The sys admin’s daily grind: P3Scan

VIRUS-FREE

Article from Issue 80/2007
Author(s):

Checking email for viruses is typically the domain of the SMTP gateway or a server directly downstream of it. In this month’s column, Charly decides to move this protection to the other side – that is, to the client connections
with their SMTP and POP servers.

P3Scan is a mail proxy that sets up shop in front of the SMTP and POP3 daemons and accepts connections from clients wanting to pick up, or get rid of, mail. It forwards client commands and checks emails for malevolent content before passing them on. P3Scan avoids exotic dependencies and just relies on the pcre-devel library, which most distributions are likely to have anyway. Of course, P3Scan must rely on anti-virus software. I chose ClamAV, but P3Scan will also work with F-Prot, F-Secure, Kaspersky, and probably other products, as long as they have a command line client. P3Scan can also integrate SpamAssassin and DSPAM, giving it the ability to remove unsolicited advertising from mail.

Buy this article as PDF

Express-Checkout as PDF
Price $2.95
(incl. VAT)

Buy Linux Magazine

SINGLE ISSUES
Print Issues
Digital Issues
 
SUBSCRIPTIONS
Print Subs
Digisubs
 
TABLET & SMARTPHONE APPS
Get it on Google Play

US / Canada

Get it on Google Play

UK / Australia

Related content

  • KlamAV

    Linux may not be as virus-ready as Windows, but who wants to harbor pointless malware? Now you can hunt for viruses with KDE's KlamAV, a desktop front-end for the ClamAV Open Source virus protection system.

    more »
  • Security Lessons: ClamAV

    Protecting Windows clients from the big bad Internet.

    more »
  • Amavisd-new

    Sometimes the best time to stop bad mail is before it arrives. AmavisdNew is an Open Source interface for integrating spam and virus filtering with your mail server.

    more »
  • Charly's Column

    Browsers live in continual danger of compromise by a malicious site. An intermediate proxy combined with a virus scanner can help.

    more »
  • Charly's Column

    Too many cooks spoil the broth, they say, but it could just as easily be an ingredient that isn’t part of the recipe. If you can’t reduce the number of cooks, you have to take other steps to make your broth more edible.

    more »
comments powered by Disqus

Visit Our Shop

Trial Subscription

Digital Subscription

Subscribe

Direct Download

Read full article as PDF:

Charlys_Column.pdf  (90.46 kB)

News

Tag Cloud

Administration Community Desktop Events Hardware Linux Linux Pro Magazine Mobile Programming Software Ubuntu Web Development Windows free software open source