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Possibly one of the most addictive aspects of the internet is instant messaging. Even if you prevent your employees from installing MSN Messenger, AIM or Yahoo, there are countless web sites that offer proprietary messaging systems that can be overlooked by some security applications.

Cobion's OrangeBox Web is a very similar product to DynaComm i:filter. Designed to integrate with a proxy server (for example, Microsoft ISA on Windows 2000/XP), it is also happy to sit on a number of popular Linux and Unix platforms. It can also be used as a proxy server in its own right if you have a small or medium-sized intranet network.

DynaComm's i:series offers a range of security solutions: DynaComm i:filter is designed to monitor and protect you from internet traffic. Covering HTTP, HTTPS, FTP and NNTP traffic, it uses a database of URLs and a rules-based strategy to enforce your internet policy.

Another policy enforcement product, but with some added features that really give it some teeth, is iomart's NetIntelligence. As well as monitoring URL requests, it also looks at the network as a whole (hardware, software and all files) and can instantly detect whether any unauthorized changes have been made, or whether any prohibited content is suddenly present.

N2H2 is generally considered to be one of the best content/URL filtering products on the market, and looking at in this group test, it is easy to see why.

NetIQ MailMarshal was the sleeper hit of the recent email security Group Test. Can this New Zealand-based software development center make it two in a row with its WebMarshal browser control? The answer is a resounding yes.

Unique in this test, the iPrism is actually an appliance. Although these tend to be more expensive than software-only products, they usually have the advantage of a fairly solid configuration since they are factory-build.

SurfControl has long been a name in internet security, with its CyberPatrol product one of the best known applications for home use, and its Web Filter application is an excellent business tool for micro-managing users' access to the internet.

SmoothWall Corporate Server is an extremely effective way of turning a PC into a dedicated hardware firewall sitting on its own hardened operating system. The company has now released a bolt-on to the Corporate Server to provide even more protection - Smooth Guardian, a multi-layered content filtering package.

Symantec Web Security is a product specifically designed to monitor the content of HTTP, HTTPS and FTP traffic. It takes the form of a proxy server that sits behind your firewall; with most firewalls it will operate transparently, but you have the bonus of integration with Check Point's FireWall-1.

While not strictly an appliance, this version of Websense is tightly integrated with all of SonicWALL's range of extremely popular firewall appliances.

Recently acquired by NetIQ, VigilEnt Policy Center provides a policy management tool that ensures users are aware of their responsibilities while providing solid policy control across the company network.

This is a corporate-level security solution and requires a user database to allow you to import users so that user groups can be established. The policies can then be set for these groups, with users being required to answer questions to establish understanding and compliance. Logs are kept to view user input and also to define problem areas. This performance-related system means that users know how to use company data and they learn what is required of them, while the administrator can see statistics and reports. Users not complying can be identified and an email can be sent to them to remind them of its significance. This ensures that not only do your employees comply with your policies, but your company can prove compliance with the regulators and specifically with ISO 17799.

You can stipulate certain user rights to allow for policies to be reviewed prior to publication and distribution. But of course you may use pre-written policies, amend them or create your own, as required by your own particular corporate needs.

Each enterprise will look long and hard at how they implement their corporate security policy. While many administrators look to implement an enterprise-wide solution, some may look to deliver specific policy management features for areas that their particular enterprise rates as high risk.

This means that in order to deliver policy management across all electronic communication a specific policy solution will be required that specializes in this particular function.

MIMEsweeper was one of the first products capable of protecting organizations against unwanted content, and it is still widely used today. The vendor, Clearswift, acquired MIMEsweeper's developer, Content Technologies, from Baltimore last year, and it is good to see that re-branding and product development have happened so quickly.

Today, MIMEsweeper is not just one product, but a suite of email security applications allowing network administrators to fine-tune their defenses as required. With the MAILsweeper application, administrators can define both the routing of all emails into and out of the network, and the content policies required. Throughout, the performance of the various elements can be monitored and the appropriate action taken.

Another approach to email security is to actively manage the emails being sent and received by your organization by means of rules and policies. This methodology is possibly more suited to those companies that require detailed audit trails, or who have had a problem with the unauthorized release of proprietary information via email, and it is the methodology espoused by Futuresoft's DynaComm i:series of products.

The control of email is the responsibility of DynaComm i:mail, which is fully integrated with the other products in the suite - these include an internet traffic filter and a file content scanner. Built into a dedicated SMTP server, the product can be positioned in a number of locations, depending on the configuration of your network and the needs of your business. It can also be located within the internal network, in which case all email - inbound and outgoing - will be processed. For smaller businesses with low email use - and smaller budgets - it can be located with the email server itself.

One very important area of email security is encryption. Unless you are using leased lines or virtual private networks (VPNs) to transmit information, the moment an email leaves your firewall it is at the mercy of the internet. Emails can be intercepted and read without your even knowing about it, which poses a terrible risk for corporate information. However, encrypting the email does give you a high degree of ­ reassurance.

PC Guardian provides a nifty little program called Encryption Plus Email that allows you to encrypt email body text and any attachments. The email product is very easy to install - full installation of the administration program takes less than a minute. The product is designed for individual use, so the administrator installs it on each workstation, then configures it centrally and rolls out the user files across the network. Encryption Plus Email is only available for Lotus Notes and Microsoft Outlook, but since these two cover a large proportion of companies this shouldn't be a problem.

Administrators often forget that management of emails isn't simply a question of who can send or receive them, or the content. When email arrives it sits in the inbox, but who has permission to access that inbox, or other folders for that matter?

With high turnovers of employees becoming increasingly common, the stressed administrator may well lose track of individual permissions. For example, many companies usually have a set of freelance or contract email ­ accounts that can be assigned to temporary staff. The permissions required by one contractor may be far more extensive than those required by their successor, but they could very well inherit those permissions when they arrive. And human nature being what it is, inquiring minds will almost certainly take advantage of this, whether innocently or maliciously.

Although F-Secure may not be the first name in anti-virus that springs to mind, its products are among the heaviest hitters in the industry. Unlike some products which depend purely on their signature lists to be updated, F-Secure also comprises multiple scanning engines and heuristic detection techniques that make it one of the first products to detect new viruses. The company has now brought its expertise to bear in email security with F-Secure Anti-Virus for Internet Mail.

The product is available for Windows (NT and 2000). A Unix version would be nice, although there is a version for Unix which sits at the firewall level. Installation presented no headaches. However because of the way the product works, disk and memory requirements are quite high. It is also better to share the scanning across more than one scanner server to keep bandwidth usage lower.

Gordano is a company that has made the messaging arena its own. Its NTMail product was a revolution when it was first launched in 1994, and it was recently re-branded and overhauled to become Gordano Messaging Suite (GMS).

Installation is simple and straightforward, and Gordano has also ensured that the product is suitable for all major operating ­ systems. Once installed, navigation is easy: the product is logically structured with well-laid out GUIs. Both configuration and management are carried out via a web-based interface.

What strikes you when looking at the installation instructions for the securiQ and organiziQ Suites is the sheer number of operating systems supported. Although the mail server has to be Lotus Domino, alongside the familiar Windows platforms we see IBM OS/2 and AIX, Sun Solaris and a couple of Linuxes. We're told that from January the mail server will not have to be Lotus Notes, but our review was not able to verify this.

securiQ focuses on the management and security of email traffic, with features such as anti-virus available. This allows you to use your tool of choice, but does seem unfair given the cost. organiziQ manages the administration and overheads incurred by email.