MDaemon 17 MDaemon remains the leading alternative to Microsoft Exchange and Office 365, providing companies who need the security and control of their own mail server with easy to use features at a highly competitive price. 25 years on from MDaemon's launch, we see Texas-based developer Alt-N Technologies add yet more features to boost security and an update for Outlook Connector. Here are my highlights - don't forget, you can find the full exhaustive list of goodies in the MDaemon Release Notes.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hj0OJOplnso?controls=0&showinfo=0&w=560&h=315] Many ransomware strains such as WannaCry, already have the ability to remove both system restore points and your Windows backups altogether. Rather worryingly, experts also suggest that ransomware is expected to increasingly target backup files in the future With that in mind, we're particularly excited to see BackupAssist v10.1.0 go live today, as it includes CryptoSafeGuard, a free feature designed to tackle these problems head on.

In case you missed my early heads up, the public release of CryptSafeGuard for BackupAssist is now but a few weeks away. It's an anti-ransomware feature, it's ever so timely and best of all, it's free (provided you have valid upgrade cover of course!). The senior development team over at BackupAssist are excited to let you know just how great it is, and with that in mind, are running a free one-off webinar for resellers on Wednesday 9th August @ 9.30am.   If you can spare the time I highly recommend you attend as it's a terrific opportunity to learn about a feature that could really help your customers (and you!) out of a tight spot should the unthinkable happen and their files become encrypted. Not only that but it's a rare chance to provide your thoughts and suggestions directly to the people who write the software.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEpP8QH7Zzc?controls=0&showinfo=0&w=560&h=315] With 205 million messages being sent every day, email still remains one of the most popular ways to communicate, which means the mailboxes of many businesses today contain all manner of information concerning both customers and staff. Whether it's bank details, employment contracts, IP addresses or altogether more sensitive information, the introduction of the Global Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in May next year will force companies to take the responsibility of managing this data seriously.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdodIycQgB4?controls=0&showinfo=0&w=560&h=315] When the Australian development team at BackupAssist let me know there would be an anti-ransomware feature available so soon after the recent high profile cryptolocker attacks, I have to admit, the timing seemed almost a little too convenient. Until any concrete evidence comes to light, we'll work on the basis they just know the market, but my investigations will continue nonetheless :)

Following on from the recent announcement concerning the reduced entry requirements for becoming a MailStore Service Provider, our colleagues over at the German developer have released a number of webinar dates over the coming weeks. These sessions are a fantastic opportunity to hear directly from the developer and to raise any questions you might have following the short presentation/ walkthrough. If you're thinking about building your own archiving as-a-service platform and becoming a MailStore service provider, this is the perfect way to find out more without any pressure or obligation to take it further.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leOueJThtd4?controls=0&showinfo=0&w=560&h=315] Almost exactly three years after its release and with 320 service providers under their belts, MailStore today introduce a new and simplified price model for the Service Provider Edition of their popular email archiving software for Office365, Exchange, MDaemon and other mail platforms. The changes will be welcome news if you're an IT support company wanting to 'dip your toes' in the services market without a large upfront commitment. Plus existing customers should be pleased to see improved margins as a result of lower ongoing costs too.

Unless you've somehow managed to avoid both the news headlines and the barrage of content from IT security vendors that followed, you'll no doubt be aware that a couple of weeks ago, there was a particularly severe ransomware attack that affected over 100,000 businesses around the globe, including the NHS. The latest evidence indicates that the recent 'WannaCry' attack originated via an exploit tool created by the NSA, however it's more common they originate via 'phishing' emails, the technique of tricking recipients into clicking a malicious link or opening an attachment, often appearing to be from a colleague or relative. So with this in mind, now seems like a great time to give you a refresher on the features at your disposal as an MDaemon administrator to help prevent the type of phishing attack that can lead to a ransomware infection, along with some additional tips on best practice. (Almost all of the security tools for MDaemon are in the SecurityPlus add-on so for the purpose of this post, I'll be assuming you've got that installed.)

BackupAssist version 10 We're thrilled to announce that there's a new version of BackupAssist available today, and with it, new features for backing up your data to the wonderfully reliable and ultra-secure data centres of cloud hosting juggernauts, Amazon and Microsoft (with more to follow). While you'll find enhancements to the base product too, the headliner for version 10 is undoubtedly the all-new backup engine that's behind the new Cloud Backup features. Brimming with potential, this new technology offers a simple, secure and efficient way to automate getting your important data off-site. Don't feel like reading? Check out my 'Early Heads Up' video from last week which also tells you everything you need to know about v10.