MailWasher vs MX Guarddog

MailWasher previews email on the mail server so users can remove unwanted messages before downloading them to a computer. Its filtering tools include Friends List, Blacklist, RBLs, custom and learning filters, a profanity list, and spam ratings. The free edition works with one email account and has no support; Pro supports unlimited accounts and POP3 and IMAP. Firetrust lists Gmail, Outlook.com, Yahoo, AOL, and Hotmail, along with programs such as Outlook, eM Client, and Thunderbird. The maker says email content stays on the PC and only the license key is sent to its servers. It also says MailWasher uses OAuth for services such as Gmail and Outlook.com, or app passwords, rather than asking users to enter their actual email passwords in the app. Mobile apps are available for iPhone, iPad, and Android. Pro has a 30-day trial with full functionality. Listed purchase options include $49.95 a year for one year, $77.21 a year for two years, $99.90 a year for three years, or 149.95 USD once for a lifetime license; annual plans thereafter cost $34.95 a year.

MX Guarddog is a hosted email gateway for standard SMTP servers serving owned domains. It scans incoming messages for spam, phishing, malware and viruses, quarantines offending mail, and forwards clean messages to the customer’s server. The service runs in the cloud, so it requires no hardware or software installation and no configuration changes to email clients or the server. Quarantine reports summarize stopped spam, and users can adjust report preferences; quarantine retention is seven days. If a customer’s server is unavailable, MX Guarddog says it holds mail for up to 168 hours and delivers it when the server returns. It can sync active addresses from Windows AD, LDAP or cPanel, and says it uses Transport Layer Security, including Perfect Forward Security, for email in transit. The listed per-address price is $0.25 per month; aliases are not charged. A free plan and 30-day trial are listed. The service is for web use and does not support consumer Gmail or Hotmail accounts.