IronPort spam shield gets steelier

IronPort Systems plans to release new virus-protection and enterprise-management tools for Internet service providers and corporations on Monday. The San Bruno, Calif.-based antispam specialist said a new version of its hardware, the C-Series Email Security Appliance, will include early detection on corporate networks of e-mail viruses. Tom Gillis, senior vice president of marketing for IronPort, said the technology is like "traffic control for e-mail" in that it can detect viruses up to 5 hours before they hit a network and quarantine suspicious messages, which should save companies money.

Ironport also plans to add sophisticated enterprise-management tools to the appliance, including centralized spam reporting and a Web-based interface that lets customers log in from anywhere. For example, customers can set up spam policies for various corporate divisions and send those rules out across their network from a centralized location.