THE CHALLENGE: To provide consumers with the most up-to-date spam, virus and spyware protection, with a special focus on “malware,” or software designed to infiltrate or damage a subscriber’s computer without the knowledge of the computer user.
THE SOLUTION: BendBroadband of Bend, Ore. has contracted with IronPort Systems, a division of Cisco Systems, for its e-mail security appliances. Bend is providing this product to its high-speed data customers at no extra charge in order to improve the end-user experience, according to Bend chief technical officer Frank Miller. “We’re being proactive,” he said.
IronPort intelligently examines the content in e-mail messages for “blended threats” (which combine e-mail and Web elements) by factoring in the sender’s reputation, the URL link in the message and more than 150 other parameters that verify an e-mail’s integrity, according to the companies. The solution helps protect consumers from accessing the estimated 2% to 10% of Web sites that are malicious, according to Miller. An online tool will allow end users to view most recent blocked messages and to configure lists for blocked and allowed senders.
THE EXTRA BENEFIT: Miller estimated 92% of Bend’s e-mail traffic is spam. The IronPort solution diminishes the amount of unwanted data that reaches subscribers.
