Symantec Rolls Out Antispam Protection

Symantec Antivirus for SMTP Gateways takes a multilayered approach to the spam problem, integrating a heuristic antispam engine, customized white lists and support for third-party blacklists, said Chris Miller, group product manager at Symantec, based here.

"One technology is subject to defeat. Multiple technologies together help maximize detections and help reduce false positives," he said.

The product's heuristic antispam engine uses neural-network technology to distinguish legitimate e-mail from spam, Miller said. It supports dozens of third-party blacklists that compile lists of IP addresses that are known sources of spam. Plus, it has a custom white list feature that allows administrators to list domains of legitimate sources.

Miller said the product provides a single solution for blocking spam and viruses at the Internet gateway, making it easier for the customer to buy and manage compared with multiple, stand-alone products, he said.

Antivirus rivals Trend Micro and Network Associates also are releasing antispam products. Trend Micro, based here, earlier this month unveiled an enterprise antispam solution based on heuristic technology from Postini.

Network Associates, Santa Clara, Calif., earlier this year acquired antispam provider Deersoft and said it plans to roll out multitiered defense against spam over the year.

Per-node pricing for Symantec AntiVirus for SMTP Gateways 3.1 is $15.30 for 10 to 24 nodes, $13.10 for 100 to 249 and $10 for 2,000 and more.