Still looking for a way to win the war against viruses, spam, worms, and inappropriate content? Keeping viruses out of an Exchange Server is critical to the health of your network. It can be done, with a little known product called Microsoft Forefront. If you haven’t heard of it, don’t worry, you aren’t alone.
Microsoft Forefront hit the stage three years ago, and is a collection of Microsoft security products aimed at protecting the network edge, key server applications including Exchange, SharePoint, and Office Communication Server; and client and server systems with host-based anti-virus and antimalware protection.
We’ve been implementing Microsoft Forefront for clients over the past three years and I can honestly say, Microsoft got this product right! Our engineers love it, and more importantly our clients love it.
Forefront has numerous flavors of protection—from Exchange, Share- Point, and Office Communication Servers to Workstations and Laptops—it is by far the best security product we’ve come across in years. Forefront for Exchange can utilize up to five different scan engines to protect mail servers and workstations simultaneously; and you get a total of nine scan engines to choose from. Instead of just one virus protection, you get five active scans; and you can change these five active scans at any time. Even better, Forefront for Exchange costs less than buying two separate virus products.
There are many antivirus products on the market and everyone has their favorite. What makes Forefront different; or in my opinion better? Microsoft Forefront easily integrates multiple scan engines, making it a more comprehensive solution. Some products detect virus signatures better and some release virus definitions faster than others; especially when it comes to newly discovered viruses. With other products, a layered approach would be necessary. You could buy two separate antivirus products, one for workstations and servers, and another for your mail server; but it would cost more, and be less effective. Microsoft Forefront eliminates the need for layers.
ESI can provide you with a free 120-day working version of the product. You can also view a 5-minute product demo at http://www.microsoft.com/forefront/stirling/en/us/demo.aspx.

Rick Risner is President & CEO of Elite Systems Integrators, Inc., a full service Information Technology Partner. Contact ESI at (951) 461-1789 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .