Posted on August 3rd, 2009It is very unsettling to know that well over 80% of the email coming through your corporate inbox is spam. Even worse, many of these messages aren’t just annoying junk mail, but actually contain viruses and other types of malicious software. In fact, the email system we all use so frequently is the number one delivery medium for malware. While tons of anti-spam and anti-virus software solutions exist, many companies only utilize the latter defense, leaving themselves susceptible to catching an airborne infection. Anti-virus software can be very effective but trying to update all the systems on your network can prove to be a tedious, time-consuming task. Therefore, you may want to consider an anti-virus hardware solution as it makes a great first line of defense against malware and spam alike.
How Anti-Virus Devices Work
Anti-virus devices are installed at the network perimeter and are designed to scan email and web traffic on a continual basis. Similar to traditional virus scanners and spam filters, a set of predefined rules such as blacklists, whitelists and heuristic analysis allows the appliance to easily identify viruses and malicious files. Suspicious activities such as adware and spyware downloads typically generate a warning while potentially harmful email can either be deleted or marked as spam. Blacklists, whitelists and virus definitions are updated frequently to make sure the device has the latest signature files and the ability to detect the most recent threats. Updates can usually be configured on an automatic or scheduled basis. Most anti-virus appliances offer web-based administration and some provide an integrated console that allows you to manage the filtering, update and reporting functions.
Hosted Solutions
Another option you have for anti-virus hardware is to choose a hosted service. Many of the hosted services today have the ability to leverage cloud computing and typically require very little overhead with no software or hardware being necessary. For you, there are no complex mechanisms to manage or upgrade. This is the ultimate anti-virus outsourcing solution as the service provider handles all the updates, maintenance and technical challenges.
Choosing an Appliance
When selecting an anti-virus appliance for your computing environment, one of the main factors you must consider is the price. However, you also need to think about performance as an insufficient product will leave you just as vulnerable as having nothing at all. Throughput and storage capacity are also key factors, as well as the number of users or email accounts the device supports. Finally, you might also want to take the track record of the manufacturer into account. This includes technical support and the likelihood that company will be around for the duration of the device’s life span.
Conclusion
For a business, anti-virus software can be costly and time consuming to maintain. A hosted service can be even more cost prohibitive. A self-hosted anti-virus appliance on the other hand, can be very cost efficient for a business, costing as low as $1 per user depending in the structure of your network. These devices require very little physical maintenance and can deliver invaluable protection against the spam and malicious software that pose as threats to your computer systems.