Software maker Declude on Monday announced its e-mail security product will be available as a managed service

Declude Mailprotector includes all of the antivirus, antispam, and hijack protection features offered by its Inceptor gateway software but as a hosted service, according to company officials. Aimed at small-to-midsize organizations, Mailprotector gives customers inbound and outbound e-mail protection in a unified offering without requiring ongoing administration or updates, company officials say, adding that outsourced services currently represent the fastest-growing segment of the security market.

As with its Interceptor software, Mailprotector includes Declude’s Security Flaw Scanning technology designed to catch structurally flawed messages in which viruses can easily hide and pass through virus scanners undetected, according to officials. This technology offers customer zero-hour protection against new virus outbreaks, instead of having to wait for antivirus companies to produce and distribute new virus signatures, they say.

Previous to the rollout in September of its Interceptor gateway software, Declude’s offerings have been available only for IpSwitch’s IMail and SmarterTools’ SmarterMail e-mail servers.

Pricing for the full set of services starts at $59.95 per month.

Aiming primarily at the small and midsize business market, Declude competes with companies such as Symantec, Barracuda, IronPort and Mirapoint.