Email Security

Email Security, anti-spam and anti-malware

Protect mail servers and users by blocking email-borne viruses, malware and spam at your network perimeter

Smoothwall Email Security protects mail servers and users by blocking spam and email malware at the network perimeter, so that dangerous and unwanted email does not get through to user inboxes and vulnerable mail servers.

• Product DetailsShow

  Anti-Malware

  All incoming and outgoing email is scanned for malware using a built-in anti-malware engine. Both POP3 and SMTP transparent proxies are incorporated, so mail servers and mail clients need not be reconfigured. Transparent mode operation provides protection against viruses entering the network via personal email accounts.

  Anti-Spam

  Smoothwall Email Security incorporates Mailshell’s world-leading spam filtering and anti-phishing software. Email is analysed on the basis of content, sender reputation, whether it was sent in bulk, and any unusual formatting which is characteristic of spam. In this way, spam can be quickly and accurately identified, with a near-zero incidence of false positives. Mailshell also detects image-based spam with detection signatures updated every few minutes to provide a quick response to emerging spam outbreaks.

  Mail Relay

  Ideally any server accessible from the Internet should be isolated from other systems in a De-Militarized Zone (DMZ). However, in the real world (where users need to access shared files and calendars) this can prove awkward, Using Smoothwall Email Security as a mail relay provides a layer of isolation between any mail server and the Internet. All email traffic is reconstructed before onward transmission to the actual mail server, protecting it from attack.

  Reporting

  Extensive charts and reports provide complete awareness of email activity. From high level statistics covering email usage, spam and viruses removed, down to per user/mailbox information, Email Security tracks the fate of each and every email. Spam and malware levels are recorded and analysed as percentages of overall email, so the effectiveness of your email security can be quickly assessed.

  Please note: Email Security is an add-on software module for Smoothwall UTM appliances, Advanced Firewall, Guardian Web Security and Guardian Web Filter - it cannot be purchased independently.

• Technical FeaturesShow

  Email Security & Anti-Spam Optional Module

  Content Analysis

  Using Mailshell 3.0 Spam Content, examines the content of messages in detail, including address fields, subject, headers, SMTP envelope content, email format, design and layout, image layout, hyperlinks, contact information, language and origin in order to identify and categorize spam email.

  Reputation Checking

  Using Mailshell Spam Detection Network & Bayesian analysis, sender reputations are determined using comprehensive ‘real-time’ databases of IP addresses, domains and email addresses of known spammers. Bayesian analysis is used to combat attempts to hide sender identity.

  Bulk Mail Detection

  Using Mailshell SpamBulk, identifies if a message or similar messages were sent in bulk by creating ‘fingerprints’ based on message elements that are the hardest for spammers to fake or change.

  Phishing Protection

  Using Mailshell SpamTricks, identifies special formatting used to evade spam filters and for phishing attacks and economical bulk mailings (including image-only messages, HTML obfuscation and manipulation using relays). Analysis of the message header includes time stamps and the SMTP envelope.

  SMTP Validity Checking

  Checks for malformed email (usually either spam or designed to attack mail server/client vulnerabilities).

  Grey Listing

  Mail from unknown senders may be temporarily rejected. Genuine email servers (as opposed to zombies or botnets) usually resend after a short delay - if a second attempt is made, the sender is then automatically added to the list of known senders.

  Remote Blackhole List (RBL)

  The option to utilize RBL services (maintained databases of IP addresses that are acting as open mail relays for bulk spamming).

  Sender Domain Spoofing

  Rejects any incoming email that falsely uses an internal domain in the 'from' address.

  User-configurable Spam Treatment Controls

  Users have the option to add email addresses to their own blacklists or whitelists and set automatic rules for changing subjects, replacing content or sending to a quarantine mailbox. Quarantines can be set up for individual email addresses with daily 'spam trapped' email reports sent to users so they can view and release emails.

  Per User Quarantine

  Allows each email address to have a separate quarantine as opposed to a single mailbox. Users receive a daily report of “spam-trapped” email which they can then use to view and release email.

  Disclaimer Footers

  Ability to add standardized disclaimers to the footer of outgoing emails. Different disclaimers can be used for different domains.

  Near Real-Time Updates

  The software is updated every 5 minutes with the latest email fingerprints and detection rules.

  Attachment Removal

  Allows dangerous or unwanted attachments to be discarded based on type (e.g. executable files, documents and multimedia files).

  Email Security Reporting & Logging

  Email Reports

  Show the classification of every received email on a daily or monthly basis (spam, virus infected, blacklisted, etc) with charts to show relative proportions.

  Email User Activity Reports

  Show the number and size of emails sent and received per user (daily/monthly).

  Spam Reports

  Analysis of spam received (top recipients, top sender domains, spam scores etc).

  Virus Reports

  Breakdown of viruses received by type, origin and recipient.

  Email Real-time Log Viewer

  Displays instantaneous email activity including SMTP connection status.