Exchange server email spam/junk mail solutions

Anti-Spam protection in Exchange server 2003 Service Pack 2

Unsolicited e-mail messages, also known as junk e-mail messages or spam, are messages sent from a single source with the intent of broadcasting to many mailboxes at one time. Industry estimates suggest that 40 percent or more of incoming e-mail messages are designated as spam. This increased flow of junk e-mail continues to challenge organizations. Not only is it a nuisance, but spam can also be an expensive proposition when you factor in the potential loss of productivity and the additional resources required to deal with it.

Exchange Server 2003 and Microsoft Office Outlook 2003, along with antispam partner solutions, are designed to help organizations deal more effectively with the junk e-mail problem.

Exchange 2003 spam filtering features

¤ Real-Time Block List Service Provider Support
Lists of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses of known spam sources are maintained in the real-time block list. These lists include the source address as well as the servers that are configured for open relaying or dial-up user account lists.

¤ Global Deny and Accept Lists
Accept list are safe partner and customer IP addresses can be maintained on the Accept list for easy access. Where as Deny list are compiled of known offenders can be added to the Deny list. You can use this list to block connections from servers that you don’t wish to receive e-mail from and that may not appear on your provider’s real-time block list, if one has been configured.

¤ Sender Filtering
Exchange Sender Filter can be configured to examine the From address of each incoming e-mail message and compare it with a blocked sender list. If there is a match, Exchange Server can be configured to drop the connection or archive the message.

¤ Inbound Recipient Filtering
Administrators can set recipient filtering to block e-mail messages destined to invalid recipients (addresses not present in Windows Active Directory directory service) or to restricted e-mail addresses. Because spam typically originates from false addresses, resources were wasted in the past whenever Exchange Server returned a non-delivery report (NDR) to the sender. Exchange Server 2003, with the recipient filter applied, rejects messages for nonexistent or blocked recipients during the SMTP protocol session. This filter saves Exchange Server from tying up valuable resources returning an NDR to the sender.

¤ Improved Ability to Restrict Submissions to Relaying on an SMTP Virtual Server
With Exchange Server 2003, you can specify groups of users that are permitted to submit e-mail messages to the SMTP virtual servers. This helps prevent unwanted traffic from using Exchange Server. For example, a spammer can take advantage of servers open for relaying by sending e-mail through those servers, creating the appearance that the messages originated from those servers. That is why the IP address of servers open for relaying are listed on many real-time block lists.

¤ Integration with Outlook 2003 and Outlook Web Access Block and Safe Lists
Outlook 2003 includes functionality designed to help block much of the unwanted e-mail that users get every day. These features give users control over what messages they receive and from whom they receive them. Outlook 2003 provides a set of features designed to work together with Exchange Server 2003 to help protect users from junk e-mail.

¤ Exchange Intelligent Message Filter
Combat the influx of junk e-mail messages with advanced server-side message filtering. Based on Microsoft SmartScreen technology from Microsoft Research, Exchange Intelligent Message Filter requires Exchange Server 2003. When used in combination with Outlook 2003, Exchange Intelligent Message Filter helps to significantly reduce the volume of junk e-mail messages that users receive.

Third party spam protection software for exchange

Netdigix support and can impliment many antispam and junk mail filtering solutions for your Exchange server Click here for more information
Information for exchange anti-spam was taken from http://www.microsoft.com