Cloud Spam Filter for Microsoft Exchange

A cloud spam filter MX – the shorter name for a cloud-based spam filter for mail exchangers – is one of the simplest and most versatile methods for eliminating unwanted emails and protecting your network against email-borne threats. A cloud spam filter for Microsoft Exchange is easy to implement, updates in real time and can be managed from any Internet-connected device.

Like most cloud-based applications, a cloud-based spam filter for mail exchangers has no capital expense, it is compatible with every operating system, and has no limit on the number of users. Organizations simply subscribe to a provider´s service, redirect their mail exchanger (MX) record, and configure the service for the monitoring features and report options they require.

How a Cloud Spam Filter MX Works

When you send an email, its passage of travel is from your email program to your outbound email server. Your outbound email server asks a DNS server where the email should go. The DNS server replies with an MX record, which is the address of the inbound email server for the recipient. Your outbound email server sends the email to the recipient´s inbound email server, from where he or she picks it up the next time they log into their email account.

When you implement a cloud spam filter MX, it changes the address of the MX record from your inbound email server to the inbound email server of your filtering service provider. Your filtering service provider then inspects each email for spam and malware, before forwarding spam-free and malware-free emails onto your inbound email server – not only helping you to eliminate spam and enhance your online security, but reducing the load on your email server.

What the Cloud-Based Filtering Service Does

The cloud-based filtering service uses a series of multilayered mechanisms to detect spam and email-borne threats. These typically include comparing inbound emails against blacklists of known spammers and their IP addresses, identifying attempts to disguise spam as genuine email, and Greylisting – where the cloud-based spam filter for mail exchangers asks for each email to be resent.

Greylisting is a very important feature to have in a cloud spam filter MX. Spammers´ servers are too busy sending out spam emails to respond to the request for an email to be resent. Consequently, the request is denied and the email is classified as spam. As Greylisting identifies new sources of spam before they appear on a global blacklist, a cloud spam filter MX with Greylisting catches more spam than comparable products lacking this feature (such as Microsoft Exchange Online Protection).

Other Functions of a Cloud-Based Spam Filter for Mail Exchangers

A cloud-based spam filter for mail exchangers performs two other important functions in addition to eliminating spam emails. The first is providing antivirus protection. Although most organizations will have antivirus software installed to protect their networks from adware, spyware and botnets; a cloud spam filter MX adds additional levels of online security through phishing protection and malicious URL blocking – quarantining any email suspected of linking to a malicious website.

The second additional function is outbound email scanning. This ensures that you organization does not send out emails containing malware – or links directing the recipient to a malicious website – or anything that could be perceived by another cloud spam filter MX as being spam. This function ensures that your organization´s IP address does not appear on a global blacklist, with the consequence that the delivery of your organization´s emails would be delayed.

SpamTitan´s Cloud Spam Filter MX

Since 1999, SpamTitan has been developing email and web security solutions for organizations and Managed Service Providers (MSPs) of all sizes. More than 5,000 customers currently use our solutions to eliminate unwanted emails and protect their networks against the risks of email-borne threats due to their ease-of-use, versatility and effectiveness.

Our cloud-based spam filter for mail exchangers is SpamTitan Cloud – a powerful cloud spam filter MX with a verified 99.97% spam detection rate and a low false positive rate of just 0.03%. SpamTitan Cloud is infinitely scalable and therefore suitable for every organization from the smallest home-based office to the largest multi-national company.

Antivirus scanning is performed by two of the top software providers in the industry – Bitdefender and ClamAV – ensuring 100% malware detection.  Our cloud spam filter MX ensures email continuity in the event of downtime or a server outage, and customizable configuration settings, monitoring features, and report options can be managed via a web-based portal with an intuitive interface.

If your organization is a Managed Service Provider for smaller companies or service reseller, SpamTitan Cloud protects your networks from rogue or hacked customers. It is available in white label format for rebranding and comes with an extensive API set for integration with third-party management tools. SpamTitan Cloud makes a cloud spam filter MX profitable – for you and for your customers.

Summary of SpamTitan Features

  • Greylisting Option.
  • Phishing Protection.
  • Malicious URL Blocking.
  • Outbound Scanning.
  • High Spam Detection Rate.
  • Low False Positive Rate.
  • Dual Antivirus Protection.
  • White Label Option for MSPs.

How SpamTitan Identifies Spam and Malicious Emails

Every incoming email is a potential threat, so it is essential for all incoming emails to be subjected to a series of checks. The general process of assessing messages is detailed in the diagram below:

How SpamTitan Spam Filtering Works

Although most email services provide some level of proprietary spam detection, third-party spam filters for incoming mail increase the level of spam email detection considerably. Organizations that fail to implement a third party mail spam filter like SpamTitan continue to have high levels of spam delivered to their employees´ inboxes.

Comparison of Microsoft Office365 and SpamTitan

Many businesses use Microsoft Exchange or Office 365 for their email. Microsoft has incorporated several security features into its email offerings, although it is possible to greatly improve security with a more advanced anti-phishing, anti-malware, and anti-spam solution.

Office 365 security can be strengthened to provide greater protection against malware, ransomware, and phishing attempts through a defense in depth approach. SpamTitan offers superior email filtering by using predictive methods to block new variants of malware, zero-day attacks, and spear phishing attempts, making sure these malicious emails are quarantined or rejected rather than delivered to inboxes. Organizations that rely on the cybersecurity protections of Exchange or Office 365 are likely to find a significant number of email threats are still delivered to end users’ inboxes.

