Synaq, an established managed Linux services provider and open source specialist, has upgraded its acclaimed PinPoint Securemail servers to include optical character recognition (OCR) enhanced anti-spam technology.
Customers are now guarded against modern picture-embedded methodology used by spammers.
Yossi Hasson, marketing and sales director at Synaq, says the company has already integrated the technology into its PinPoint Securemail solution and this offers its customers another facet of protection against the surge of spam.
Globally there has been an increase in spam targeting mail servers that are able to bypass anti-spam solutions by having a graphic or picture embedded in the mail.
"Most anti-spam solutions are designed to pick up and quarantine e-mails containing specific key words. Spammers have started incorporating aggressive new tactics to curb corporate e-mail security solutions by embedding an image containing the actual spam within the e-mail. Images, by default, cannot be 'scanned' using standard filtering techniques and therefore spammers have experienced a large degree of success by incorporating this method. This is exactly why we have developed and introduced OCR within our filtering engines," says Hasson.
OCR was developed using various open source components. Synaq decided to also custom-develop the solution to integrate seamlessly with its PinPoint e-mail solution. The result is technology that ensures that images are 'read' and categorised by the system.
"All spam messages are automatically given a hashcode and placed into a database. The solution will then perform a check of all mail against this database to ensure that it does not contain any of the registered hashcodes. It is an effective means of protection and spam filtering, especially given the fact that up to 30% of all spam messages contain an embedded image," Hasson explains.
The company is confident of the reliability of the technology it has integrated into its solution and provided to its client as an upgraded managed service. So much so, says Hasson, that Synaq is running a competition during the month of December 2006, whereby anyone investing in the solution on a 30-day free trial basis can win an i-Pod Nano.
"This is an extension of our managed service portfolio. Our PinPoint solution continues to gain popularity, and we are excited about this effective built-in component. There is a 50% increase in spam hitting global mail servers and it is necessary for businesses to keep up to date with the latest developments in IT security solutions and approaches," adds Hasson.
For more information, contact the Synaq Team on (086) 00 SYNAQ or info@synaq.com.
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Gauteng-based Synaq (www.synaq.com) is a young, vibrant and dynamic company specialising in the delivery of Linux and open source software to a broad spectrum of clients across South Africa utilising its unique Managed Linux Services approach.
Drawing on over eight years of in-depth Linux experience with a specific focus on network optimisation and open source software implementations, Synaq is able to provide products and services that reduce a company's total cost of ownership (TCO) while allowing for greater flexibility and speed when needing to adapt to an ever-changing market environment.
The company's solutions range from proxy and mail server implementations to detailed Linux server consolidation and migration strategies.
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