Content

Proofpoint Messaging Security Gateway

Proofpoint Messaging Security Gateway 5.5 is a unified email security appliance that delivers a host of features to protect inbound and outbound messaging. Based on either a hardware or virtual setup, the product offers real-time protection for SMTP, POP and web-mail messages with many features, including anti-malware, anti-spam, content filtering and email encryption.

Installation is as easy as racking the device and using a keyboard and monitor attached to the appliance. Although the addition of a remote, web-based setup feature would have been nice, initial configuration is straightforward.
 
Once the appliance is up and running, the interface for its Protection Server is definitely enterprise class. The web-based dashboard is based on web parts (widgets) that can be dragged and dropped, making for some intuitive configuration exercises. As easy as the interface is to use, the solution itself is very sophisticated. Plenty of enterprise-class features are present, including built-in rule sets based on sender/domain, anti-malware and anti-spam. What really shines in this product is the intuitive way in which users manage smart identifiers. Within the Regulatory Compliance Module, you can filter messages based on regular expressions and other pre-defined regulatory and compliance filters for preventing the leakage of Social Security and credit card numbers. However, within the same module, users can easily add a list of business partners and determine whether or not to apply the filters. The number of useful security features within the solution underscores the fact that this is truly a mature and unified secure messaging platform. Administrators will also appreciate the granular control over logs, quarantine, automated report scheduling and other operational tasks.

Documentation is available online via the appliance itself, or through offline PDF files, which are extensive and easy to read.

Several support packages are available, including gold (eight hours a day/five days a week), platinum (24/7) at eight percent of the license fees, and premium (dedicated account management, training, etc.). The website has many useful options for support, including video tutorials and forums.
Product title
Proofpoint Messaging Security Gateway
Product info
Name: Messaging Security Gateway Description: Price: $8,500, plus annual user lisencing fees
Strength
Highly intuitive interface. Robust content filtering options.
Weakness
None that we found.
Verdict
Although the solution is the most expensive one we tested, the granular features make this an excellent value and earn it our Best Buy.

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