Changing the security level

For Mail Threat Protection, Kaspersky Endpoint Security can apply different groups of settings. These groups of settings saved in the application are called security levels: High, Recommended, Low. The Recommended mail security level settings are considered to be the optimal settings recommended by Kaspersky experts (see the table below). You can select one of the pre-installed email security levels or configure a custom email security level. If you have changed the email security level settings, you can always revert to the recommended email security level settings.

To change the email security level:

  1. In the lower part of the main application window, click the icon_settings button.
  2. In the application settings window, select ProtectionEssential Threat ProtectionMail Threat Protection.
  3. In the Security level section, do one of the following:
    • If you want to apply one of the preset security levels, select it with the slider:
      • High. When this email security level is selected, the Mail Threat Protection component scans email messages most thoroughly. The Mail Threat Protection component scans incoming and outgoing email messages, and performs deep heuristic analysis. The High mail security level is recommended for high-risk environments. An example of such an environment is a connection to a free email service from a home network that is not guarded by centralized email protection.
      • Recommended. The email security level that provides the optimal balance between the performance of Kaspersky Endpoint Security and email security. The Mail Threat Protection component scans incoming and outgoing email messages, and performs medium-level heuristic analysis. This mail traffic security level is recommended by Kaspersky specialists. The values of settings for the recommended security level are provided in the table below.
      • Low. When this email security level is selected, the Mail Threat Protection component only scans incoming email messages, performs light heuristic analysis, and does not scan archives that are attached to email messages. At this mail security level, the Mail Threat Protection component scans email messages at maximum speed and uses a minimum of operating system resources. The Low mail security level is recommended for use in a well-protected environment. An example of such an environment might be a LAN with centralized email security.
    • If you want to configure a custom security level, click the Advanced settings button and define your own scan settings.

      You can restore the values of preset security levels by clicking the Restore recommended security level button in the upper part of the window.

  4. Save your changes.

    Mail Threat Protection settings recommended by Kaspersky experts (recommended security level)

    Parameter

    Value

    Description

    Protection scope

    Incoming and outgoing messages

    The Protection scope includes objects that the component checks when it is run: Incoming and outgoing messages or Incoming messages only.

    In order to protect your computers, you need only scan incoming messages. You can turn on scanning for outgoing messages to prevent infected files from being sent in archives. You can also turn on the scanning of outgoing messages if you want to prevent files in particular formats from being sent, such as audio and video files, for example.

    Microsoft Office Outlook extension

    Enabled

    If the check box is selected, scanning of email messages transmitted via the POP3, SMTP, NNTP, IMAP protocols is enabled on the side of the extension integrated into Microsoft Outlook.

    If mail is scanned using the extension for Microsoft Outlook, it is recommended to use Cached Exchange Mode. For more detailed information about Cached Exchange Mode and recommendations on its use, refer to the Microsoft Knowledge Base.

    Scan attached archives

    Enabled

    Scans archives in the following formats: RAR, ARJ, ZIP, CAB, LHA, JAR, and ICE.

    Scan attached Office formats

    Enabled

    Scans Microsoft Office files (DOC, DOCX, XLS, PPT and other Microsoft extensions). Microsoft Office files also include OLE objects.

    Attachment filter

    Rename attachments of selected types

    If this option is selected, the Mail Threat Protection component will replace the last extension character found in the attached files of the specified types with the underscore character (for example, attachment.doc_). Thus, in order to open the file, the user must rename the file.

    Heuristic Analysis

    Medium scan

    The technology was developed for detecting threats that cannot be detected by using the current version of Kaspersky application databases. It detects files that may be infected with an unknown virus or a new variety of a known virus.

    When scanning files for malicious code, the heuristic analyzer executes instructions in the executable files. The number of instructions that are executed by the heuristic analyzer depends on the level that is specified for the heuristic analyzer. The heuristic analysis level ensures a balance between the thoroughness of searching for new threats, the load on the resources of the operating system, and the duration of heuristic analysis.

    Action on threat detection

    Disinfect, if not possible – delete

    When an infected object is detected in an inbound or outbound message, Kaspersky Endpoint Security attempts to disinfect the detected object. The user will be able to access the message with a safe attachment. If the object cannot be disinfected, Kaspersky Endpoint Security deletes the infected object. Kaspersky Endpoint Security adds information about the performed action to the message subject: [Infected object was deleted] <message subject>.

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