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Thanks for the explanation - very helpful. &nbsp;Is there any type of spam software or hardware that will stop or prevent the attacks from occurring?
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Thanks for the explanation - very helpful.  Is there any type of spam software or hardware that will stop or prevent the attacks from occurring?

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We are currently using an outside service company as our email service provider.<br />
<br />
Recently our email service has been going down because, apparently, our domain has been the target of dictionary attacks.<br />
<br />
Our email service provider's explanation is as follows: &nbsp;&quot;Basically we see upwards of 350,000 emails within 1/2 hour against the server&quot;. &nbsp;The return addresses are bogus and the current server does not have the capability to stop this&quot;.<br />
<br />
Can anyone explain what a dictionary attack is?<br />
<br />
Also, if we decide to bring our email 'in-house' what sort of impact will these dictionary attacks have on our Small Business Server 2003?<br />
<br />
Finally, is there any type of software that will help to stop these attacks?<br />
<br />
Thanks, Sandra
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We are currently using an outside service company as our email service provider.

Recently our email service has been going down because, apparently, our domain has been the target of dictionary attacks.

Our email service provider's explanation is as follows:  "Basically we see upwards of 350,000 emails within 1/2 hour against the server".  The return addresses are bogus and the current server does not have the capability to stop this".

Can anyone explain what a dictionary attack is?

Also, if we decide to bring our email 'in-house' what sort of impact will these dictionary attacks have on our Small Business Server 2003?

Finally, is there any type of software that will help to stop these attacks?

Thanks, Sandra

Dictionary Attacks / Exchange Server 2003

Exchange is the server side of a collaborative application product that is part of the Microsoft Server infrastructure. Exchange's major features include email, calendaring, contacts and tasks, support for mobile and web-based access to information, and support for data storage.