Clearswift Solution Evades Evolving Spam

Clearswift's original MIMEsweeper product was launched almost 10 years ago, and the company's new version, MIMEsweeper for SMTP 5.0, combats the new sophisticated spam and security breach schemes that have become so pervasive in today's connected world. MIMEsweeper for SMTP offers levels of control and protection that were completely unheard of prior to MIMEsweeper's release.

MIMEsweeper also proves to be both thorough and easy to manage for networks of most any size, and CRN Test Center engineers were impressed by the program's robustness and tuneability. Sold as a software solution, MIMEsweeper brings added flexibility to solution providers looking to integrate the software with their own appliances or incorporate Clearswift's e-mail security products into an existing network.

Billed as a content security product, MIMEsweeper accomplishes much more than standard spam filtering. The product leverages comprehensive policy creation to filter both incoming and outgoing e-mail. All outgoing mail is scanned to make sure it meets predefined company policies. The outbound filtering capability offers granular protection that identifies Social Security Numbers or credit-card numbers and prevents this information from leaving the network. That feature proves handy to organizations that need to comply with legal requirements, such as HIPAA laws. What's more, outbound filtering can be used to protect company intellectual property or prevent spam or worm attacks emanating from the network.

What differentiates MIMEsweeper from other products is the powerful content analysis engine, which uses filters to locate key elements that identify an e-mail as spam or can flag a message that deviates from company policy. MIMEsweeper analyzes the entire e-mail message and can even examine the content of attached files. What's more, the product uses advanced heuristics to identify spam and to learn new spamming techniques, capabilities that can stop zero-day spam campaigns.

MIMEsweeper's capabilities do not end with antispam and content control. The product offers a robust integration scheme for antivirus support. Antivirus products from vendors such as Sophos, F-Secure, Norman and Symantec can be combined with MIMEsweeper to protect networks from all varieties of virus and worm attacks. MIMEsweeper also includes a proprietary signature database to further protect e-mail users from malicious code.

Clearswift has made major enhancements to MIMEsweeper's management and reporting tools. Administrators now have access to a browser-based management console that can administer several MIMEsweeper servers, allowing administrators to centralize e-mail content management through one console. Solution providers can also host content control for their customers, allowing them to offer e-mail content control services as well as products. The software allows end users to control whitelists and blacklists and fine-tune spam filtering to meet their specific needs. This feature helps to eliminate false positives, a common problem with many antispam schemes.

Networks are further protected from malicious code by MIMEsweeper's quarantine abilities. Any messages marked as suspicious can be stored on the MIMEsweeper system, instead of being routed through the network to an e-mail server. This "layered protection" approach helps prevent e-mail-based attacks, viruses or worms from compromising e-mail servers.

Clearswift is 100 percent channel focused. The three-tier channel program places partners in Standard, Authorized or Premium levels, depending on commitment to Clearswift products, revenue and technical focus. The company offers dedicated channel marketing managers to all partners, as well as demonstration units, pre- and post-sales support and training in-person or via the Web. Technical support is available 24x7 over the phone, on-site and on the Web. A dedicated partner Web site offers product literature and marketing materials.

CHANNEL PROGRAM SNAPSHOTS
>MIMEsweeper for SMTP 5.0

COMPANY: Clearswift Corporation
Redwood City, Calif.
(800) 982 6109
www.clearswift.com
AUTHORIZATION REQUIREMENTS: None
DISTRIBUTORS: Direct from vendor
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Note: Recommended status is earned with a score of eight stars out of 10