Trend Micro Spam Prevention Service Continues to Block Spam at the Internet Gateway Despite Spam’s Virus-Like Behavior
Enhanced features reduce false positives and give more administrative control over identification of unwanted email
Cupertino, California – September 8, 2003 – Trend Micro, Inc. (TSE: 4704, NASDAQ: TMIC), a leader in network antivirus and Internet content security software and services, today announced the availability of its newest version of Trend Micro(tm) Spam Prevention Service. Addressing the need for organizations to protect themselves against the increased prevalence of unsolicited emails, Trend Micro Spam Prevention Service is designed to block non-productive and malicious spam at the Internet Gateway. The growing convergence of spam and virus behaviors suggests the increasing need to stop spam at the network perimeter.
The spam problem has already affected, by many estimates, half the email on the Internet, and drawn the attention of governments, corporations, and consumers alike. In recent months, there has been a noticeable trend in spam incorporating certain aspects of viruses, such as methods for harvesting email addresses and bypassing detection. Spam has been seen to introduce spyware into a victim’s environment. Likewise, viruses (such as “SoBig”) are manipulating open relay servers and open proxies to send copies through unsuspecting sources, typically a spammer tactic. This convergence of methodologies suggests that spam, like viruses, is best halted at the Internet gateway, and that those with expertise in antivirus and content security methods may be well suited to controlling the spam problem.
Interoperating seamlessly with Trend Micro’s other antivirus and content security products, Trend Micro Spam Prevention Service delivers finely tuned and constantly adjusted heuristic engine files to ensure customers have the latest means of capturing the most elusive spam threats. Trend Micro Spam Prevention Service enables IT security administrators to take pre-defined actions, such as tagging, delivering or re-routing the message. Other user-configuration settings allow administrators to apply the level of granularity to spam detection that they need, while offering optimal performance.
Additional features found in version 1.1 of Trend Micro Spam Prevention Service help minimize false positives rates by providing more customization options, and help minimize operating costs through configuration options. Administrators will now have the ability to delete suspected spam directly through the application, eliminating the need to scan items already determined to be unwanted. A filter option based on white lists allows pre-approved content and mail from trusted sources to pass through without delay. Port configuration options allow Trend Micro Spam Prevention Service to be installed on the same servers as other Trend Micro gateway products such as Trend Micro InterScan(tm) Messaging Security Suite, or Trend Micro InterScan VirusWall(tm), helping to reduce the need for additional hardware.
“The gateway has always been a key point for protecting against network security threats – and spam has become a major network security threat,” said John Maddison, Product Group Manager for gateway products at Trend Micro, Inc. “Trend Micro is in a unique position to incorporate our years of antivirus and content security expertise with our innovation at the gateway to create an anti-spam solution that can match wits against evolving spam threats.”
Trend Micro pioneered gateway antivirus products in 1996, becoming an award-wining innovator and thought leader in the enterprise space. The company has maintained the top market share for gateway antivirus for the last four years (IDC, 2003). Recognizing the impact of unsolicited mail to corporate Internet use, Trend Micro applied their expertise at the gateway to offer network protection against spam. The company plans to continue development of network-based anti-spam solutions.
Pricing and Availability
Trend Micro Spam Prevention Service 1.1 for Microsoft(tm) Windows(tm) is available now. The product is also available for the Solaris platform, and will be offered for Linux before the end of 2003. Pricing begins at $30 per user per year for 25 users, with volume discounts available for higher numbers of users. The service is currently offered in an English language interface, however many of the heuristic engine’s rules are not language-dependent.
For more information, please contact a local Trend Micro reseller, or visit www.trendmicro.com.
About Trend Micro
Trend Micro is a leader in network antivirus and Internet content security software and services. The Tokyo-based corporation has business units worldwide. Trend Micro products are sold through corporate and value-added resellers and managed service providers. For additional information and evaluation copies of all Trend Micro products, visit www.trendmicro.com.