TechTip #40: Email – Controlling the new Spam filter
Note: TechTips can also be downloaded from the SEBTS intranet (as PDF files) – see http://intranet/Management/TechTips/ . Click for Print Version (Best printing results are obtained by using these PDF files, rather than printing the note from Outlook). [If not formatted correctly in Webmail – Internet Explorer: Turn off reading pane Firefox: click “View As Web Page” link at top].
IT at Southeastern recently replaced the previous spam filter with a new one – the Barracuda Spam Firewall This TechTip explains how the filtering works and how you can control it to get better results (less spam and fewer quarantines of good emails).
Background: Spam filter flow chart: Use this page to understand the big picture. (Details for the controls you have are on following pages). Email that has passed anti-virus and attachment checks enters here Explanation for flow chart at left (top to bottom): • Email that has already been checked for viruses and potentially harmful attachments enters the spam filter. • Emails with senders or domains found on your Blacklist are blocked. Those found on your Whitelist are sent to your inbox. • Remaining emails go through the Spam Filter, which gives each a score, based on known spam and your classifications: - High-scoring emails are almost certainly spam and are not passed on to you. - Medium-scoring emails are possibly spam and are placed in Message gets low score Quarantine – a “Spam Quarantine Summary” email is sent to or user clicks Deliver you. Message gets high - Low-scoring emails are probably not spam and are sent to score Spam Filter your inbox. & Quarantine • You have controls in the Spam Quarantine Summary email to Deliver, Whitelist or Delete the quarantined emails. Message “Spam gets • By clicking the link in the email to go to the “quarantine Quarantine medium Summary” score inbox”, you get additional controls for Blacklist, “Classify as Email Spam” and “Classify as Not Spam”. • Quarantined emails will remain at least 14 days if you do not NO response in 14 days take any action on them. After that, they are deleted.
“Spam Quarantine Summary” Email has • When you use the controls “Classify as Spam” and “Classify controls for Deliver, Whitelist and Delete. as Not Spam”, the spam filter adjusts future scoring. - Click “quarantine inbox” link to Blacklist, or Classify (as Spam or Not Spam). Using the basic controls in the “Spam Quarantine Summary” email: When the spam filter determines that an email is possibly spam (medium score), it places the email in your quarantine inbox. You are sent a periodic (default is daily) email which shows your quarantined emails. This “Spam Quarantine Summary” email is only sent to you if new emails have been added to the quarantine since the last summary email. - Here is the format of a Spam Quarantine Summary email:
Emails in your quarantine are listed here.
The “Actions” column has these controls for each email: Deliver, Whitelist, Delete (See details below).
Use this link when you need more controls, such as Blacklist and to Classify as Spam or Not Spam. (See details on next page).
Basic Controls (done from this summary email):
Deliver: Delivers the selected email to your inbox NOTE: If you want to whitelist this sender, click Whitelist rather than Deliver. Once Deliver is clicked, the email is removed from your quarantine list.
Whitelist: Adds the selected email address to your whitelist, so all future emails from it will not be quarantined, and delivers this email to your inbox. NOTE: If you want to whitelist the domain (e.g., “hp.com” or “us.newsgram.hp.com”) and not the exact address shown, you must log in to control your whitelist from your Preferences (explained in a following section).
Delete: Removes the selected email from your quarantine list. (The email will be deleted in 14 days anyway, but clicking Delete will enable you to keep track of which messages you have already reviewed). Using the detailed controls in the “Quarantine Inbox”: When you need more controls on emails that are in your quarantine, go to your Quarantine Inbox. There are two ways to get there:
Method 1: Log in to your SEBTS Spamfilter account at http://spamfilter.sebts.edu using your normal intranet logon:
Use your normal network username and password
This link will automatically log you in to Method 2: Click the link at the bottom of your Spam Quarantine Summary email: the SEBTS Spamfilter. Note: The link will expire after changes are made to your quarantine inbox.
Either method will open a browser window and take you to your Quarantine Inbox:
These 6 buttons control all of the email items that are selected (checked).
