program that locks the Windows Event Log message resource embedded in the ORF Service binary orfeesvc.exe. The typical offenders are the Windows Event Viewer MMC and software that uses WMI (Windows Management Instrumentation) for reading the Windows event log.

To fix this problem, exit from the Event Viewer MMC and click "Retry". If the file is still locked, shut down any software temporarily which monitors the Windows event log and try again.

If the above does not help, go to the ORF installation directory and rename orfeesvc.exe to orfeesvc.bak, then click "Retry".

Can you add Feature X?

We are happy to hear your suggestions and they may make it into a future ORF version.

What are the system requirements of ORF Beta?

The system requirements have not changed since the last ORF release. Check the current system requirements here.

The Management Tools package can be installed on any modern Windows desktop OS (Windows XP or later).

Just how stable is the beta?

Early ORF releases were tested in-house by Vamsoft developers for weeks on various platforms. Due to this, we expect that most issues that may arise will be lightweight.

Be sure to visit the beta forums every once in a while, we will publish any bug reports there. You can also subscribe to the RSS feed of the beta forum.

Can I upgrade to the new beta from ORF X.X?

Yes, the beta setup is fully backward compatible and will update any earlier ORF Fusion or Enterprise Edition release.

Will I be able to upgrade to the final version from the beta?

Yes, you will be able to upgrade from the beta in-place.

How do I revert to ORF X.X?

You can revert by uninstalling ORF Beta and installing a previous ORF version. Once the installation is complete, restore the configuration backup you made previously (see the Configuration Backup Guide).

When is the final version expected?

It depends on the beta test progress. We are committed to release a stable ORF version to our clients, so the final release can be expected only once the preview release reaches a reasonable level of reliability.

Will I get ORF free of charge upon its final release?

Your subscription guarantees access to any new ORF releases within the validity period — this includes ORF 6.9. Be sure not to let your subscription expire and you will get the new ORF at no additional cost.

Where do I get more information?

Contact our Customer Service, we are happy to answer any questions you may have.