Having sophisticated anti-spam software installed on your business’s computer systems has many benefits. The fact that e-mail communication between employees and customers is a major part of any business operation makes the use of anti-spam software essential. Companies that neglect to use anti-spam software put themselves at considerable risk for viruses that can be devastating to business operations. Here is why having anti-spam software is important for businesses, as well as some of the fantastic benefits using this software will provide:

Why Should My Business Worry about Spam?

A lot of people don’t consider spam to be a major problem until they are affected by it. Unfortunately, once your business contracts a virus or malware problem from a spam e-mail, its effects can be disastrous. Depending on the type of infection your computer system has contracted can mean privacy leaks, system shut downs, and inability to communicate through e-mail. All it takes is one click on a spam e-mail to cost your business money and hurt its reputation.

Considering the fact that spam e-mails account for up to eighty percent of all e-mails sent, the odds are certainly not in your favour. The sophistication with which these e-mails are disguised makes it extremely difficult to tell the difference between a legitimate e-mail and a spam one. They will often use sneaky tactics to get people to click on them, such as using personal greetings in the subject line of the e-mail or claiming that the recipient has won a large prize of some sort. People often can’t resist clicking on these e-mails because of their stealth. Therefore, employing anti-spam enterprise software is certainly advisable to avoid these temptations.

What Does Anti-Spam Software Do?

Anti-spam software offers their users a wealth of protection against spam. First and foremost, it blocks spam e-mails by scanning the subject lines and the text of e-mails. This software not only does this for all incoming e-mail, but for outgoing ones as well. This helps prevent spam coming in and going out from an infected computer. The filters used to block spam e-mails can also be customised. This allows you to block certain known senders of spam, as well as any e-mail that does not contain the recipient’s e-mail address in the required field.

There are plenty of other options available, such as the ability to monitor multiple e-mail inboxes. This option helps prevent spam whether you are working at home or from your office. Another perhaps overlooked benefit of anti-spam software is the ability for spam e-mails to be reported to the anti-spam software provider. This helps everybody, because it lets the software developers identify new threats and come up with a strategy for blocking them.

Most businesses will work with their anti-spam provider to develop what is known as a ‘white list’. This feature allows you to create a list of people whose e-mails should always be accepted. This helps out in the rare case of a friendly e-mail being flagged as spam by accident.

What Should I Look for When Hiring an Anti-Spam Provider?

Hiring the right people to set up your anti-spam solution can be a little tricky. You want to make sure you are getting all the protection you need while not paying for services you don’t need or won’t use. There are a lot of great companies offering anti-spam solutions, and the good ones offer diverse packages depending on your business’s needs. One of the first things you should consider before deciding on a particular anti-spam provider is how well their product works. You can usually find out about certain anti-spam providers from their website or by doing a quick Internet search on them. Look for positive customer reviews, and not just on the company webpage, but also from social media sites.

Also, depending on how many e-mails your business produces on a daily basis, that can help in deciding how extensive your spam protection needs to be. For example, if your business only produces ten to fifteen e-mails a day, then a lower level spam protection would be best suited for you. If there are hundreds of e-mails coming in and going out on a daily basis, you certainly want more sophisticated protection. More in-depth options many large businesses consider include storing e-mails data on a cloud server and incorporating e-mail encryption and data loss prevention. These are absolutely essential for companies that deal with sensitive and private information on a daily basis.

Another important feature to look from in an anti-spam provider is how often their software is updated. Battling spam is an ever-changing war and new techniques and strategies are constantly evolving on both sides of the fight. It is advisable to ask how often the anti-spam provider updates their software. Most of the good companies will update their software every day, and sometimes twice a day. This allows for the latest and greatest anti-spam strategies to be available to your business.

Lastly, it is important to find an anti-spam company who will work with you in developing a strategy where there is good communication between you. This is extremely important because your business relies on e-mails for communication and sales in order to run efficiently. So if the anti-spam software you are using is blocking friendly e-mails or not explaining some of their reasons for blocking certain e-mails, then it is important to be able to get in contact with them to straighten those issues out.

Plenty of Options

Finding a quality anti-spam service is rather easy to find if you’re armed with the proper knowledge of what you need for your business. A simple Internet search is all that is required for you to find a plethora of options. It is important to remember that not all of these companies offer the same types of services, so a little research will be required. Luckily, many of these companies offer detailed information on their websites, which make finding the right one for your needs relatively easy. Getting this software is vital for the health of your computer systems, so don’t wait until it’s too late.