Clarifying the Record on Sybari's Antigen for Microsoft Exchange 8.0
Thank you for including Sybari's Antigen for Microsoft Exchange 8.0 in "Beat Back Viruses" (August 2005, InstantDoc ID 46980). Sybari appreciates that Windows IT Pro has issued a correction in the online version of the article to rectify some of the review's errors about Antigen. We would like to reiterate some of our security solution's key protection points that were misrepresented in the original printed review.
It's important to note that with multiple scan engines and bias setting management, Antigen's protection can be escalated during an attack to use more engines—a best practice during outbreak conditions. Additionally, Antigen gives customers the ability to do file filtering by type, keyword, and size, and also provides outbreak triggers through our Sybari Enterprise Manager console. Antigen has extensive integrated antispam features with our Advanced Spam Manager product, including regular expression support and Spam Confidence Level integration.
With regard to the review's comparison of performance levels in antivirus products, Sybari scans email messages first at the SMTP stack and again at the mail store through Virus Scanning API (VS API). As for the accuracy levels reported in this test, they are rather misleading. The sample of viruses included many older viruses, per the reviewer, "not currently common in the wild." Like other leading antivirus scan engine vendors, Sybari's scan engine partners focus on providing signature protection against real-world threats that are found in the wild.
Thank you for giving us the opportunity to clarify the facts and help readers have the correct information about Sybari's Antigen for Microsoft Exchange.
More Tips for Cutting Down Calls to the Help Desk
Thank you for Ben Smith's column "The Business End: Cut Down on Calls to the Help Desk" (August 2005, InstantDoc ID 46951). I hadn't thought of using posters as Ben suggests but will look to incorporate his idea.
One of the best ways I've found to make users more aware is to write a monthly IT newsletter. I usually write three or more short articles about different things, such as Office Shortcuts, tips for creating a secure password, an explanation of how DNS works (in a basic "when you type a Web page and it shows up" sort of way) or about how email travels. I usually base the articles on questions that various users have asked during the week. I also use the newsletter to provide information about upcoming changes (for instance, the installation of a new phone system), with screen shots so users can get used to the new interface prior to the install. Occasionally I break down and get a little selfish, such as when I blatantly promoted System Administrator Appreciation Day, but hey, you have to remind everyone where they would be without IT. I also have an area that lets users knows how many virus hits our email system took during the past month, with a blurb on the latest virus. This keeps the virus problem fresh in their minds.
A good way to keep users reading is to hold a contest every few months, anything from a crossword to a word search or guess-the-pass- phrase game.
I also create work instructions on our intranet page (doing so is a companywide policy for all departments). The instructions review standard procedures for copying vs. cutting files, connecting to a network printer, replacing the ink in a printer, and so on. The bottom line is, if you have an intranet, use it!
Submitting Error Reports
One thing Karen Forster didn't mention in her August Hey Microsoft! column ("Windows Error Reporting: Elementary, My Dear Watson," InstantDoc ID 46982) was licensing concerns. Some companies fully intend to be in compliance and would buy additional licenses if necessary but, due to sloppy record keeping, they don't actually know whether they're in compliance. Not sending in error reports makes them feel safer. They don't want to draw attention to themselves.
I submit reports. Twice this year I received instructions about installing a hotfix. It cured one machine but not the other. After reading Karen's article, I almost feel like getting one of our new hires to sit at the machine and keep submitting the error to Microsoft all day long to get lots of votes.
Are You Kidding?
HP, best servers? Dell, best storage solutions? "Dell Products Rule Hardware"? Please.
It's obvious that the majority of readers who voted in your 2005 Readers' Choice Awards (September 2005) must be in small IT shops. Everyone knows IBM rules the server world, and the company's FAStT storage solutions are the best in total cost of ownership (TCO) for medium to large enterprises. (EMC is good, too, but the price points don't compare.)
How much did HP and Dell pay for this free advertising?
Out of Harm's Way
Your Reader's Choice category of "Disaster Prevention and Recovery" takes on an elevated meaning for IT executives in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Businesses that automatically moved data offsite electronically to remote facilities (e.g., via an online backup service) at least had their data assets safe, with an opportunity to recover to alternative sites.
It's in this context that I was very proud to learn that LiveVault swept first, second, and third place in the Enterprise Backup/Recovery/Archive Service category in this year's Windows IT Pro Reader's Choice Awards! These honors include Iron Mountain's Server Electronic Vaulting service, which is powered by LiveVault's online backup service technology.
The entire LiveVault team thanks you and especially your readers for this recognition.
2005 Readers' Choice Updates:
We'd like to correct a few errors that appeared in our September Readers' Choice issue. We apologize for any inconvenience they might have caused.
On page 49, the incorrect product image appeared for ZoneLabs' ZoneAlarm, the winner in the Firewall/Desktop category. For more information about the winner, go to http://www.zonelabs.com.
On page 29, the winner in the Replication/Data Availability Solution is Neverfail for Windows Product Suite. The logo that appears, Neverfail for Exchange, represents one product in that suite. For more information about the winner, go to http://www.neverfailgroup.com.
On page 23, Sunbelt Software's winner of the Best Software category should have been iHateSpam for Exchange, not iHateSpam Enterprise Edition. For more information about the winner, go to http://www.sunbelt-software.com.
On page 24, Sunbelt Software's winner of the Best New Product category, CounterSpy Enterprise, featured details about functionality only found in the consumer version. For more information about the winner, go to http://www.sunbelt-software.com.
On page 68, an outdated product logo appeared for ScriptLogic's Security Explorer, the winner of the File-System Tool category. For current information about the winner, go to http://www.scriptlogic.com/products/securityexplorer.
On page 68, an incorrect product image appeared for ScriptLogic's Desktop Authority, the winner of the Automation/Scheduling Tool category. For more information about the winner, go to http://www.scriptlogic.com/products/desktopauthority.
On page 40, an incorrect screen capture appeared for Quest Software's Exchange Migration Wizard, the winner of the Exchange Migration category. For more information about the winner, go to http://wm.quest.com/products/exchangemigrationwizard.
