UNO E-Mail Spam Filter

The University of New Orleans has recently installed new spam filtering hardware and software on the campus mail system. This filter was activated September 7, 2004. UCC feels it is important for you to know how it will work, what you can expect, and what tools will be available to manage your mail before we start the process of turning it on.

This spam filter will be phased in over a three week period utilizing increasing levels of filtering. During this phase, the system will "learn" what level of filtering is acceptable.

The system identifies spam by assigning each piece of mail a spam confidence level score (SCL) and directing it to a folder in your mailbox based on the score.

Each user, regardless of their primary mail client (Outlook, Edudora, Netscape), will have access to tools to create "safe sender lists" or "blocked sender lists" associated with your mailbox. These local settings take priority over any other system settings.

There are two thresholds based on the spam confidence level (SCL) assigned to an incoming message. If the SCL is greater than or equal to the higher threshold, the message is classified as spam and is automatically moved to a system archive (rather than sent to your Inbox). Such a message will not be a false positive; i.e., an acceptable mail inaccurately classified as spam. Hence, you will not see such messages in your mailbox. If the SCL assigned to a message is between the upper threshold and the lower one, the message is questionable and is automatically moved to a folder named Junk E-mail. Messages that are less than or equal to the lower threshold will be moved to your Inbox.

How you access and view this mail depends on how you connect to the mail server.

There are three main groups of users who use UNO Mail:

• Outlook 2003 users who are on campus and connect directly to the server in Exchange mode.
• Outlook Web Access users who use OWA from either on-campus or off-campus.

• Users who connect via POP and IMAP using a variety of clients: Outlook, Outlook Express, Eudora, Netscape, from a variety of locations, both on and off campus.

However, each user must indicate that he/she does want the effect of the filtering. This can be done either in Outlook (v2003+) or in OWA. Activating the filtering is described as item 8 of the Outlook section and in item 2 of the OWA section, both later on this page. Following is a discussion of the experience each can expect and the tools available to manage their local controls:

Group #1 Outlook 2003 users on campus directly connected to Exchange.

Mail coming in with a low SCL score will go directly to the Inbox folder. Other mail with a higher SCL score will go to the Junk E-Mail folder. Group 1 users will see the Junk E-Mail folder in their Outlook Folders. Any message in Junk E-Mail can be read or moved. You can also right-click on any message and choose any of the Junk E-Mail filter options from the menu displayed. Once mail from a user is marked as a safe sender, mail from that user will no longer go to the Junk E-Mail folder but goes directly to your Inbox folder. Blocked senders are handled the same. For details, see "Managing junk e-mail through Outlook (v 2003 or later)" later on this page. Settings you make using Outlook will also be in effect when you use OWA.

Group #2 Outlook Web Access users.

Mail coming in with a low SCL score will go directly to the inbox folder. Other mail with a higher SCL score will go to the Junk E-Mail folder. Group #2 users will also see the Junk E-Mail folder in OWA. Users can right click on messages in the Junk E-Mail folder to set local safe sender lists, as well as blocked sender lists in the same way that Group 1 users do. For details, see "Managing junk e-mail though OWA" later on this page. Settings you make using OWA will also be in effect when you use Outlook.

Group #3 – All Other Users

Users who connect via POP and IMAP using a variety of clients: Outlook 2002 and below, Outlook Express, Eudora, Netscape, from a variety of locations, both on and off campus.

Pop users will have the same benefit of spam filtering for their mail. Commercial ISPs that implement spam solutions for POP users provide a web interface for users to view mail that is marked and trapped as spam. At UNO we have a web based mail management interface available to all users that provides the same functionality. It is called Outlook Web Access and is available from the UNO home page. Group #3 users have the same controls available as Group 1 and Group 2 users via OWA.

POP users must clean out the Junk E-mail folder that resides on the server, or they will eventually exhaust their mail quota. While in OWA, POP users can right-click on any message whether it is in the Junk E-Mail folder or in the Inbox, select a Junk E-Mail filter option from the menu and mark a sender as safe or that you want to block the email from that user. Once your have marked a user as a safe sender, mail from that user will no longer go to the Junk E-Mail folder. Marking a sender as a blocked sender will block messages from that sender. These local settings take priority over any system settings.

During this “ramp up” phase – which will last about three weeks – we will be slowly “turning up the heat” on spam. During this phase and following, each user will have the ability to “tune” their own mailbox settings as we tune the server. As we increase the number of messages marked as spam, users may have to make small adjustments from time to time by making modifications in their Safe Sender and Blocked Sender lists.

If you have questions please contact the Help Desk at 280-HELP (4357) or helpdesk@uno.edu.

