Filters Take a Bite out of SPAM: Page 2 of 19

And Then There Were 10

Although our weighted accuracy score was the key metric for the first round, that was only one factor in determining this review's winner. Accuracy is the most important element when considering a purchase, but price, architecture, management, configuration, end-user control, security and antivirus capabilities must be factored into your decision.

Because false positives continue to be the biggest customer problem, we evaluated the products' ability to "quarantine" messages and produce message digests. The quarantine area is a message store that usually resides on the antispam gateway. Quarantine digests summarize each message in the quarantine area, usually identifying the sender and the subject, along with links to release or delete the message. Digests are sent to users at regular intervals. Quarantine areas generally are set to delete messages automatically after a preset period, say 14 days.

So which of the 10 made our short list? Vircom's modusGate software and BorderWare MXtreme Mail Firewall Appliance, which uses Brightmail's antispam engine, placed second and third, primarily because of their prices were higher than that of our first-place product. Both systems should be on your radar. If you're leaning toward a hosted offering, SpamStopsHere bested all in the accuracy test and was hampered only by the tested version's lack of end-user controls and quarantine.