What spam filtering does ORCS Web provide?
What is a Spam Score?
How is the Spam Score used?
What does Tagged mean?
What does Quarantine mean?
What does Block mean?
How do we get spam filtering for our entire domain enabled or disabled?
What is a Quarantine account?
When is my Quarantine account created?
What can users do with their Quarantine account?
How to I access my Quarantine account?
How do I disable or enable spam filtering for my email address?
Can I disable or enable Quarantine processing?
How do I manage my individual spam settings?
I lost my Quarantine password. How can I access my Quarantine account?
How can I change the password on my Quarantine Account?
How can I review the spam score on messages that are delivered?
Why are some messages that have a spam score higher than my Tag setting not Tagged?
What does a spam score of -1001.0 mean?
A message I was waiting for hasn't arrived. Could the spam filter be blocking the
delivery of this message?
What is Bayesian filtering?
How can I improve the quality of the spam filtering results?
How can I obtain the Outlook plug-in?
What other email client plug-ins are available?
Why do I have multiple Quarantine accounts and receive multiple Spam Quarantine
Summary reports?
What are the default Spam Score settings?
Does the user Quarantine mailbox storage count against the email storage we are
allocated by ORCS through our hosting plan?
Can messages in my Quarantine file be automatically deleted when older than a specified
number of days?
How can a user classify messages as spam or not spam, if the message was delivered,
either Tagged or not Tagged?
Is there an administrator's account for configuring domain settings?
Does deleting or delivering a message from the Quarantine account effect the spam
or not spam classification?
Is the quarantine account a standard POP3 email mailbox that can be downloaded to
a local user folder with an email client, for example Outlook Express?
If a message has been incorrectly classified as spam, can it be re-classified later?
Can I Whitelist or Blacklist specific email addresses or domains?
Is there a way to sort messages in the Quarantine, for example by date and time
received, or sender?
Can a group of messages in the Quarantine account be selected and classified as
spam, and then be deleted without having to re-select them?
Can the Quarantine view be modified for easier reviewing?
Are Quarantine accounts deleted when an email account or alias is deleted?
Are "Non-deliverable Reports" (NDRs) returned when the spam filter blocks the delivery
of a message?
Where can I find additional information about the spam firewall?
What is Sender Policy Framework(SPF)?
What spam filtering does ORCS Web provide?
ORCS Web provides a Barracuda Spam Firewall for spam filtering on client email accounts.
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What is a Spam Score?
The Spam Score is a number assigned to each message that is filtered by the spam
firewall. The score is established based on a number of spam filtering tests performed
on each message. The higher the Spam Score is on a message, the higher the likelihood
that the message is spam.
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How is the Spam Score used?
The spam score of each message is compared against predefined numerical settings
to determine the message processing on the spam firewall. Messages are either Delivered
unchanged, Tagged with a modified Subject and delivered, Quarantined (held on the
spam firewall), or Blocked based on this comparison.
There are predefined numerical settings on a sliding scale from 1 to 9, for each
special action - Tag, Quarantine, Block; a setting of 10 disables the special action
entirely. Messages are classified based on their spam scores versus these predefined
numerical settings. Default settings are pre-configured for each domain; users can
override their default settings to better meet their needs.
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What does Tagged mean?
Tagged means that the message is marked by modifying the message Subject Header
and then delivered right away; a prefix of [SPAM?] is added to the original Subject
Header of Tagged messages. Users can have their email client perform additional
filtering for them based on this information. E.G., have all Tagged messages moved
to a separate folder for later review.
The default Tag setting is 4; messages with a score of 4 or higher will be "Tagged",
unless the score is equal to or higher than the Quarantine or Block setting.
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What does Quarantine mean?
Quarantine means to hold the message in the user's Quarantine file on the spam firewall.
Users can review messages in their Quarantine file and decide to delete or deliver
from the Quarantine. They can also classify quarantined messages as spam or not
spam. This will "teach" the filter to improve filtering on future messages.
The default Quarantine setting is 7; messages with a score of 7 or higher are Quarantined,
unless the score is equal to or higher than the Block setting.
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What does Block mean?
Block means to block or delete the message. These messages are not delivered and
not available in the Quarantine.
The default Block setting is 10, which disables score Blocking. It is enabled with
a setting below 10. When Blocking is enabled, messages with scores equal to or higher
than the setting are Blocked (deleted).
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How do we get spam filtering for our entire domain enabled or disabled?
The Webteam will enable or disable spam filtering upon request of an authorized
account contact.
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What is a Quarantine account?
A Quarantine account is a file on the spam firewall that holds all Quarantined messages
for a user; one account is created for each email address. Users can access their
Quarantine account via the web interface at
http://spam.orcsweb.com
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When is my Quarantine account created?
Quarantine accounts are created for each email address when the first email message
for the address is Quarantined. When the account is created an email message is
sent to the account owner (the intended recipient of the Quarantined message) with
the required access information.
