Microsoft Forefront Security for your System

Everybody in a typical IT organization cares about the health of their computing infrastructure. Keeping systems running well is fundamental to most businesses today. However, achieving this requires meeting many objectives, two broad goals are universal: securing the IT environment and effectively managing the hardware and software in that environment. Reaching the first of these goals requires dealing with the range of threats that exist today. Achieving the second is no less ambitious, given the diverse challenges of systems management. In both cases, a broad set of tools is required to address an equally broad set of problems. The software manufacturing giant, Microsoft is now all set to launch a product family, ‘Forefront Security’ to address each of these two areas. The Forefront family aims at securing IT environments. This paper introduces the technology first, and then shows how it can be used to address the problems of security in today’s corporate scenario.

So, what’s in Microsoft Forefront family? 

The Microsoft Forefront family of business security products helps IT managers protect information and control access to their environment. Microsoft Forefront solutions integrate with an organization’s IT infrastructure and can be supplemented with interoperable third-party solutions, enabling end-to-end, in-depth security solutions. Simplified management, reporting, analysis, and deployment enable more efficient protection of information resources, as well as more secure access to applications and servers. With highly responsive protection that is supported by Microsoft technical guidance, Microsoft Forefront helps IT managers confidently meet ever-changing threats and increased business demands.

Microsoft Forefront helps protect client and server operating systems and application servers from viruses, spyware, Trojans, spam, and other threats. Forefront products also provide network edge protection to provide safer remote work scenarios and access control. The following sections provide greater detail about how Forefront solutions help protect client and server operating systems, application servers, and the network edge.
Microsoft Forefront is Microsoft's line of business security software. Microsoft Forefront has products that protect many aspects of business computing, including solutions for exchange SharePoint, and individual devices.
Forefront Family includes the following products:

1.    Client Security
•    Microsoft Forefront Client Security (formerly called Microsoft Client Protection)

2.    Server Security
•    Microsoft Forefront Security for Exchange Server
•    Microsoft Forefront Security for SharePoint
•    Microsoft Forefront Security for Microsoft Office Communications Server (formerly called Antigen for Instant Messaging)

3.    Network Edge Security
•    Microsoft Forefront Unified Access Gateway (the successor to Intelligent Application Gateway (IAG) 2007)
•    Microsoft Forefront Threat Management Gateway (the successor to Internet Security and Acceleration Server)

 
4.    Integrated Security Suite
•    Microsoft Forefront Codenamed "Stirling" (Includes Forefront Client Security, Forefront Security for Exchange and SharePoint, Forefront Threat Management Gateway and a central management server)

Microsoft Forefront Client Security

Microsoft Forefront Client Security provides unified malware protection for business desktops, laptops, and server operating systems that is easy to manage and control. Built on Microsoft protection technology that is already used by millions of people worldwide, Forefront Client Security helps guard against viruses, spyware, worms, Trojan horses, and other current and emerging threats. In addition, Forefront Client Security delivers simplified administration and provides critical visibility into both threats and vulnerabilities so that security administrators can maintain control over their security state. Forefront Client Security also integrates with an organization’s existing infrastructure software, such as Active Directory directory services, and complements other Microsoft security technologies for advanced protection and control.

Microsoft Forefront Server Security

Microsoft Forefront Server Security includes the solutions that integrate multiple scan engines from industry-leading vendors to help organizations protect business-critical Microsoft messaging and collaboration servers from viruses, worms, spam, and inappropriate content before they can impact businesses and users.

I will be coming back to you with more information on different facets of Forefront deployment for server security. Folks, Stay tuned!!