POP3 Downloader
The last major feature of GFI MailEssentials 8 is an integrated POP3 downloader utility. The main purpose of this utility is to download messages from an external POP3 server (at your ISP, for example) to your local Exchange Server. While this capability is not usually necessary if you have a properly configured SMTP server onsite with the appropriate DNS MX record configured, some companies will still find this feature useful. For example, companies using a dial-up Internet connection will often not receive email to their internal SMTP or Exchange server in cases where they dial into the Internet only intermittently. In this case, mail can be stored on their ISPs POP3 server, and then downloaded once a connection is made. Once connected, mail can be downloaded and forwarded into a local mailbox bearing the same name, or to a different specified local address. The POP3 downloader also allows you to specify a schedule at which the server should connect to the Internet to download messages. Again, this feature is not for everyone, but many companies will be thankful for the feature not natively implemented in Microsoft Exchange.
Having used the previous version of GFI MailEssentials for well over a year, my feeling is that GFI has put a great deal of time and effort into making version 8 a much more robust, useful, and intelligent application. Not only does it do a superior job of defeating spam compared to other products on the market, the additional features like Mail Monitor, disclaimers, and the reporting capabilities combine to make it an unbeatable value for any network that includes its own mail server. However, there is still always room for improvement I would love to see GFI include the ability to configure their products via a web interface (instead of only via the MMC), if only to give administrators maximum flexibility. That aside, this is one product that you simply cannot afford not to try given that many of the core features are also provided in the freeware version, you simply have nothing to lose. Use GFI MailEssentials for a week, and youll wonder what you ever did without it.
