Proofpoint Messaging Security Gateway 6.0 is an appliance-based email security gateway that can be deployed as either a hardware device or as a virtual appliance.
It was reviewed with two additional Proofpoint components: Enterprise Protection Suite and Enterprise Privacy Suite. The entire solution provides both security and content management capabilities, which are compatible with most downstream SMTP mail servers.
The Proofpoint setup was simple and the appliance itself was up and running in just a few minutes. The interface is easy to navigate and all of the critical features are well organised and can be accessed with minimal effort. The only small hiccup we encountered on the UI was during a system update. When attempting to update the various modules, the system does not provide much feedback with regards to how far along it is in the download process, so we were left guessing as to what was being updated and when it might finish.
From a performance perspective, this device has a bit more processing power and a larger hard drive than comparable appliances in this product range.
Both the protection and privacy suite modules enable just about every anti-spam, anti-virus and content filtering option that an enterprise would need to secure email. Included in the default device and the suite modules is the ability to provide gateway and message-level encryption based on specific policy conditions.
The regulatory compliance options contain pre-defined policies to inspect for patterns and keywords associated with PCI, HIPAA and other standards. A useful feature is the ability to evaluate the security options in a simulated test mode on external web mail or other non-production sources to see how policies behave before deploying to the rest of the organisation.
Documentation on the appliance and online is well organised and very helpful. Gold support features 8/5 phone and email support and is included with the product. Additional tiers of support are available as well.
At £5,226 plus user licence fees, Proofpoint Messaging Security Gateway could become expensive, but we find it excellent value for any environment.