test

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.

New Zealand-based Marshal Software, now part of NetIQ, might not be so well known as some vendors in this Group Test, but it has produced an impressive product in its MailMarshal application, a fully-fledged email security solution.

MailMarshal is suitable for any type of organization. For small businesses, it can be used to replace the existing mail server and act as a POP3 server for up to 500 users. Larger organizations can co-locate the product on their SMTP server (although this is another spool-and-forward application, so performance is an issue), or install it on a dedicated machine.

No security software Group Test would be complete without an appearance by Symantec, and this is no exception. Symantec's offering is its Norton Internet Security Suite, specifically targeted at the standalone desktop machine, or those connected to smaller networks. Because of this, it is only available for non-server versions of Windows.

Installation of the product is extremely straight­ forward, aided by the very well-written documentation; as you would expect, considerable emphasis is placed on the prevention of viruses. The product very much urges you to take responsibility for your own actions, and the manual contains a very useful guide to the risks the internet can pose - something many home users may know nothing about.

One of the major headaches for network administrators is bandwidth consumption. However big your pipe into the internet happens to be, it's the last few feet from the server to the desktop that is the killer. A few years ago, people took their eye off the ball where bandwidth is concerned, as it was assumed that everyone would be migrating to the fatter cables of category 6. However, standards issues and an unwillingness to spend money in today's uncertain times means bandwidth is still at a premium. Files have not stopped growing, with multimedia data bringing many networks grinding to a halt.

Matters would be considerably worse if it weren't for the godsend that is PKZIP. Files are compressed by as much as 90 percent, allowing hefty files to shrink to more manageable and less bandwidth-hungry sizes. Probably the most ubiquitous non-Microsoft application around, PKWARE's PKZIP is probably the best compression program available - well, they did invent the Zip format.

There is another aspect of security that is often overlooked in the rush to install firewalls, anti-virus software and email management systems, and yet it is possibly the oldest aspect of them all. Many people bemoan the days when they could leave their doors unlocked and not worry - and that was because there was a large degree of trust in the community. Exactly the same is true of many of the new business practices that the internet has made possible. Whereas a deal might once have been sealed with a handshake, over the impersonal internet that isn't possible. Or is it? One company that has long believed that it is, and has become the market leader in asserting it through its technologies, is RSA.

RSA Keon Core PKI Product Suite is a set of powerful applications which will allow you to construct a complete public key infrastructure (PKI) to allow trusted communication over the internet. After installation you will have the Keon CA (certificate authority) and the Keon RA (registration authority) applications present on your machine. The former issues digital certificates, while the latter processes applications for the certificates. You will also be able to generate public and private keys for encryption and decryption.

Security has been the mainstay of SurfControl's business for quite some time, so it is no surprise to see an email security solution. A policy-based application, SurfControl E-mail Filter is actually an SMTP host through which all mail is diverted.

Installation is amazingly simple. It's just a matter of entering the required information into a few windows and telling the product where it sits in relation to the email server. For reasons of economy, it can be installed on the same machine as the mail server, but for reasons of reliability this isn't recommended.

TFS Technology has taken a holistic approach to the whole subject of internet and email security, and the result is the extremely powerful Secure Messaging Server. The server acts as a firewall, ensuring that infected inbound emails don't get anywhere near your network.

Installation and configuration (Windows only) are simple and an application, TFS Administrator, does most of the hard work for you. This application is used for all configuration tasks, unless you want to do this remotely, in which case another product, TFS Secure Messaging Manager, allows this through a web browser. The Manager is also responsible for the security functions of the product.

Trend Micro is another familiar name in the anti-virus world. It has now branched out into email security with its InterScan Messaging Security Suite (IMSS), which, unsurprisingly, places a heavy emphasis on virus containment, but which also contains a number of other extremely valuable features.

IMSS is another spool-and-forward product, which means that the machine it is installed on should have a hard drive sufficient to handle your usual throughput of email. For this reason, and for reliability, it shouldn't really be installed on the SMTP server. Depending upon the needs of your network, it can be installed either in front of or behind your existing firewall, or even used in place of a firewall if - for some strange reason - you don't actually have one.

