Symantec Tuesday announced an updated version of its antispam-antivirus gateway, as well as its plans to link its systems management and data-loss-prevention products more closely to simplify deployments for customers using both technologies.

The next version of the Symantec DLP endpoint will have embedded in it Symantec's Altiris desktop-management agent, says Steve Roop, senior director of marketing for the vendor's DLP solutions.

In addition, the DLP 9.0 endpoint agent will add content-monitoring for Outlook and Lotus sessions (which today require specialized plug-ins) and standard HTTP and S-HTTP sessions. DLP 9.0 also will monitor printing and electronic faxing.

DLP 9.0 is expected to ship in the first quarter of 2009: pricing has not been announced.

Symantec also is upgrading its BrightMail Gateway antispam-antivirus appliance with a spam-defense feature that reduces throughput so that spam gets backed up in the spammer's mail system. BrightMail Gateway 8.0 is designed to deter spammers from sending spam to a corporate IP address protected in this manner, says Art Gilliland, Symantec's vice president of product management.

BrightMail Gateway 8.0 also includes a technology approach Symantec calls Adaptive Reputation Management, which uses the vendor's honeypots and global reputation-management system to watch for phishing attacks timed to coincide with such events as an Apple iPhone roll-out. Fraudsters often exploit such product splashes as a hook to interest their targets.

BrightMail Gateway 8.0 is expected to ship in the first quarter of 2009; pricing has not been announced.