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What can users do with their Quarantine account?
Users can review their Quarantined messages to confirm that all are actually spam
or if any legitimate messages have been Quarantined. Legitimate messages in their
Quarantine can be marked as not spam and delivered; spam messages can be marked
as spam and deleted. Users can also reset their Quarantine account password and
adjust their personal spam filtering preferences.
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How to I access my Quarantine account?
You can access your Quarantine account at
http://spam.orcsweb.com using your email address for the
Username, and the assigned password. The assigned password is provided when the
Quarantine account is created.
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How do I disable or enable spam filtering for my email address?
Spam filtering for a specific email address can be disabled or enabled by the user
with their Quarantine account. Select the "Preferences" tab at the top of the page
and then select the "Spam Filter Enable/Disable" tab. To disable, select "No" and
then click on "Save Changes"; to enable, select "Yes" and then click on "Save Changes".
Change confirmation will be displayed in red.
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Can I disable or enable Quarantine processing?
The Quarantine process can be disabled or enabled by each user. While users can
disable Quarantine processing, it is not recommended for normal processing. All
messages that would have been held in the Quarantine file are delivered with the
message Subject modified, which defeats the purpose of the spam filter. However,
it can be a good temporary approach to test specific Quarantine score settings.
Select the "Preferences" tab at the top of the page and then select the "Quarantine
Enable/Disable" tab from the user's Quarantine account. To disable, select "No"
and then click on "Save Changes"; to enable, select "Yes" and then click on "Save
Changes". Change confirmation will be displayed in red.
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How do I manage my individual spam settings?
Select the "Preferences" tab at the top of the page and then select the "Spam Scoring
Levels" tab from the user's Quarantine account. First disable or enable System Defaults,
select "No" to disable or "Yes" to enable System Defaults, and then click on "Save
Changes". Change confirmation will be displayed in red.
Personal settings can be adjusted if the System Defaults is set to "No". Set personal
score settings below when not using the Defaults, and "Save Changes". Note that
the personal settings work differently than might be expected; the Personal settings
won't "Save" unless the System Defaults are disabled.
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I lost my Quarantine password. How can I access my Quarantine account?
Go to
http://spam.orcsweb.com
and enter your email address in the Username field, then click on "Create New Password".
You will receive an email message with your new password.
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How can I change the password on my Quarantine Account?
Select the "Preferences" tab at the top of the page in your user's Quarantine account.
The default tab is a "Security" tab where you can change your password.
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How can I review the spam score on messages that are delivered?
The message spam score is in the message header. You can view the message header
with your email client; E.G., in Outlook Express view the message Properties, Details
tab. The spam score is shown in the "X-Barracuda-Spam-Score:" header.
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Why are some messages that have a spam score higher than my Tag setting not Tagged?
This can occur due to a known problem in some email clients that occasionally displays
the wrong Subject header. You can view the message headers to see that the original
Subject header and the modified Subject header are both listed.
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What does a spam score of -1001.0 mean?
The message bypassed spam scanning; this can occur if the message is particularly
large, for example.
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A message I was waiting for hasn't arrived. Could the spam filter be blocking the
delivery of this message?
While this is possible, it is very unlikely using the default settings.
Click here for more
on default settings. You should first check your Quarantine file at
http://spam.orcsweb.comto verify that the message wasn't
Quarantined. If you suspect that legitimate messages are being blocked, set your
"Block" score setting to 10 to disable spam score Blocking.
Note: Certain conditions cause messages to be considered definitely spam and Blocked,
even with the Block setting set to 10 (Blocking Off). If you still suspect that
legitimate messages are being blocked with Blocking Off, you can disable spam filtering
for your account completely and have the sender resend the message.
ORCS Web takes a conservative approach to spam filtering. We would rather have a
little spam get through than have legitimate messages blocked. We anticipate virtually
no legitimate email will be blocked with our default settings. In our experience
a few spam messages get delivered that are not Tagged, but no legitimate messages
have been blocked.
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What is Bayesian filtering?
Bayesian has to do with a statistical probability theorem developed by Thomas Bayes,
which involves prior knowledge and accumulated experience. In regard to spam filtering,
messages are identified as either spam or not spam over a period of time, and this
accumulated history is used to classify new messages as spam or not spam.
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How can I improve the quality of the spam filtering results?
Individual spam patterns vary, so users can "train" the spam firewall with what
they consider either spam or not spam by identifying specific messages as either
spam or not spam. This "training" is done in the user's Quarantine account or with
the Outlook plug-in. The Quarantine account can only be used to train the firewall
about messages that were Quarantined originally; the Outlook plug-in is the only
way for users to train on other messages.
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How can I obtain the Outlook plug-in?
This plug-in may be downloaded from the link at the bottom of the Quarantine login
page at
http://spam.orcsweb.com
- "Get Mail Client Plugins Here".
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What other email client plug-ins are available?
