What is it all about?
Check Point Email Protection (formerly Avanan) is a cloud-native email and collaboration security solution that connects directly to Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace via API. Unlike traditional gateways, it works inside the cloud to block phishing, malware, ransomware, and business email compromise with AI-driven detection. It also offers post-delivery remediation, user reporting, and granular policy controls delivering inline protection without extra complexity or hardware.
Guardz & Check Point Email Protection Partnership
Guardz has partnered with Check Point Email Protection to bring a stronger, smarter email security directly inside the Guardz platform. This enhancement provides:
Industry-leading protection against phishing, malware, ransomware, and business email compromise
Seamless experience: everything is managed from your Guardz dashboard, no need for another console
Smart defaults: Guardz pre-configures policies so you’re protected from the moment you activate
Flexibility: admins can still customize policies, allow/block lists, and workflows
Key Differences Overview
1. Service Behavior
Guardz in-house: rule-based scanning, limited threat detection.
Avanan: API-based inline protection, using AI + ML to stop threats before they reach the inbox.
2. Activities
Guardz: focused on basic quarantine and spam reporting
Avanan: full event sync into Guardz, advanced categories (phishing, malware, graymail, etc.)
3. Event Management
Guardz: admin can remediate a detection by deleting the email from users’ inbox
Avanan: email deletion is not functional
Guardz: Caution banner is removed as part of ‘Mark as Safe’ flow
Avanan: not applicable
4. Policies
Guardz: fewer options for policies
Avanan: confidence-based detection, flexible workflows (quarantine, junk folder, warnings), more allow/block lists elements (email, domains, IPs, headers, file types), setting up a phishing reporting mailbox, clean emails banner enabled, etc.
5. Customization Options
Guardz: email banner customization is available
Avanan: in the first migration phase, banner customization will not be enabled
The Main Switching Impact
Stays the same:
Allow and block lists will be migrated 'as is' (except for file type rules)
Users will continue to use the Guardz end-user portal to review emails
Users and admins will continue to receive Guardz email notifications
Changes:
Existing email banner customization will be overridden
‘User Report’ feature is enabled by default (regardless of its current state)
Admin approval for quarantine release is enabled by default (regardless of its current state)
Gmail forwarding may stop working for some senders (e.g., Google Voice). This happens because URL rewriting changes the DKIM signature. Contact Guardz Support so we can fully bypass scanning and URL rewriting for the affected domains
Completely new:
URL rewriting: the URLs of links found in both the email body text and attachments are changed and replaced
Password-protected emails: protection against malicious password-protected attachments by removing them, adding a warning banner, and requesting the password for scanning. If clean, the file is delivered to the intended recipient. Passwords aren’t stored, brute-forcing is blocked, and delivery remains secure
‘Graymail’ handling (admins will be able to choose the action taken)
IP and header support in allow/block lists
Migration Phases per Business Case
Current Guardz Customers
Current customers (using Guardz in-house email protection today) are required to migrate to Check Point Email Protection.
As Guardz’s in-house email protection service is undergoing deprecation, new installations are no longer supported. Tenants still using the built in email security should migrate to Check Point Email Protection by February 28 to maintain email protection.
New Guardz Customers
All new customers must use Check Point Email Protection. The Guardz in-house engine is no longer available for new activations.
Customers already using Check Point Email Protection Separately (or any other Email Gateway)
If your organization already has a Check Point Email Protection account outside of Guardz, or any other email gateway filtering, please follow these instruction in order to migrate properly.
Activating the Service
Refer to these articles to review the detailed step-by-step instructions: