Why is Email Security so Important?
When was the last time you checked your email security? Are your mailboxes and personal data protected enough? The unprecedented situation we’re all currently going through is affecting online businesses worldwide. And according to Cloudflare, online threats rose by six times their normal levels in the early weeks of the pandemic outbreak. Based on the 2020 Data Breaches Investigation Report by Verizon, 28% of the breach victims were small businesses. Which translates into an increasing cybersecurity risk.
Strong email security is crucial to safeguard your business and keep it running, during COVID-19 times more than ever. In this article, we’ll guide you through some ways to spot malware and how to keep your email and data secured.
Most Common Email Threats and How to Block Them
There are several reasons why you should protect your server against cyber threats. And of course, there are also many ways you can secure your self-hosted email using different security sever tools. Let’s go through the most common email threats and what we can do to block them.
Malware
Malware often accompanies spam and phishing attacks. Viruses, trojans, ransomware, and all sorts of malware use email to gain access to personal and corporate email accounts. And once they access your server, there’s not much you can do about it. Hackers use malware to steal personal information, such as sensitive data like credit cards and infect computers, to use them to mine cyber currency.
But it’s easy to block malware and stop it from damaging your server by installing effective anti-virus solutions. ImunifyAV and Kaspersky Antivirus for Servers are two power-tools that can detect any malicious file, eliminate it, and monitor and control your security.
Spam
Some might think that spam is harmless. However, that’s not even near reality as spam brings severe risks to your data and server security. For instance, email bombing is a very popular form of spam that involves sending massive amounts of messages to your address. Because if you start receiving a waterfall of emails that flood your inbox, it might cause a distraction to see the real damage. And by the time you notice something’s wrong, it might be too late to solve it.
Spam not only causes headaches when receiving but also sending. One of the most significant problems when having your account hacked is facing a bad reputation. Using solutions such as Warden Anti-spam and Virus Protection or Plesk Email Security for outbound anti-spam and anti-virus ensures that your server doesn’t send spam. And that no spammer can get access to your server, damaging your reputation.
Weak passwords
Choosing the right password can wholly become a tricky task that can end up exposing your server to all types of cyber-attacks. If the password is too simple, it will most probably be easy to guess. And if, on the contrary, the password you pick is too hard, chances are you will forget it in an instance.
Installing a multi-factor authentication such as Google Authenticator enables you to log in to your server without using passwords. Which reduces the risk of getting hacked. If you want to learn more about authentication schemes in Plesk, you can also read this blog post.
Let’s have a look at two alternatives for protecting your email hosted on Plesk – Plesk Email Security and MagicSpam.
How to Upgrade Your Email Security
At Plesk, we care about your privacy. And, therefore our goal is to prioritize your personal information and safeguard your data and business from all kinds of security threats. That’s why our tools provide targeted solutions for common security issues with little to no manual work.
For example, Plesk Email Security is our fast, complete, and budget-friendly email solution against spam and viruses. It requires no manual configuration or CLI adjustments for open-source tools, and it complements the rest of the webmail features.
Plesk Email Security is 100% compatible with Plesk, and it comes with Plesk support guaranteed at any time. And you can also install it on top of your Plesk Premium Email subscription to further protect you against malware, deflecting damage to your business.
Free version:
- Configurable anti-spam filter.
- Server-wide and individual anti-spam settings.
- Spam score, move/mark spam, and white-/blacklist handling.
- Email configuration checker (DNS records, rDNS, DNSBL)
- Settings migration from built-in component & 3rd party extension (MagicSpam)
Paid version (Pro):
- Anti-virus scanning of emails and quarantine management.
- Daily updates of the anti-virus and anti-spam database.
- Automatic learning of spam and ham messages.
- Statistics overview of email traffic (ham, spam, viruses).
- DNS blacklist management.
What You Need to Know About the MagicSpam Extension
MagicSpam has also been for many years one of the most used third-party extensions for email protection on Plesk. This anti-spam software installs directly on the mail server or control panel and simplifies spam protection.
However, we have an important announcement regarding the MagicSpam extension. Because, from the end of October 2020, MagicSpam will no longer be listed in the Plesk Extension Catalog. This means that MagicSpam users will still be able to use the extension on the Plesk platform but will no longer enjoy the benefits of using an official Plesk extension. That is, for instance, 100% compatibility with the Plesk platform, affordable prices, and most importantly, 24/7 support from the Plesk support team.
But there’s no reason to panic. If you are a current MagicSpam user, we recommend that you uninstall MagicSpam immediately and replace it with Plesk Email Security – our complete, fully supported, and budget-friendly extension.
Current Offers for Plesk Email Security
A good email security extension should not only protect you from spam and viruses. But also add more value to its offer and handle things you shouldn’t care about – like configuration checks, imported settings, or automatic learning from other users’ actions.
Plesk Email Security offers you that and more. Because it comes with integrated anti-spam filters and keeps your mailbox safe from viruses and spam. Plesk Email Security also provides further layers of protection with more configuration options and additional virus protection features.
With our permanent offer, you can get started with Plesk Email Security for even less money. Get it now for 12 months and pay for 10 only. Additionally, we’re currently offering six months free on Plesk Premium Email to help businesses stay safe during these unprecedented times. Find all details about this offer here.
How seriously do you take your email security? Are you a user of Plesk Email Security and would like to share your experience with us? Let us know in the comments below!
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4 Comments
Wow, thanks for this article, nowadays we often hear that someone’s accounts are hacked and misused, we should upgrade our security.
Hi Eric, thanks a lot for your feedback!
Hi Eric,
I have been using MagicSpam for a long time now and have many email addresses and IPs blocked. Is there a way to import them into Plesk Email Security?
Hi Sonny, we import the white/blacklists automatically, but not IP addresses. However, you can always write custom rules manually. Here are some good examples. We hope this helps!