Proofpoint Essentials Email Management Service

What is Proofpoint Essentials Email Management Platform?

The service accepts and processes mail on behalf of its subscribing customers. It passes on safe traffic and captures viruses, spam or any malicious content based on the unique set preferences of the individual subscribing organizations and their users.

Every transaction is logged and made available to clients via an intuitive secure web interface. Each server resides in a physical environmental and securely managed co-location.

Within each co-location, servers are clustered to ensure failover redundancy and cross site matrix clustering.

How does the service fit into an existing mail system?

When email is sent, the first thing that happens is the sender’s server performs a DNS query to discover the name of the server(s) that accept mail on behalf of the recipient. The DNS’ MX (mail exchange) records hold this information and are capable of holding details for multiple servers to allow for any failsafe that has been built in. Equipped with the MX record data, the email is sent directly to the recipient’s mail server, be it a local company server, or an ISP mail gateway.

When the Proofpoint Essentials Platform is introduced to the system, the MX records are changed to point to the Proofpoint Essentials MX arrays, instead of directly to the recipient server. All mail is then directed through the platform cluster and platform according to the customer’s specifications. Proofpoint Essentials recommends that recipient mail servers are instructed only to accept mail from Proofpoint Essentials Platform servers. This stops potential attackers from sending directly to target servers and ensures that all email is scanned by the Proofpoint Essentials service.

If outgoing mail is to be scanned, the outbound servers must be configured to send to the Proofpoint Essentials servers. These steps add to the company’s security and eliminate the possibility of servers being used as open relays.

Current recommendations for Outbound relay setting can be found at:  Outbound Settings