Managing junk e-mail though Outlook (version 2003 or later)

1. Activate Outlook (v 2003 or later).

2. In the list of messages, right-click an un-highlighted message and a pop-up menu will appear.

3. Select "Junk E-mail" which will make the Junk E-mail options menu appear.

4. Click the "Add Sender to Blocked Senders List" option if the highlighted message was really a junk message. The message will be deleted automatically.

5. Click the "Add Sender to Safe Senders List" option if the highlighted message was not a junk message.

6. Click the "Add Sender's Domain to Save Senders List" options if the highlighted message was not a junk message and you consider acceptable any sender from that same domain.

7. Click the "Mark as Not Junk" option if the highlighted message in the Junk E-mail folder should be considered acceptable. As a consequence, subsequent messages from that sender will go to your Inbox rather than to your Junk E-mail folder.

8. Click the "Junk E-mail options" selection if you want to review or modify the members of the Safe Senders, Safe Recipients, and Blocked Senders lists. The Junk E-mail Options window will appear.

The Options tab allows you to turn on or turn off the system spam filtering. To turn on the system filtering, it is necessary to UN-select the first item The wording of this option pertains to an older form of spam filtering that was provided through just Outlook and not through the system wide service. [Note that the subsequent three options have no effect on the system-wide spam filtering service.]

The Safe Senders tab allows you to add a member to and or remove a member from the Safe Senders list. Clicking the "Add" button will add the sender of the currently highlighted messages to the Save Senders list. To remove a member from the list, highlight the undesirable sender in the currently visible list and click the Remove button.

The Safe Recipients tab allows you to indicate safe recipients of your e-mail messages. Clicking the "Add" button adds the currently highlighted message to the list. To remove an item from the list, highlight the item in the currently visible list and click the "Remove" button.

The Blocked Senders tab allows you to indicate that a message from a specified sender that will henceforth be considered junk mail. Click the "Add" button to add the sender's address of the highlighted message to the Blocked Senders list. To remove an item form the list, highlight the sender's address from the currently visible list and click the Remove button.

Managing junk e-mail through OWA

1. Log onto OWA.

2. In order for spam filtering to provide the desired safeguards, it must be turned on. In the opening window of OWA, select the Options button at the bottom of the OWA folder list. In the Options window, scroll down to the "Privacy and Junk E-mail Prevention" section.

To activate the system spam filtering, check the first item "Filter Junk E-mail". With this item checked, incoming messages that have a Spam Confidence Level (or SCL) between the two thresholds will be sent to your Junk E-mail folder; those messages with a SCL below the lower threshold will be sent to your Inbox. Un-checking this item will turn off the filtering so that all messages will be sent to your Inbox,

3. In the list of messages, right-click an un-highlighted message and a pop-up menu will appear.

4. Select the "Add Sender to Safe Senders list" option and the sender of the current message will be added to
   the Safe Sender list.

5. Select the "Add Sender to Blocked Senders List" and the sender of the current message will be added to the
   Blocked Senders list. The message will be deleted automatically.

Click the "Manage Junk E-mail lists" button so that the "Manage Junk E-mail Lists--Web Page dialog" window will appear.

The "View or modify list" choice provides a drop-down menu from which to select either the Safe Senders list, the Safe Recipients list, or the Blocked Senders list.

Selecting the Safe senders list allows you to add or remove a list item. Clicking the Add button will add the sender of the original message to the list. Selecting an item of the now visible list and clicking the Remove button will remove the item from the list.

Selecting the Safe Recipients list will allow you to add or remove a list item. Clicking the Add button will add the sender of the original message to the list. Addresses or domains of this list will not be construed as junk mail. Selecting an item of the currently visible list and clicking the Remove button will delete the item from the list.

Selecting the Blocked Senders list allows you to add or remove a list item. Clicking the Add button will add the sender of the original message to the list, blocking any further messages from that sender. Selecting an item of the now visible list and clicking the Remove button will remove the item from the list so that subsequent messages from that sender will be sent to your Inbox.

Automatic deletion of old Junk E-mail messages

Be aware that messages in the Junk E-mail folder that are at least 60 days old will be automatically deleted. Every Monday evening, all messages in the Junk E-mail folder will be reviewed for this automatic deletion. If a message is at least 60 days old, it will be deleted. This automatic deletion process applies only to messages in the Junk E-mail folder. However, the process does apply to all mailboxes: faculty, staff, and students.

Be advised that if you receive so much junk messages so as to exhaust your e-mail quota, you will be prevented from sending and receiving additional messages until your usage is below quota limits. So if you receive so many junk messages today to exhaust your quota and you do not monitor and delete junk messages, you will not be able to send or receive new messages until next Monday evening, whether those incoming messages are junk are not. Each person is responsible for monitoring his/her own e-mail account.

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