Set this mail server up in a New York minute, keep it running with anti-spam and anti-virus engines tuned like police cars', and you'll get to where you need to go. A Bronx cheer, however, is awarded to one feature.

by Jim Thompson [October 29, 2004]

Fuhgeddaboutit! That's what most ISPs want to do with their mail server. Install, set, and forget is the ideal. Unfortunately, that seldom happens and most spend hours tweaking, refining, and troubleshooting. It's not perfect, but VisNetic MailServer 7.5.3 from Gaylord, Mich.-based Deerfield.com is about as close to trouble-free as they come. (Ed. note: Version 7.6.1 has been announced but is not reviewed here.)

The new version of this IMAP, POP, SMTP and LDAP server offers a number of long awaited new features, several improvements, some bug fixes, and a number of subtle enhancements that make it a solid performer worth a close look for those running Windows systems (Windows 95/98, ME, NT4 Server and Workstation, XP, 2000, and 2003).

Although promoted mainly to high-volume enterprise customers, VisNetic MailServer is equally functional and flexible for the small, medium, and large volume ISP. Its full set of highly configurable features make it a good choice for complex messaging environments. Among its many features are strong anti-spam and anti-virus capabilities, open API, an Instant Messaging system, support for multi-processors, ODBC, and load balancing capability.

The setup was simple and Installation was finished in a New York minute. After downloading the software from the Deerfield.com website, it was up, running, and processing mail faster than I could say "toidy toid 'n' toid." If you have a previous version, you need only click on 'Check for Updates' in the help menu—the rest is automatic.

The one hitch was updating files for virtual hosts when upgrading from a previous version. This is a manual process and can take considerable time if you have more than just a few virtual hosts to bring online. Deerfield is aware that this can be an issue and they have assured me that they are working on a solution.

In addition to support for multiple domains, you can set an expiration date for any domain, which makes billing and collection much easier for the harried ISP. Other options in this area include setting a domain disk quota, domain user limits, email notification before a domain expires, and the ability to send a welcome message to new users.

As with past versions, one of the best features of VisNetic MailServer is their anti-virus technology. This is a plug-in and will cost you extra ($649.95 for a 500 user license/ $799.95 for unlimited users), but, it's well worth it. We threw just about everything we could find at it and not once did it allow a virus to slip through. I even had our resident virus expert try to slip me some of the newest threats. It rejected all of them without even the slightest fuss.

Well tuned anti-virus
Powered by Kaspersky Labs, which employs some of the very best anti-virus experts in the world, the anti-virus functions in VisNetic MailServer are excellent. Kaspersky's continually updated virus signature list downloads updates incrementally, which means small, quick downloads and the latest updates. They also have a 'critical update' function which checks every hour for serious threats. Checks for regular updates can be performed whenever you want.

If a virus or worm is detected, the infected email can be deleted, quarantined, rejected, forwarded to the mail server administrator for review, or 'sent to Joisy.' Best of all it scans and cleans every component (including HTML/attachments and S/Mime) in an email message. Once again, once the anti-virus system is running, you can just fuhgeddaboutit.

One of the main areas of concentration for version 7.5.3 is anti-spam technology. Anyone who uses email can tell you that spam has become not only a big issue, but also a big problem. Hey, how many ads for male enhancement, stamina, hair growth, or 'pizza paulas' can you stand?

In VisNetic MailServer version 7.5.3, Deerfield has made a strong attempt to wage war on spam and spammers through the use of several anti-spam tools. These include a Bayesian Filter, HTML Filters, SpamAssassin Filters, Sender Policy Framework (SPF), and Spam URI Realtime Blocklists (SURBL). With all this firepower about all the spammers can do is 'washda daws' to potential victims close.

In past versions, the Visnetic AntiSpam functions was a plug-in option available at an additional cost. In the newest version, this is included in the MailServer package.

Since spammers are constantly trying to get around any and all blocking techniques and tools, keeping them out is not an easy task. For example, Bayesian filtering, which statistically calculates the possibility that a message is spam, was, at one time, among the very best guards against spam, but no longer. Spammers have deployed a number of techniques to fool these filters, rendering this technology only marginally effective. It is still worth using, but anyone serious about blocking spam should not rely on it as their sole protection.

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