In this Group Test we look at software solutions and hardware products which provide the means to access networks remotely, enabling security to be maintained when someone comes calling asking to be allowed in. Here we have a combination of an authentication software enabler and the means to access remotely using tokens and cards designed to ensure security levels are maintained.

The software, CRYPTOAdmin, is an authentication server and the backbone of the whole remote access solution. When combined with CRYPTOCard tokens and smartcards it provides a strong basis for remote access from anywhere in the world.

Last year we looked at the LapLink Gold solution, which has continued to improve over the years. This year is no exception. Now integrating three products into one to deliver LapLink Everywhere DELUXE, LapLink, Inc. is determined to improve remote access capabilities for the user without compromising on security.

With the first product in this suite you can access your PC from anywhere using a web browser to retrieve email, files or folders. LapLink Everywhere is a service that is provided for one year after purchase as a part of the LapLink Everywhere DELUXE suite.

Sometimes dialing into access data just isn't enough, and NetOp Remote Control allows remote access for the control of multiple PCs. This allows users to remotely initiate work from a distant location on their office workstation, enabling work to continue when they are unable to physically be at their desk. It can also provide useful and cost-efficient support from administration for problem solving, staff training and observation, or simply data use, all rolled into one.

NetOp Remote Control secures the communication while allowing authorized access. Controlling a keyboard and mouse, and viewing the screen of a remote computer is made easy with this solution, which makes an ideal tool for administration and management purposes wherever the skilled user is located. This means that a business can employ an expert at one location, but the enterprise can benefit from his or her expertise in branch offices no matter how diverse they may be ­ geographically.

Not all remote access initiatives are used solely to provide employees with multi-location access. It may be necessary to provide a wider core of access rights that are in line with your business activities and, therefore, a more extensive resource may be required to fulfill all of your objectives.

This is where a solution such as Novell iChain comes into its own. This solution accomplishes more than simply allowing one level of access. It is capable of delivering a web-based authentication process that can be granular to your business needs, allowing customers and partners to access areas crucial for your commercial needs.

Similar to LapLink, pcAnywhere has long been a serious contender for employees and employers requiring remote access to data. It also provides a very easy to use software system, but without the cables for synchronization of PCs that LapLink provides. What you get is a CD that installs with ease and a quality user's guide. pcAnywhere also provides the administrator with a rebootless host to allow for installation without the usual reboot ­ - great for servers that are critical to your business and require a problem to be assessed and ­ resolved remotely.

We've looked at software solutions available for remote access, ideal for both corporate and employee use with many features, as well as being easy to install, configure and use. But what of the hardware alternatives to the problem? Do they also offer ease of use when accessing systems from geographically diverse sites?

Our next solution is a sleek and visually pleasing hardware alternative, which has been developed for the permanent off-site situation. This unit delivers a secure and robust communication between both sites without the remote user requiring new software or special training.

So far we have tested conventional remote access solutions, but the next product is designed for remote access with a difference. Take a situation where you have servers in many different geographical locations, but where employing IT specialists around the world is not economically viable.

American Megatrends, Inc. recognized this problem and introduced a hardware solution that enables the remote access required to repair and develop new installations and configurations from afar. The MegaRAC G2 provides a speedy connection, enabling one employee to oversee all your IT needs from just one location - in an instant.

Hardware located in the main office on your LAN can allow remote workers punctual and user-specific access to work areas that need to remain secure during any remote communication periods. The ability to use this type of access improves productivity and ensures that employees are able to work remotely without compromising your network security.

It is not always a software solution that saves the day when you want to work remotely. From a small branch office or home office a VPN tunnel may fit the bill and SonicWALL has several hardware solutions that may provide the security that you are in need of. We took a look at the SonicWALL TELE3 SP as an alternative solution for secure remote access communications.

From a user perspective it is easy enough to install, and anyone who has purchased a PC and set it up at home for themselves will be able to get to grips with this small but secure solution. The TELE3 SP takes up very little room and is ideal for those using an always-on broadband connection. Alternatively, it comes with a fail-over modem connection, which can be set as default for non-broadband users.