Using Exchange filtering

Applies to: Forefront Protection for Exchange

You can perform filtering functions by using both Exchange Server and Forefront Protection 2010 for Exchange Server (FPE). You can use a combination of Exchange and FPE filtering options to get the most complete filtering functionality.

Many filtering options are available in Exchange. These options are automatically enabled on Edge Transport servers but must be enabled on Hub Transport servers by using the steps outlined in How to Enable Anti-Spam Functionality on a Hub Transport Server. For information about managing your Exchange filters, see Managing Anti-Spam and Antivirus Features and Managing Transport Rules.

Although the configuration steps are different for each product, Exchange provides filtering functions that are similar to those of FPE, with several notable differences.

Exchange offers the following functionality that FPE does not:

• Filtering on the To field, Cc field, or both (FPE filters only on the To field).

• Setting levels of importance for each filter.

• The ability so use a distribution list rather than having to input each item (or example, an e-mail address) in a filter list.

FPE offers the following functionality that Exchange does not:

• Performing case-sensitive keyword filtering.

• Performing file filtering by file types.

• The ability to view all your filters in a single view while sorting them as needed.

Filtering is performed first by Exchange and then by FPE, so Exchange filtering takes precedence. For example, if you set a delete action for a filter match in Exchange, the file is deleted before it is scanned by FPE.

See Understanding custom filtering for a description of filtering capabilities in FPE.