Akonix L7 Enterprise v3.0 Eliminates Spread of IM Spam and Malware
Stamps out spim, worms, and viruses with industry's first automatically updated Spim and Malware Filter
San Diego, CA - May 4, 2004 - Akonix Systems, Inc., a provider of business solutions for secure, managed and integrated multi-network enterprise instant messaging (IM), has launched L7 Enterprise v3.0, featuring the only automatically updated enterprise Spim and Malware Filter to protect networks from the latest IM-borne attacks.
Responding to growing concerns among IT professionals about the potential security and productivity problems from IM-based threats, L7 v3.0 protects networks and users from viruses, worms and other malware that are carried and spread through IM. L7 v3.0 also delivers new enterprise-level features for critical security and performance benefits that are necessary for corporate-wide deployments of public and enterprise IM.
Leveraging the industry's only dynamic update feature, the Akonix L7 Spim and Malware Filter automatically - and without any IT intervention - downloads and installs policies to quash threats such as the Osama Found adware worm. Enabling this protection is an Akonix team of IM security experts who constantly monitor public and enterprise IM systems for emerging threats. As viruses and worms are discovered, the team will distribute policies to counter the threat, immediately stopping the malware from reaching customer networks and their end-users.
"Protecting corporations from attacks through IM is a critical security requirement for organizations that have recognized the benefits of IM and are encouraging its use on their networks," said Genelle Hung, market analyst at The Radicati Group. "Akonix L7 Enterprise v3.0 is an innovative solution which solves one of the biggest access and security tradeoffs facing CIOs and IT administrators that want to allow access to IM, but don't want to expose their networks or their users to new forms of attacks."
In addition to the Spim & Malware Filter, L7 v3.0 brings several new features to further enable corporate-wide adoption and integration of public and enterprise IM. These capabilities include:
Enhanced Enterprise-Class Availability, Scalability and Reliability - Improving its ability to support corporate-wide mission-critical IM services, L7 provides the availability, scalability and reliability necessary for today's enterprise. In v3.0, Akonix adds automatic system recovery that uses built-in intelligence to automatically restart the service or system without user intervention.
Comprehensive Logging, Archiving and Compliance Management for Enterprise IM Systems - Leading the industry in its support of enterprise IM systems, L7 v3.0 adds support of Microsoft Office Live Communications Server 2003 (LCS) to deliver full logging, archiving and compliance for all LCS traffic. %%Extended Support for Leading IM Services - Working with partners AOL, MSN and Yahoo! as the only IM gateway authorized to support all three services, Akonix L7 v3.0 provides the very latest in protocol support, including AOL 55, ICQ v2003b and v4.0 Lite, and MSN v6.0, v6.1 and v6.2. Akonix L7 is the only gateway that provides dynamically updated protocols, which keeps the gateway current with the latest IM application changes. This industry leading support for the leading IM networks includes enabling features for deployment of Microsoft's MSN Connect for Enterprises for company-owned domains.
Broadest Range of Authentication Services - Augmenting Akonix's patent-pending auto discovery of users and screen name mapping, L7 v3.0 delivers self-registration, which allows users to register screen names when other authentication methods are unavailable. This capability ensures that L7 v3.0 is easy to deploy, allowing corporations to manage IM use based on corporate directory identities, without any additional effort from IT staff.
Support for Windows 2003 - Continuing to provide customers with the broadest server deployment options, L7 v3.0 adds support for Windows 2003.
Key Performance Improvements to Core Messaging Architecture - Akonix has also made significant improvements to the underlying architecture of the core L7 messaging engine, affording a more flexible platform that easily accommodates new features and allows for accelerated delivery of key capabilities. These changes also provide unprecedented levels of extensibility that leverage Akonix's new application products announced earlier this year. This exposes useful IM services, such as presence integration, to members of the Akonix Application Developer Program.
"Eradicating any threat of spim, adware or malware spread through IM is fundamental to enabling the corporate-wide adoption of a unified strategy for securing and managing access to public and enterprise IM," said Francis Costello, chief marketing officer at Akonix Systems, Inc. "L7 v3.0 provides the most robust enterprise-level features to make IM secure and productive for any organization."
Akonix L7 was the first real-time management gateway for public and enterprise IM systems, allowing corporations to realize the benefits of managed access to IM without compromising network or endpoint security. More than 250 companies worldwide have deployed Akonix's gateway, serving over 300,000 users and L7 Enterprise is the only authorized gateway for AOL, MSN and Yahoo! IM networks.
To learn more about Akonix L7 Enterprise 3.0, please visit http://www.akonix.com.
About Akonix
Akonix is a leading provider of enterprise-class business solutions for leveraging the power of multi-network enterprise instant messaging. Akonix's award-winning products leverage patent-pending core technology, and advanced IM application development platform, and certified strategic partnerships to deliver multi-network management, security, integration and compliance capabilities across all major IM systems, including America Online's AIM and ICQ, Microsoft's MSN, Yahoo!, Microsoft's Live Communications Server (LCS), Reuters Messaging, IBM/Lotus SameTime and Jabber. Visit http://www.akonix.com for more information.