MessageLabs Hosted Instant Messsaging Security Service (IMSS) helps organisations to use compatible public IM clients more safely by
providing anti-virus, URL filtering, content control and conversation logging services.
Hosted IMSS is compatible with Microsoft’s MSN, Yahoo’s Messenger and AOL’s AIM which together account for over 80% of public IM clients in use. This allows organizations to build cost effective
internal and external communications networks. Our hosted service is run on our global, load balanced
infrastructure providing high reliability and performance and is scalable to fit the needs of most sized
business.
Use of public IM clients – both authorised and unauthorised - has been growing steadily in organisations
of all sizes. These feature rich clients can be a useful business tool providing instant text and audio
communications, file exchange and collaboration between teams and with external customers and suppliers.
In order to safely use public IM clients for business communications however, IT Managers need to be able to
provide similar levels of threat protection, content control rules and logging capabilities as they would
for email or web traffic.
| Your challenge |
MessageLabs IMSS |
Results |
| Prevent viruses from entering your network |
Multiple third party engines plus MessageLabs Skeptic™ technology provide accurate virus protection |
Plug a security gap in your network by stopping viruses entering via IM |
| Stop data loss from your network |
IM conversations & attachments scanned against your defined content control rules |
Data that you have identified as sensitive or confidential is prevented from leaving your network via IM conversations |
| Comply with regulatory and legal requirements |
IM conversations are logged and stored on our secure infrastructure |
Records of IM conversations are available to download from the management portal ClientNet |
| Enforce company acceptable use policy |
All web links in IM conversations are checked against our URL database and known virus sites |
Your network is protected from sites known to be harboring viruses and spyware and your acceptable use policies are enforced |
| Securing use of the leading public IM systems |
IMSS is compatible with Microsoft’s MSN, Yahoo’s Messenger & AOL’s AIM |
Helps staff to use public IM clients for business communications more safely |
For peace of mind our hosted IMSS includes
24x7x365 support.
MessageLabs IMSS is a hosted service, processing your IM traffic at the Internet level so
requires no hardware installed at your site. IM conversations going to or coming from your organisation pass
through our data centres where they are:
- checked for links that lead to websites known to be infected with viruses or spyware
- comprehensively scanned for known and unknown viruses
- matched against your content control policies
Conversations that are deemed to be malicious or suspicious, or violate your policies are automatically
blocked while all other messages proceed to the intended recipient’s IM client, with no noticeable delay.
Notifications and block messages are configurable to your requirements.
Every message is safely logged in our secure infrastructure and reports can be downloaded from the MessageLabs
management portal, ClientNet.

Implementing MessageLabs IMSS is a fast and easy process, with service administration and
management via an easy to use web portal. Ongoing costs are predictable with a fixed monthly fee based
on the number of users connected to the service. New employees can be added easily as your business
grows.
MessageLabs IMSS can be purchased separately or can be combined with our email and web security
services for protection and control across all protocols. All services are administered through the
same web based management portal, ClientNet, and include 24x7x365 telephone and email support from our
Global Client Support teams.
Register your interest in IMSS today.