Just so nobody misses the point - there's no evidence that the incidence of spam and malware being generated is improving. "What we have seen is a significant uptick in the area of malware related to the expanded use of social networking sites. Although we are isolating the malware, it blows my mind how significant it has become," says So you're still likely to get that email from the Nigerian prince with $25 million to hand out. There's the problem and it's not time to relax. But what to do about it? David Cieslak, a CPA and principal of Simi Valley-based Arxis Technology says that one of the mainstays of filtering has largely disappeared. That's the use of black lists which excluded messages that the user specifies should not be delivered or white lists which permit delivery of those okayed by the user.
"That seems very old school," Cieslak says.
The names coming from the pros who are the first to try new technologies are two product platform, Gmail and Microsoft Exchange. The former is probably more a surprise than the latter, but Gmail, the Google-service that utilizes the acquired Postini technology to fight malware, has developed a lot of fans.
"I've been using Gmail for about three years. If I see one piece of spam per week I start wondering what's wrong," says CPA Wayne Schulz, owner of Glastonbury, Conn.-based Schulz Consulting. "Google literally eliminates it all."
Schulz notes that with the use of Google, "it interfaces very nicely with Android. Some people don't realize that Google will actually capture your domain email -- so all my s-consult.com email goes through Google. It's pretty simple to setup."
Postini continues to be a mainstay at Arxis, although Cieslak says he doesn't think any technology stands out over the others. But he has seen users shifting to Gmail and Exchange and says the Gmail technology is solid. The firm also utilizes software from Barracuda Networks, which fights malware, including spam, viruses and spyware. It firm has also outsourced email, which puts the problem is someone else's hands.
The Postini spam filtering in Gmail is also getting a look from Mario Nowogrodzki, a CPA and owner of Pembroke Pines, Fla.-based Mendelson Consulting. Nowogodzki, a QuickBooks ProAdvisor and reseller, notes, "Gmail has a good antispam filter service so that is good. We are trying it with one client." But he notes, "Overall, I like the built-in filtering in Microsoft Exchange."
