Product Review: Co-Mail Secure EMail Service

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Co-Mail can integrate into the end-user's current email environment via a downloadable proxy software called Co-Mail Express. Co-Mail Express is a light-weight software application that resides on the end-user's desktop tray. Its job is to intercept mail directed to TCP port 25 (the standard SMTP port)in order to encrypt/decrypt a mail message. Although this feature is not mandatory, some may find it helpful if web based-mail interfaces are not your cup of tea.

Once an end-user logs into the service, the user can perform the usual email tasks such sending and receiving mail. In addition, the user can encrypt/decrypt files for secure storage (S-Disk) on the users computer, manage the address book, export the address book, turn on/off antispam, set up auto-reply texts and so on.

Although very easy to use for small to medium user communities, traditional large enterprises may be hesitant to outsource their entire email service to a third-party. ISPs in particular may want to think seriously about this service value to their customers. This service is worth a look due to potential cost savings in up-front setup, and ongoing maintenance.

Lower costs and implementation speed are two reasons a large company may want to outsource its email system to Co-Mail. However, the strength of the security employed by the service provider is also a central concern. Technical details for Co-Mail are available on line at: http://www.co-mail.com/data.html.

Overall, Co-Mail provides a good service. Look for improvements in the area of large scale distributed management and anti-virus. The strongest competitors are premium account services (the ones you have to pay for) such as those offered by Hushmail Communications.

Email management used to be simpler, but the threats against email have grown more complex. With products like Co-Mail that provide a relatively good level of service availability and security, email users around the world can take advantage of strong security with simple administration.

Co-Mail
Network Research Lab. Ltd
Tel: +353 1 639 2909
Email: info@co-mail.com
Basic price: from $1 USD (per mailbox per month). Large configurations are priced per user.
Web: http://www.co-mail.com and http://www.nrlab.com.