Forefront Protection End of Life: What Now for Microsoft Exchange Security?

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Microsoft stopped offering Forefront Protection for Exchange Server back in 2012. Three years later comes the surprising announcement that support for the security solution also expired in December 2015. Customers that have been using Forefront have two options: use Microsoft’s cloud security strategy, or use a third-party security solution.

Exchange Online Protection: security and reliability

Following Microsoft’s cloud strategy would mean subscribing to the Exchange Online Protection (EOP), which has been introduced as the replacement of Forefront. Microsoft itself promotes the cloud service as secure, reliable and easy to install. The solution protects organisations from spam, viruses and malware. At the same time these organisations benefit from the well-known cloud advantages including increased flexibility, reduced costs and hardware requirements. All in all, EOP could be a good fit for many customers.

Email security in Exchange environments: considering a third-party solution pays off!

Not surprisingly, there are still organisations which prefer an on-premises security solution for Exchange. This is mainly due to objections of using the cloud in general. Customers with a locally installed Exchange system often prefer a local security solution. Installing hardware and software within the own infrastructure is the preferred way to stay in full control of corporate data and knowledge. Third-party security solutions are usually more customizable as well. The ability to tweak different security settings to meet your organization’s needs, such as black lists, can be a big reason to choose third-party security software for Exchange.

GWAVA Messaging Security for Microsoft Exchange – Best of both worlds

For organisations that want to implement a messaging security solution for Microsoft Exchange, GWAVA is the ideal alternative to Exchange Online Protection. Not only does GWAVA stop viruses, spam and sexually explicit images before they ever enter your messaging system, but it can be installed locally or as a cloud SAAS solution.

The GWAVA secure message gateway uses the latest technology to detect viruses, malware, spam, and illicit images and block them from your system. GWAVA also integrates seamlessly with CYREN for the best antivirus protection. CYREN is a leading provider of internet security technology and delivers detection solutions for vendors and service providers. Here are some of the most important features of GWAVA Messaging Security:

For customers who accept taking their data to the cloud, EOP is a good solution. But for those who want to keep their data on-premises or adjust the security of their Microsoft Exchange server to individual needs, the use of a solution like GWAVA is recommendable.

Learn more about our messaging security software.