These 3 “Actions” links control only the email on that line. 09/30/08 23:08:18 "Hewlett-Packard" Select some or all of the emails on your list, and click the button for the appropriate action as shown below: Click on an email item in the list to view its text Detailed Controls (done from your Quarantine Inbox): (graphics will not be shown). Deliver: Delivers the selected email(s) to your inbox. Whitelist: Adds the selected email address to your whitelist, so all future emails from it will not be quarantined, and delivers this email to your inbox. Whitelist/Not Spam: Performs the same functions as pressing both the “Whitelist” and “Classify as Not Spam” buttons Delete: Removes the selected email from your quarantine list. (The email will be deleted in 14 days anyway, but clicking Delete will enable you to keep track of which messages you have yet to review). Classify as Spam: Modifies the Spam Filter to make it more likely that similar messages will be marked as spam in the future. Classify as Not Spam: Modifies the Spam Filter to make it less likely that similar messages will be marked as spam in the future. The Deliver Whitelist Delete controls in the “Actions” column to the right of each message perform those functions, but only on the email item on that line. In this example, here’s the screen after the message was selected and the “Whitelist/Not Spam” button was pressed. Changing your Preferences – Whitelist/Blacklist: The Preference tab allows you to modify your Whitelist and Blacklist, adjust the frequency of the Spam Quarantine Summary emails, and view filter statistics. While logged in to your Quarantine Inbox, click the “Preferences” tab. You will see your “Whitelist/Blacklist” controls: From your Quarantine Inbox, click the “Preferences” tab to view your “Whitelist/Blacklist” controls. You will see any email addresses added when you previously clicked a Whitelist button from your summary email or Quarantine Inbox. Likewise, if you had previously clicked the Blacklist button from your Quarantine Inbox, you would see any email addresses you blocked (blacklisted). Manually Modifying Your Whitelist and Blacklist: You can use the Whitelist/Blacklist controls to manually add and remove email addresses or domains. In the example below, we will modify the Blacklist (the same method is used for changing the Whitelist with its control). There are two methods for this: Method 1 – Add one email / domain at a time: Manually editing your Blacklist: - Method 1 – Add one address at a time: Type the address or domain into the Email Address field of the Blacklist control and click the “Add” button. Use the trash can icons to delete entries. - Method 2 – Bulk Edit: - Click the “Bulk Edit” button - Add email addresses or domains to the list that pops up - Click the “Save Changes” button To delete any entries, select them and press the Delete key on your keyboard. Method 2 – Bulk Edit: NOTE: Entering just the domain (e.g., bzcommunity.com) will block ALL email addresses coming from that domain. Changing your Preferences – Quarantine Settings: To adjust the frequency of the Spam Quarantine Summary emails, from the “Preferences” window, click the “Quarantine Settings” tab: From your Quarantine Inbox, click the “Preferences” tab, then click the “Quarantine Settings” tab. Use the Notification Interval controls to select Daily or Weekly. (“Daily” is recommended; Selecting “Never” is not recommended). Your sebts.edu email address is the default for receiving the quarantine summary notices. When done, click “Save Changes.” Changing your Preferences – Spam Settings: The Spam Settings tab provides information on how many messages you have classified as “Spam” and “Not Spam” (using the controls in your Quarantine Inbox). It is not recommended that you use any of the Bayesian Database controls on this screen. If you have questions about this, contact the IT Department to discuss it. The “Spam Settings” tab will show you how many messages you have classified as “Spam” and “Not Spam” The Bayesian Database controls the spam filter based on the emails you classify. You should not need to use any of the database controls on this screen. Do not adjust these Contact the IT Department if you have Database controls questions about this. Did you know? More than 90% of emails coming into sebts.edu every day are spam! Thank the Lord for our spam filter. All TechTips are placed online as they are sent out! [Use these for best printing results] Go to the IT TechTips page on the Intranet ( http://intranet/Management/TechTips/ ) and download and print any tips you want. [If not formatted correctly in Webmail – Internet Explorer: Turn off reading pane Firefox: click “View As Web Page” link at top]. Bob Peckham, Special Assistant to the IT Director (x277) To make comments or suggestions for future TechTip topics, contact [email protected] .