PayneGroup just announced the release of the next generation Outlook Send Assistant (version 3.1). This product is an email security tool that is proven to reduce the risk of accidental email disclosure by warning when Reply to All, externally directed recipients, or large distribution lists responses are attempted. Other prompts include special handling with blind carbon copy (BCC) recipients, warnings about missing attachments and blank subject lines, and much more.
Outlook Send Assistant provides a robust administrative tool termed “Feature Manager” that the designated administrator can use to configure the Outlook Send Assistant to address specific needs. This tool gives the administrator the ability to create unique Outlook prompts and warnings for different departments, practice areas, or the entire user base. Each set of customizations is saved as an .xml file, which can be distributed to specific users or groups. There are currently 13 categories of features, including language support that can be fully customized and deployed as needed.
Adds Tara Byers, President of Development for PayneGroup, “With the preponderance of misdirected and accidental email disclosures, organizations will find the unobtrusive software add-in to Microsoft Outlook a worthwhile investment.” Courts in the United States have weighed in with Charm v. Kohn, C.A. No. 08-2789-BLS, Suffolk Superior Court (J. Fabricant) (September 30, 2010) where Reply to All is considered privileged. Even so, sending an email message to an unintended party is, at minimum, embarrassing.