Best practice for preventing virus infection is to never open an attachment from someone you don’t know. It’s a good idea to scan attachments even from known senders, especially if it’s not a file you asked to receive or the cover note is suspicious.
The personal and server tools in these sections are specifically designed to examine incoming e-mail for viruses. The Attachment Security update prevents Outlook users from launching files directly from e-mail messages. Outlook 98 and 2000 users should make sure that they have the latest updates affecting HTML mail.
Anti-virus Tools for Outlook – antivirus tools for use with Outlook.
Anti-virus Tools for Attachment Security – tools specific to attachments, including easy access to the blocked attachment settings.
For information on specific viruses, see Viruses Affecting Microsoft Outlook.
Exchange Server Virus Cleanup | More Information
Tools
avast! Exchange Server Edition provides optimal protection for Microsoft Exchange 2000 and 2003 Servers. Its main features include high-performance scanning, superior scalability and support for clustering (even in active-active mode). Perfectly integrates with Exchange via Microsoft's own Virus Scanning APIs. | |
Anti-spam and Anti-virus protection for individuals and small businesses. | |
A server-side Anti-Spam solution developed specifically for small and medium businesses, Cloudmark Exchange Edition integrates with Microsoft Exchange Server, allows easy installation and administration and does not require client-side software. | |
Authentium's Command Antivirus products are available for both client and servers to protect home and business computers worldwide. Supports Windows Vista. | |
Protects against email viruses and other threats with multiple virus engines, content and attachment quarantine, HTML script analysis, recognition of common HTML mail exploits, and other features. Uses the Exchange Virus Scanning API to check both internal and external messages. An available freeware version includes one anti-virus scanner and performs basic keyword content analysis. | |
Kaspersky Security for Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 protects users of corporate mail systems against viruses and spam, and can be centrally administered. It provides antivirus scanning of incoming and outgoing messages and mail stored on the server, as well as messages in shared folders. It also helps mail system users to block unwanted mail using intelligent spam recognition technologies in addition to technologies provided by Microsoft. | |
Performs anti-virus and content scanning of traffic between Exchange and the Internet. Can also perform automatic compression. | |
Virus scanning, content filtering, and attachment filtering for Exchange Server. It can also scan Personal Folders and offline folders files. | |
modusGate email security software solution provides comprehensive spam protection & Policy Management to protect against data leakage. Multiple predictive and deterministic filters coupled with Vircom's proprietary modusGate email security software solution provides comprehensive spam protection & Policy Management to protect against data leakage. Multiple predictive and deterministic filters coupled with Vircom's proprietary artificial intelligence-based content analyzer provides zero-day threat protection against viruses, botnets, phishing attempts and image spam. Compatible with Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008 (32-bit) | |
Full enterpeise solution, supports workstations, file server and mail server. | |
All the disclaimer and signature features of Policy Patrol Disclaimer, plus rules-based message and attachment filtering, spam blocking with real-time black lists, white lists, and other methods, anti-virus using the Kaspersky anti-virus engine, off-peak delivery of large messages, reports on sent and received messages and other management features, automatic printing, customized NDRs and DSNs, automatic conversion of messages to plain text, automatic compression and decompression, archiving to SQL, XML, or CSV. | |
Scans inbound and outbound messages and the information stores. Exchange 2000 version available. | |
ITA Secure Messaging Edition utilizes a multi-pronged approach of detecting spam emails, effectively filtering out junk without interrupting your normal emails. By utilizing a combination of well known effective filtering methods along with proprietary patent-pending Custom Rule Engine (CuRE ) technology, ITA Secure Messaging reduces spam. | |
Sophos PureMessage for Windows/Exchange provides integrated gateway and messaging protection from spam, viruses and spyware. It scans all inbound, outbound and internal email messages and Exchange message stores and includes threat reduction technology to protect against new or unknown email-borne threats. Notes and Unix versions also available. | |
Antivirus, antispam, and content filtering for Exchange 2000 mailboxes and public folders. Formerly Symantec AntiVirus/Filtering for Microsoft Exchange. | |
Email security software for Exchange featuring world-class antivirus, antispam, and a powerful, granular attachment filter. | |
Sits between Exchange Server and the Internet to scan messages for viruses, attachments and unwanted subject lines and add a disclaimer to outgoing messages. Also handles scheduled ETRN and statistics and can keep a copy of every message sent. Can detect attachments in rich-text messages, remove rich-text or HTML formatting, block messages in different languages, block spam based on a spam DNS database, |
Exchange Server Cleanup
The easiest way avoid is to keep your server free of viruses by scanning the mail as it arrives. However, occasionally a virus will slip through.
Most anti-virus tools are capable of scanning the message store and removing infected messages. You can also use ExMerge, Isscan (Exchange 5.5 only), or most Content Control Tools to look for and remove specific attachments or messages containing specific keywords.
More Information
Web-based virus scanners:
Also see:
- XADM Background Scanning Behavior of the Antivirus Application Programming Interface
- XADM MAPI-Based Tasks Do Not Work with Virus API Anti-Virus Software Running on the Exchange Server Computer
- IIS Lockdown Tool — Turns off unnecessary IIS features to reduce the likelihood of attacks on your servers using customized templates to support Exchange 2000 and 5.5 and other IIS-dependent servers.
- Microsoft Anti-virus Partners
- Content Control Tools
- Protecting Microsoft Outlook against Viruses — comprehensive list of patches and settings
- XADM The Melissa Virus Incident White Paper Is Available
- GFI Email Security Testing Zone — free vulnerability tests
- Protect Against E-mail-based Viruses (.NET Magazine)
- XADM Calendar Items Disappear from User’s Folders – Do not use a file-level anti-virus program scan the Exchange 2000 M: drive.
Microsoft Anti-virus API:
- Microsoft Introduces New Antispam, Antivirus Features In Exchange Server 2003
- XGEN Microsoft’s Position on Antivirus Solutions for Exchange 2000
- XADM Autoforward Rules May Be Disabled When Using Antivirus API
- XADM Event Logging in Exchange 2000 Server SP1 for Virus Scanning API 2.0
- XADM MAPI Tasks Do Not Work with Virus API Anti-Virus Software Running on the Exchange Server Computer
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Last reviewed on Dec 8, 2011

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