[TriLUG] Re: Email-Relay w/ AV and Anti Spam...which one to choose? (Long)

[Kevin Sonney]

You asked for it, and you got it - a complete review of my current
mail scanning solution. Be warned....

On Wed, Feb 12, 2003 at 12:31:42AM -0500, Brandon L. Newport spoke thusly:
> Ok guys, first of all I am not trying to start a flamer ware (even though we
> haven't have a good one in a while).  If I was looking to setup an
> email-relay that did Ant spamming and Antivirus what products would I use
> and why?  This may be a good topic for a meeting (setup, test, benchmark)
> hint hint to someone :)

To be honest, on my new public facing system, I'v got the following :

MTA: sendmail
MTA Virus Scanner: MailScanner
Underlying Virus Scanner: F-Prot
Spam Filter: SpamAssassin
local Delivery Agent: procmail

Explinations :

Why do I still use Sendmail? Well, for starters, when I first set up
my systems, there was only one acceptable MTA included with Linux -
sendmail. Since then, I've grow to like it. Some call me sick and
wrong, but there you go. I've used postfix, and it has it's strong
points (the user-friendly config file bing *HUGE*), but for my needs,
sendmail has been perfect. if it ain't broke....

When I first tried to set up MTA-level virus scanning, the reccomended
way was with MailScanner. And the Mailscanner guys have made is *EASY*
to us. MailScanner will use multiple AV products to do
inbound/outbound scanning, as well as do a top-level spamcheck. 

F-Prot is free for personal use. 'Nuff Said. You can also use McAfee,
Sophos (which I used to use), RAV, F-Secure, Inoculate,
Inoculan, Trend AV, and a couple of others. I'm pretty happy with
F-prot, and MailScanner will check for Virus Definition updates for
you.

SpamAssassin. I filter at the MTA, thanks to MaiLScanner, then a more
stringent one on local delivery via procmail. I could probably add
Razor to the mix and catch even more spam, but at the moment,
SpamAssassin does the job, and does it well.

Setup for *EVERYTHING* was a snap on my Red Hat system. There are RPMS
available for all three add-ons (MailScanner, F-Prot, SpamAssassin) to
the system. F-Prot just installs, MailScanner not only configures
itself, but configures sendmail and walks you through getting it's
depends up to date if needed. SpamAssassin installs just as easy. 

The config files are well documented, and the docs on all three
rock. it was probably the most painless change I've ever made to my
mail system, and wow, the difference it makes.

HTH, HAND, etc, etc.

-- 
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--         Kevin Sonney         --
--  ICQ: 4855069  AIM: ksonney  --
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 Every now and then, when your life gets complicated and the weasels
 start closing in, the only cure is to load up on heinous chemicals and
 then drive like a bastard from Hollywood to Las Vegas ... with the
 music at top volume and at least a pint of ether. -- Hunter S.
 Thompson, "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas"
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