While the majority of corporate email moves through Exchange and GMail, there are plenty organizations that rely on Linux as their platform of choice. However, most Linux mail deployments rely on spotty AV protection and Spam filtering. To address that gap, Kaspersky has launched a service that works alongside all of the common Linux-based email packages.
Most network administrators are at least familiar with Linux-based email. On Linux, you have Exim (the most common for sites using shared hosting or cPanel), but then you have the basics such as Sendmail and Qmail, perhaps even Postfix.
No matter what software is used to push mail on Linux, there are few options for Spam and malicious attachments. Spam Assassin, along with ClamAV are likely the most prominently deployed options, aside from those that leverage relays and pass mail though a network appliance before it reaches a destination.
Moscow-based Kaspersky Lab this week launched Kaspersky Linux Mail Security, a new protection offering to help Linux-based mail servers combat spam and block malicious attachments.
Kaspersky says the solution uses both heuristic detection cloud-based detection technologies to block the latest malware and software exploits.
For more effective spam detection, Kaspersky Linux Mail Security utilizes what Kaspersky calls its “Urgent Detection System,” a constantly updated system that lets customers receive updates to their anti-spam databases in minutes instead of hours.
Other technologies offered in Kaspersky Linux Mail Security include:
• Exploit Detection – Uses Kaspersky Lab’s ZETA Shield technology to block complex threats and targeted attacks that exploit new and unknown vulnerabilities in common software.
• Attachment Filter and Format Recognizer – Monitors and filters email attachments by their actual content, regardless of its declared file type or extension, and responds according to each company’s security policies, blocking inappropriate email traffic (e.g., music files and videos) and potentially dangerous files (e.g., executable files).
• Enforced Anti-Spam Update Service – Connects customers more directly than ever to Kaspersky Lab’s security experts to produce fast responses to malicious spam outbreaks.
• Reputation-Based Spam Filtering – Uses the global intelligence of Kaspersky Lab’s Urgent Detection System to categorize spam according to reputation, meaning variants of previously-identified spam attacks are automatically blocked without the need for analyst review.
• New AV Engine – Improved anti-malware detection with reduced impact on system resources.
• Support for IPv6, rich traffic management rules and the ability to integrate with Active Directory and OpenLDAP.
Kaspersky Linux Mail Security works with popular Linux-based mail servers, including Postfix, Qmail, Sendmail, Communigate Pro and Exim.
Available immediately, Kaspersky Linux Mail Security replaces the previous solutions for Linux mail servers, including Kaspersky Anti-Virus for Linux Mail Server, Kaspersky Anti-Spam and Kaspersky Mail Gateway.
If your organization relies on Linux for its email, and Spam happens to be a constant issue, the Kaspersky’s offering is worth a look. More information is available here. Virus Bulletin test results on the offering are available for download here.
Mike Lennon contibuted to this report.