The image below summarizes some of the important features that are present in SpamTitan, which are not used by Office 365 or Exchange Online Protection:

Comparison of Office365 and SpamTitan

Try SpamTitan Cloud Free for Fourteen Days

Undoubtedly, the most effective way to evaluate a cloud spam filter MX is to try it in your own environment to establish that it does what it says it does. In this respect, we invite you to try SpamTitan Cloud free for fourteen days- with full technical and customer support, and with no obligation to subscribe to our service once the trial period has expired.

To find out more about our offer - or more about how a cloud spam filter MX works - please do not hesitate to call our team of Sales Technicians. One of our team will be happy to answer any questions you may have about a cloud-based spam filter for mail exchangers and guide you through the process of redirecting your mail exchanger (MX) record in order to start filtering your emails within minutes.

Microsoft Exchange Spam Filters: FAQ

What are the advantages of cloud-based filters?

The advantages of cloud-based filters are that they are compatible with all operating systems and browsers, suitably flexible to allow white- and blacklists to be configured by an administrator, and scalable. Cloud-based filters can also be managed remotely by administrators with Internet access. These features enable cloud-based filters to easily integrate with existing solutions and make them very attractive to businesses.

What does SpamTitan’s Microsoft Exchange filter target?

SpamTitan’s Microsoft Exchange filter targets any suspicious emails. This includes checking to see if the sender is on a blacklist or if there are embedded URLs or attachments that contain malware. It will also use advanced detection technologies, such as Heuristics and Bayesian Analysis, to scan emails from senders that have not been blacklisted. The former compares the content of emails to pre-configured rules and determines their probability they are spam. Bayesian Analysis identifies unusual spellings (such as “Priçe W!nner!”) and word patterns that are indicators of spam.

How is Greylisting different from blacklisting?

Greylisting is different from blacklist because blacklists are lists of IP addresses that have previous links to spam emails. Most spam filtering solutions will compare the sender’s IP address to a blacklist, and block any emails from blacklisted senders. In this respect, blacklisting prevents emails from known sources of spam.

Greylisting can help protect inboxes against spam emails from senders that have not yet been blacklisted. Greylisting returns emails from all non-whitelisted sources with a request for the email to be sent back again. Because of the amount of spam returned to spammers, their servers usually have the retry capability disabled, and the greylisted email is never sent back.

If a spam filter is installed, is antivirus software needed?

If a spam filter is installed, antivirus software is still needed. Spam filters that have inbuilt antivirus software help prevent malicious emails landing in an individual’s inbox. However, there are many other ways in which a device can get a malware infection – for example, by clicking on a malware-laden ad on any web page, or by downloading an infected file directly from the Internet.

What is a cloud spam filter MX and how does it benefit a network?

A cloud spam filter MX is a sophisticated email filtering tool designed to shield networks from email-related threats. Deploying a cloud spam filter MX in front of an existing mail server reduces the use of network resources for identifying spam and malicious emails – making the network operate more efficiently.

How does the implementation of a cloud spam filter MX affect the email delivery process?

Implementing a cloud spam filter MX affects the email delivery process by intercepting emails from non-whitelisted sources before they enter the network and passing them through a series of frontend test and filtering policies before they reach the network’s default mail server - ensuring a reduced load and enhanced security on your email infrastructure.

What mechanisms does a cloud-based filtering service employ to detect threats in email?

The mechanisms a cloud-based filtering service employs to detect threats in emails include SPF, DKIM, and DMARC controls, recipient verification and anti-spoof checks, real time block lists, geo-blocking, and alias recognition. Once through the frontend tests, emails are only delivered once they have been analyzed for content, checked for viruses, and inspected for embedded phishing links.

Besides reducing inbound spam, what other critical functions does a cloud-based spam filter for mail exchanges offer?

Besides reducing inbound spam. The critical functions offered by a cloud-based spam filter for mail exchanges include advanced phishing protection and outbound mail scanning. The first provides “time-of-click” protection against URLs that have been weaponized since an email was delivered, while the second prevents your organization from dispatching malware-laden or spam-like messages - ensuring your IP remains in good repute and avoids global blacklisting.

How does SpamTitan Cloud's antivirus capabilities stand out?

SpamTitan Cloud's antivirus capabilities stand out due to its collaboration with industry-leading software providers - Bitdefender and ClamAV. This partnership guarantees an impeccable 100% malware detection rate, ensuring emails passing through the system do not contain any malicious threats in their content or in their attachments.

How does SpamTitan Cloud cater for Managed Service Providers and service resellers?

SpamTitan Cloud caters for Managed Service Providers and service resellers by offering white label services and a comprehensive API set for seamless third-party management tool integration. By protecting MSP networks from potentially careless customers, SpamTitan Cloud paves the way for MSPs to realize profits, simultaneously ensuring robust protection for their customers.

How does outbound email scanning protect an organization's digital reputation?

Outbound email scanning protects an organization’s digital reputation by flagging or blocking outbound emails that inadvertently harbor malware, malicious links, or any content that could be perceived as spam by other filters. This function ensures the organization's IP address does not get blacklisted and – consequently - email delivery remains unhindered, preserving seamless communication and upholding organizational credibility.

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