GFI releases freeware anti-virus version of GFI MailSecurity for Exchange/SMTP

Single anti-virus engine version grants administrators additional protection at gateway/mail server level

In a bid to help administrators preempt a possible wave of new virus outbreaks, GFI today released a freeware version of GFI MailSecurity for Exchange/SMTP 8, its email content security solution. The freeware version scans inbound and outbound mail using a single anti-virus engine, and can be used as additional protection by companies who do not yet perform virus scanning at mail sever level or at the gateway, and by those who run just one anti-virus engine. The freeware version can also check message bodies and subjects for keywords; this feature can be used to detect inappropriate mail.

"The freeware version will help administrators who do not have the budget to implement scanning at the gateway or at mail server level, or who cannot invest in a multiple virus engine solution," said Nick Galea, GFI CEO. "The advantages for companies that do not use mail server level or gateway anti-virus scanning are self-evident. However, through our free offer, companies that have server-level scanning with a single virus engine can now discover the benefits of using multiple virus engines instead: The freeware version of GFI MailSecurity will enable them to beef up their network security - and at no extra cost."

Information on how multiple anti-virus engines at mail server/gateway level improve network security is available at this GFI white paper.

The freeware version includes the BitDefender anti-virus engine, a fast and flexible virus engine that excels in the number of formats it can recognize and scan. BitDefender is ICSA certified and has won the 100% Virus Bulletin award and the European Information Technologies Prize 2002. GFI MailSecurity automatically updates the BitDefender definition files as new ones become available.

About GFI MailSecurity 8 for Exchange/SMTP (commercial version)
GFI MailSecurity for Exchange/SMTP 8 is an email content security product that uses multiple anti-virus engines, exploit detection, an HTML threats engine, and content and attachment checking to scan incoming and outgoing email for viruses, exploits and attacks. The recently released version 8 includes many key features, the most notable of which is its new Trojan and executable analyzer.

GFI's Trojan & Executable Scanner can analyze what an executable does, and quarantines any executables that perform suspicious activities, such as Trojan files. Trojans are dangerous as they can enter a victim's computer undetected, granting an attacker unrestricted access to the data stored on that computer. Unlike viruses, which tend to be widely disseminated, Trojans are often "one-off" executables, targeted towards a specific user to obtain particular information. GFI's Trojan scanner can detect custom-made Trojans, as opposed to anti-virus software which is signature-based.

Unique benefits of GFI MailSecurity compared to other email content security/anti-virus products

• Multiple virus engines - for better protection, including McAfee, Norman and BitDefender
• Email content and attachment checking - to quarantine dangerous attachments and content
• Exploit shield - to detect emails with operating system and application exploits
• HTML threats engine - to analyze and defuse HTML scripts
• Trojan & Executable Scanner
• Supports scanning both at mail server level using VS API and at the gateway as a mail relay
• Competitive pricing - e.g., 1000-user version costs as little as US$4995.