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Anti-spam services vary in features and price, with basic services identifying and removing junk mail, while advanced ones offer inbound and outbound filters, automatic updates, and 24/7 support. Spam capture rate and false positive rate are important factors to consider, as well as customization options, data loss prevention, encryption, and service agreements. Other factors include web filtering, reputation, reliability, and staying ahead of evolving spam trends. Providers should allow network administrators to review flagged messages to evaluate false positives.
There is a huge variety of anti-spam services that vary in features and price. The most basic anti-spam services simply identify and remove junk mail and infected files. The more advanced ones provide inbound and outbound anti-spam and anti-virus filters. Other advanced features include automatic updates, 24/7 live support, and seamless integration with email and instant messaging (IM).
Two of the basic defining factors of any hosted anti-spam service are the spam capture rate and the false positive rate. The first is the proportion of spam messages caught compared to the total number of spam messages received. The latter measures the number of messages that were incorrectly marked as spam out of the total number of messages marked. Both indicators provide a baseline level of quality that can be used to compare various hosted anti-spam service providers.
Another factor to consider when evaluating a hosted anti-spam service is its customization options. Ideally, any anti-spam service will allow a network manager or administrator to change any default configuration. This allows them to determine what is flagged or blocked; which domains are safe — known as whitelisting; which domains are unsafe, known as blacklists; and whether or not end users have the right to add or remove email messages from the spam quarantine.
Two commonly overlooked anti-spam features are data loss prevention (DLP) and encryption. DLP can search emails for specific data (credit card numbers, customer addresses, etc.) and then block or encrypt that data based on company policy. This feature also gives network administrators the power to control which members of an organization can broadcast which information. All in all, DLP helps prevent the accidental or malicious loss of important and confidential data.
By far the most important part of choosing a reliable hosted anti-spam service is to carefully review the company’s service agreement (SLA) or terms of service (ToS). Inside are all the precise details about what services are offered and what options are available. Most spam prevention SLAs also list pertinent details such as email latency, delivery time delay, and the aforementioned spam capture rate and false positive rate.
Additional factors to consider are the integration of web filtering, which checks email URLs to ensure they are safe; the reputation of the hosted anti-spam service provider; the reliability of the company; and whether or not it’s ahead of the trend, as spam is constantly evolving. A reputable service provider will be able to track any email traveling within their network. In addition, the provider should provide network administrators with the right to review flagged spam messages as a way to evaluate the company’s false positive matrix.
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