Stop Bandwidth Loss

Filtering Techniques Block Inappropriate Content

If checking your e-mail means deleting dozens of offers for baldness cures, weight-loss products and vacation time-shares, you already know how annoying bulk e-mail advertising can be. What you may not know is that this type of e-mail, also known as spam, can actually end up costing your business money.

How It Happens

When spam floods your employees’ e-mail accounts, it sucks up costly bandwidth that should be devoted to business communication. It also makes workers less productive by forcing them to spend time sifting through and deleting dozens of junk messages. (Some statistics indicate that employees spend about 15 hours a year deleting e-mail. In a 50-employee company, that adds up to 750 hours, or 93 workdays, over the course of a year.) Worse, it may cause workers to miss or accidentally discard important messages in the process.

What You Can Do

Numerous filtering solutions are available to help you stem the tide of spam. At the desktop level, anti-spam software can be installed to block certain types of messages — for example, all advertisements, or all messages from a particular ISP. If you have an e-mail server, software can provide similar services at the server level, so spam never reaches your employees’ desktops. You may also consider using server-based hardware, which stops spam at the network gateway, or heuristic software, which uses multiple criteria to examine incoming messages and catch spam that might otherwise slip through.

Go A Step Further

Bad as it is, spam isn’t the only culprit that can drain your bandwidth and resources. Inappropriate web content can, too. If your employees are downloading streaming audio and video, sending instant messages or engaging in a variety of other activities, they’re putting a strain on your network and dragging down productivity. Luckily, special filtering software is also available to stop much of this unauthorized activity. With the right filters, you can control access to web sites, file-sharing programs, instant-messaging applications and much more. At the same time, you can block spyware sites and other elements that may compromise network security.

At Panurgy, our expert technicians are qualified to recognize and repair these and many other security problems. We can deliver the right security solution for your needs, using products from the most respected manufacturers in the industry. Plus, as a member of VentureTech Network — a North American organization of IT professionals — we can leverage the resources of more than 12,800 trained and certified professionals to serve you on a national, regional or local level. Just contact us at 1-877-PANURGY and info@panurgy.com  for a consultation, and we’ll work with you to analyze your security status and create the best solution for your business.