The news comes just weeks after another big player in the email security market, Webroot, announced they would be exiting the scene completely.

Google’s announcement isn’t quite as severe but is no doubt significant. In a statement on their Website they promise that Google Apps will now offer the same level of features as Postini built right into the Apps product.

This is good news for Apps users, but for those using the standalone Postini service, many questions still remain. Google are saying that these ‘Classic’ accounts are no affected by the transition, but this leaves business with concerns they are paying for a mothballed service. There is no word from Google on whether they will be offering a new standalone email security product for these users.

One thing is clear, business users will be forced to manually update their MX record, which will cause an unwelcome headache for administrators and potential email disruption for many as DNS changes propagate.

With the demise of Webroot’s email security service and this latest news from Google, the SaaS email security market is feeling very unstable. Without doubt the likes of other providers such as Symantec.Cloud (formerly messagelabs) will be waiting in the wings to scoop up any disillusioned customers.

There is a bigger elephant in the room here, that has so far gone unnoticed; Has the SaaS email security market reached vendor saturation? Margins appear to have withered away, perhaps due to intense competition, and there seems to be a shift towards services protecting endpoint computers rather than at the network level. Maybe this is just diversification by providers in tough economic times. The spam threat certainly hasn’t gone away, but by all accounts profitability has – it seems this cash cow may have almost dried up.

For more information on the Postini situation visit the Google FAQ

The application stops due to an unforeseen situation, for example an error in the database.

It turns out that the application tries to write to various files that are installed in Program Files, which of course normal users do not have access to. Obviously giving the entire userbase rights to modify things in this way was out of the question, so we decided to try some other methods. We have a ‘software’ share on one of the servers for software that can be run directly from an installation directory, so we tried that. The same problem existed, as users were still not able to write to the install directory.

In the end, our solution was to create a new share, to which users have write (update) access, as we did not want to compromise the existing software setup, when everything was running smoothly. Once we had shared the software in a user writable directory (and published it in the form of a shortcut on the default desktop), everything worked!

It would be nice to see an update to the software to allow it to run without administrator rights, as I am sure there are situtations where a solution like ours would not be feasible.

Update 24/03/2009:
We have found that although this solves the problem of running the software, it does not allow you to run more than one instance at a time – useless for a network application like this one. The software must be putting a lock on its files, very annoying!

To deploy this via group policy, you will need to use a startup script, as it is not possible to extract an MSI to use with the usual method. However it’s a really simple script so should be no problem to get it up and running.

Just share the installer executable somewhere on your server (we usually have a shared software directory for this purpose), and add the following to a startup script (replacing the path with the correct one for your situation, of course)…

“\\SVR\Software\PhotoScapeInstall\setup.exe” /S

Note the upper-case S in the switch – it will not function with a lower-case S. This will install desktop and quick-launch shortcuts, which unfortunately there seems to be no way around. However, a good point is that it does not install Google Toolbar, which is an option selected by default if you use the wizard install.

Have fun!

1. Enter the control panel and uninstall all the HP related software.
2. Unplug the USB connection – this step is very important.
3. Now, it is important to reboot the computer at this stage, to ensure you’re starting from a clean slate. Once rebooted you now need to download the HP removal software. There are various version of this. If you have a 7×00 series printer you’ll want the specific HP Software Removal Utility (recommended) or alternatively there is the more general All-in-One Software Removal Utility. Assuming you download the HP software removal utility, run the file and it will extract to C:/Temp/HP_WebRelease. Browse to this folder and look for uninstall_l4.bat. Running this file will perform what HP call a Level 4 cleanup – the highest level of HP rubbish removal.

****** Executing Level4 CleanUP ******
This cleanup utility will remove the HP Image Zone software and the
HP product drivers. Use this utility to remove software if you have a
problem using the software and would like to reinstall the software.

Use this LEVEL 4 cleanup if LEVEL 3 cleanup utility did not fix the problem
and you continue to experience software problems with your HP Officejet Pro

LEVEL 4 is the most comprehensive cleanup level and
will remove the HP product drivers, HP Image Zone software
and all HP components installed with your HP Officejet Pro device
****************

If you chose to UNINSTALL, Please do the following…
1. Unplug the USB cable from the back of your HP Officejet Pro device
2. After the cleanup finishes, restart your computer and wait for Windows
to start
3. Eject and re-insert the software CD that came with your HP Officejet Pro
device to start the installation
4. Follow the on-screen instructions to finish the installation
5. Try printing a document to confirm functionality
Press ENTER to continue Uninstalling…
OR
Press Q followed by ENTER to QUIT uninstallation

As per the instructions, just hit enter and wait for the uninstaller to complete.

Now reboot your computer again. Do NOT reconnect the printer yet.

You now need to download the latest verison of the HP All-in-one software from the HP website – don’t use the CD which came with it as this is most likely outdated. I chose the HP Officejet Pro Full Feature Software And Driver – weighing in at an almighty 300MB.

Once downloaded, run the setup file. The setup will prompt you when it is time to connect the printer.

Follow the installation as normal and you should have a working printer again.

I hope this helps you on your quest for a working HP printer!

“Hi, is that Henry?”

“Yes, speaking.”

“Umm something has happened to my computer, and I can’t browse the internet. It seems to want a password and I don’t know what it is.”

“Ok, that would be the Internet Explorer Content Advisor… Let me have a look and I’ll see what I can do.”

<< 40 minute interval >>

“Thanks Henry, you’re a gem!”

Here’s the problem:

Internet Explorer Content Advisor

So, how exactly do you remove the content adviser password in Internet Explorer 7? And why did it take so long? Well some registry editing was required, but the hardest part was talking the customer through various steps without being able to see his screen, because of course, he could not get internet access.

To remove the content adviser password you’ll need the following:

• A second computer with internet access (to download the following file)
• A USB key/memory stick (to move the file to the problem computer)
• Download this file (right click-> save target as) and place it on the memory stick

Ok, once you’ve got the remove-content-adviser.reg file on the problem computer, just double click and click yes to confirm. Now, fire up Internet Explorer and you’re away.

Thanks to pchell.com for finding the correct registry keys.

\\SVR\Share\Path\setup.exe /quiet

That’s it! It installs near instantaneously on newer machines as well – well done that man.

Once you’ve had it up and running for a while it gives a quick insight into how printers are used on your network, allowing you to redistribute so that the cheapest to run are in the highest use situations, for example.

Let us know how you get on if you decide to give it a try.