GFI MailSecurity Gateway v8.1
After a straightforward installation, the remaining configuration and administration tasks are carried out in the GFI content security configuration window. This is a very comprehensive set of tools set out in a very logical manner allowing the administrator direct access to all the features in the package. Of particular note is the ability to purchase/subscribe to separate virus scanning engines and their associated virus definitions and updates. The vendors supported by this are, Norman, BitDefender, Kaspersky, and McAfee. Each can be set a priority in order of scanning the data moving through the system. Similar to the other systems with either multiple AV engines or automatic definition downloads, the GFI application allows the automatic download scheduling to be configured down to once every hour.
Also for the administrator is a simple GFI content security monitor which is a separate application that gives the operator the ability to monitor the log files and show the number of items processed, number of quarantined items, and number of blocked viruses. Below this is the text from the log file, showing date, time, and details of the logged event. There is also a comprehensive e-mail exploit engine and trojan/executable scanner.
The GFI solution with the option for multiple scan engines and their associated definitions is excellent. Certainly an application worthy of short listing for evaluation.
| Product | GFI MailSecurity V8.1 |
| Price | AU$520 for 25 users, $3,555 for 500 users, $6195 for unlimited users (approx <$7 to $20 per user) |
| Vendor | GFI |
| Phone | 1800 22 55 43 |
| Web | www.gfi.com |
| Interoperability |  |
| Supports all versions of Exchange. | |
| Futureproofing |  |
| Four engines supported. | |
| ROI |  |
| Cheapest solution, particularly unlimited-user version. Can work out to less than $7 per mailbox, plus subscription. | |
| Service |  |
| Only three months included, after that 20 percent of yearly fee. | |
| Rating |  |
Unfortunately mailmarshal's reporting of problems to the sender leaves a lot to be desired. It's reports are amongst the least useful of any mail gateway software on the market, failing to include the headers of the original message, and typically misidentifying or not identifying the sender and recipients.
As someone who sees a lot of bounces from mailing list traffic, I'm sick of not knowing which addresses are supposed to be removed from the list.