Exchange 2007 Guru's - protection?

MrGuvernment

MrGuvernment

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Aug 3, 2004
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when we used to run an exchange 2003 server, i used GFI mail essentials, was an awsome suite, did everything, i was curious what is the best tools to use for a new Exchange 2007 deployment to filter spam and such, a dedicate barracuda box or something is likely too expensive for the company, so cost is a factor.
 
I've been a fan of ORF for a while. Seems to do a pretty good job and its cheap. Want to say it is 240 bucks and 100 bucks a year for support after that. It is licensed per server.

For AV we run either kaspersky or eset mail security depending on what they are running on the desktops.

How many users we talking?
 
I would look at ESET or ForeFront for the server. How many mailboxes determines what I recommend for spam filtering. If under 50 then I would just go with Postini. More than that and Barracuda or Astaro Mail Gateway starts being competitive.
 
I have all my email go through an outside company ( Securence )and you pay per month based on how many users you have.
 
ForeFront is great for our company, my users end up with 2 or 3 messages into the junk mail folder and maybe 1 message a week into the inbox each week.
 
I have all my clients with Exchange Servers going through a mail host/SMTP smart host. For both incoming, and outgoing on custom ports..so it doesn't matter of the clients ISP does any SMTP blocking.

This helps secure the Exchange server in several manners.
1- Viruses removed by the mail host
2- Spam/phishing removed by the mail host
3- Mail can be queued up if the mail server is down/offine for any period of time
4- You can set your Exchange servers SMTP server to only accept incoming connections from your mail host...this helps secure it instead of having your mail server wide open to the internet internet
5- You can set your router/firewall to also ACL port 25 SMTP to only allow connections from your mail hosts IP(s)...this helps secure it instead of having your Exchange server sticking its butt out on the internet with Vaseline on it saying "rape me hack me pillage me".

I use either AppRiver or the guys upstairs from me in the data center.
 
I'd +1 on the smart host options.
Currently I run an Untangle box at the gateway, does a great job. But a smart host would be better for a few reasons:
1) Spam gets stopped before it hits your network. With Untangle, it's still got to be downloaded first, then stripped. With a smart host, it gets stopped before ever using your internet connection.

2) Mail spooling. Server goes down, your mail continues to function.

3) Processing power of stripping that stuff out, additional heat/AC, electricity, etc is all put onto the smart host.

4) Outbound filtering, depending who you use, you can set it to strip out SSNs and such. Prevents confidential information from leaving the business.

Not that cheap. I looked at Postini, you have to buy a minimum of 125 users, and it's $1,500/yr. But IMO it's worth it if you can budget it.
I've tried some of the cheaper solutions, and have had downtime issues. Postini is Google owned now, plenty of servers... You know you won't have issues.
 
TechieSooner said:
Not that cheap. I looked at Postini, you have to buy a minimum of 125 users, and it's $1,500/yr. But IMO it's worth it if you can budget it.
I've tried some of the cheaper solutions, and have had downtime issues. Postini is Google owned now, plenty of servers... You know you won't have issues.
Click to expand...

Not true. I have Postini setup for a small client that has only six mailboxes. They pay about $200/year for the service. It all depends on if you try to go through Postini/Google yourself or if you work with a partner.
 
Saw a presentation last week by Reflexion. Product is called total control. Was impressed. Trying to get some time available to give it a whirl
 
TechieSooner said:
Not that cheap. I looked at Postini, you have to buy a minimum of 125 users, and it's $1,500/yr. But IMO it's worth it if you can budget it.
I've tried some of the cheaper solutions, and have had downtime issues. Postini is Google owned now, plenty of servers... You know you won't have issues.
Click to expand...

Postini requires 5 users. Have like 2 or 3 clients running it with the 5 min which is 60 a year.
 
I've used Postini at several sites. It works well and has been utterly reliable.
 
I ordered the 5 user license directly from postini. All of the clients we have on postini are done directly through a google account.

For things like AV we go through a reseller for a discount. For postini we haven't really seen the need.
 
swatbat said:
I ordered the 5 user license directly from postini. All of the clients we have on postini are done directly through a google account.

For things like AV we go through a reseller for a discount. For postini we haven't really seen the need.
Click to expand...

??? On their main website it says you have a user minimum, I'm not seeing where you can order smaller packs at.
 
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