doulos777
asked on
Looking for a Good SPAM Filter
I have a client who has been getting their mail via a POP3 connector that downloads it from thier web hosting provider (currently Network Solutions). I am fairly statisfied with the SPAM filtering that Network Solutions does because it is much better than the previous provider. My only problem is that the POP3 connector takes too long to download emails (even though it is set to 3 mins). BY THE WAY - I AM NOT USING THE MS POP3 CONNECTOR.
I would like to move them to receiving their emails directly on their exchange server so that everything would be really quick, but I will have to have some really good SPAM filtering to do this. And there is one other catch. The network is small and only has 4 users so there is not a real huge IT budget.
Thanks for any ideas!!!
I would like to move them to receiving their emails directly on their exchange server so that everything would be really quick, but I will have to have some really good SPAM filtering to do this. And there is one other catch. The network is small and only has 4 users so there is not a real huge IT budget.
Thanks for any ideas!!!
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I suggest you do not expose the exchange server to the internet. I suggest you to have SMTP mail gateway (IIS SMTP would do) for receving mails destined to your domain and make the gateway forward the same to the exchange server. You can also configure exchange to forward all mails to your smtp gateway to be sent to external domains.
In this way, you can safely define additional defence to your email system. Moreover, I suggest you to buy GFI mail essential & mail security bundle for smtp gateway based on number of users and install the same in gateway. Any mails addressed to your domain will be scanned twice because of multi virus engines available in GFI mail security and SPAM mails will be stopped in gateway itself.
In this way, you can safely define additional defence to your email system. Moreover, I suggest you to buy GFI mail essential & mail security bundle for smtp gateway based on number of users and install the same in gateway. Any mails addressed to your domain will be scanned twice because of multi virus engines available in GFI mail security and SPAM mails will be stopped in gateway itself.
A gateway server is the best way to go, but it is by no means essential.
I have all but 1 of my exchange servers directly accessible to the internet, and I am pretty sure Sembee does the same thing.
The primary benefit of a gateway spam server is to take the processing load away from the mail server - not necessarily as a form of security
-red
I have all but 1 of my exchange servers directly accessible to the internet, and I am pretty sure Sembee does the same thing.
The primary benefit of a gateway spam server is to take the processing load away from the mail server - not necessarily as a form of security
-red
If you are going to use a gateway machine then you need to make sure that you are using an application on that machine that does directory lookup. That allows you to stop email that is addressed to invalid addresses on your domain before it is delivered to the server. This is not only the most efficient way of dealing with those types of messages from a bandwidth point of view, but it also stops "back scatter" where your Exchange server attempts to send the email back to the sender. As you are probably aware almost all spam comes from spoofed senders, so trying to send an NDR to the spammer is useless.
Both GFI and Vamsoft offer that feature and can be run on a separate machine - as long as that separate machine can see the domain.
The Exchange server is directly exposed to the internet for most of my clients. While a gateway machine would be nice, the additional expense of a machine to do that role usually cannot be justified. An Exchange server that has been setup correctly and patched is at no more risk than a gateway machine. As with allowing anything on the internet - it is all about calculated risk.
Simon.
Both GFI and Vamsoft offer that feature and can be run on a separate machine - as long as that separate machine can see the domain.
The Exchange server is directly exposed to the internet for most of my clients. While a gateway machine would be nice, the additional expense of a machine to do that role usually cannot be justified. An Exchange server that has been setup correctly and patched is at no more risk than a gateway machine. As with allowing anything on the internet - it is all about calculated risk.
Simon.
ASKER
I would love to use GFI, but I contacted them and they do not offer a license smaller than 25 mailboxes. Most of my clients are small businesses with 5 to 15 users. Does anyone have suggestions for a SPAM product that has licensing designed for small business?
Considering the per mailbox price compared to some other products, even buying 25 mailboxes is a good price for just 10 or 15 users - that is why it is heavily used in the small business market.
Always start with the built in tools - IMF, recipient filtering etc. That will reduce the amount of spam that is received.
Simon.
Always start with the built in tools - IMF, recipient filtering etc. That will reduce the amount of spam that is received.
Simon.
doulos, TrendMicro have that..
In my experience the anti virus companies don't make very good anti spam tools.
Simon.
Simon.
>>In my experience the anti virus companies don't make very good anti spam tools.
Seconded.
Seconded.
ASKER
Any thoughts on Sunbelt Messaging Ninja???
I was a fan of its predecessor "I Hate Spam". However after seeing what Sunbelt did with that product (or rather didn't do - they simply stopped doing anything with it - there was an updating bug that hung around for months, while the user community complained and Sunbelt just kept going on about the new application. It was only fixed when the user community became so vocal that it was impossible for them to ignore if they want to get any sales from the existing user base) I would be very hesitant to recommend any Sunbelt product to my clients.
Simon.
Simon.
sembee, i can se you point about the AV companies spam filters.. but, and thats the only reson why i present TrendMicro as the biggie, i find the spamfilter they use very, very, very good..
:-)
:-)
It has a good POPfilter aswell..
Cheap (relatively), and good..
But for your network, i would suggest the single clients. It has all the funcs you need..