The vendor has a plug-in for Lotus Notes 6.5 that one of their customers developed;
we will provide a copy upon request. Plugins for other email clients are planned
for future development.
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Why do I have multiple Quarantine accounts and receive multiple Spam Quarantine Summary
reports?
Each email address is unique to the spam firewall. If you currently receive email
for various aliases, each one will be a separate Quarantine account in the spam
firewall. A future enhancement is under development that will treat iMail host aliases
consistent with the iMail view and minimize the extra Quarantine accounts. This
feature is expected to be available this fall.
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What are the default Spam Score settings?
Tag = 4
Quarantine = 7
Block = 10
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Does the user Quarantine mailbox storage count against the email storage we are allocated
by ORCS through our hosting plan?
No, the Quarantine is on a separate server and is not included in your email storage
allotment.
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Can messages in my Quarantine file be automatically deleted when older than a specified
number of days?
This feature is not currently available; however it is on our list of enhancement
requests.
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How can a user classify messages as spam or not spam, if the message was delivered,
either Tagged or not Tagged?
Messages can easily be classified as spam or not spam using the plug-in for Outlook.
There is no way to do this currently with other email clients unless the message
is in Quarantine, in which case the message can be classified by using the Quarantine
account.
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Is there an administrator's account for configuring domain settings?
The Webteam manages all domain specific settings for clients. The individual users
can enable or disable filtering and adjust their individual settings however.
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Does deleting or delivering a message from the Quarantine account effect the spam
or not spam classification?
Deleting or delivering a message from Quarantine does not effect the message's classification.
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Is the quarantine account a standard POP3 email mailbox that can be downloaded to
a local user folder with an email client, for example Outlook Express?
The quarantine account is not a standard POP3 mailbox; the Quarantine account and
Quarantined messages can only be managed via the spam filter web page. The only
way to download the messages held in Quarantine is to "deliver" them, which forwards
them to the POP3 account on the mail server.
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If a message has been incorrectly classified as spam, can it be re-classified later?
There is no "undo". The message can be classified again if it has not been deleted.
However an isolated error in classification will not have a significant impact on
future classifications.
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What is the impact of one user classifying a message as spam on the classification
of other user's messages?
Marking individual messages as either spam or not spam, trains the filter to improve
the filtering of future messages. A Bayesian database is maintained for each individual
email account, therefore individual training has no impact on the filtering for
other users.
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Can I Whitelist or Blacklist specific email addresses or domains?
Yes, both Whitelist and Blacklist options are available to each user within their
Quarantine account. Select the "Preferences" tab, then select the "Whitelist/Blacklist"
tab and enter domains and/or email addresses there.
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Is there a way to sort messages in the Quarantine, for example by date and time received,
or sender?
Currently there is no way to sort the messages in Quarantine, however, it is on
our list of enhancement requests.
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Can a group of messages in the Quarantine account be selected and classified as spam,
and then be deleted without having to re-select them?
This cannot be done; classifying the selected messages as spam or not spam "de-selects"
them.
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Can the Quarantine view be modified for easier reviewing?
There is currently only one view of Quarantined messages. The expectation is that
users will rarely check their Quarantine once they have gained confidence in the
filtering process through experience.
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Are Quarantine accounts deleted when an email account or alias is deleted?
There is no automatic process in place at this time to automatically remove these
"dead" Quarantine accounts. But the existence of "dead" Quarantine accounts will
not impact clients and can be safely ignored.
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Are "Non-deliverable Reports" (NDRs) returned when the spam filter blocks the delivery
of a message?
The spam firewall is configured to not send back an NDR in response to Blocked messages.
Most Blocked messages are blocked as a result of the vendor maintained Blacklist,
and are Blocked during the SMTP conversation; the message is not accepted so no
NDR should be sent by the spam filter. The originator may still receive an NDR from
the sending mail server but not from the spam firewall.
The spam firewall does not send an NDR in response to messages that are blocked
because most spam is "from" a forged sender; sending an NDR message in response
to what is blocked ends up "spamming" the forged sender's email address. The sender
didn't actually send the message initially, but would end up receiving the NDR.
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Where can I find additional information about the spam firewall?
http://barracudanetworks.com/files/FAQs_1.11.doc
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What is Sender Policy Framework (SPF)?
Sender Policy Framework (SPF) is an email protocol or standard that was developed
to help prevent sender address forgery. Most spam messages “spoof” the Mail From
address today; I.E., they use fake sender addresses. If your email address has ever
been spoofed by a spammer, you have probably had to deal with numerous complaints
about the spam itself, and the numerous confusing bounce messages that resulted.
Even though you had nothing to do with sending the original spam you had to deal
with the fallout because of the spoofed address.
SPF provides a mechanism for domain owners to publish the identity of mail servers
used to send legitimate email for their domain. SPF utilizes DNS (Domain Name Service)
to publish this identity information. Receiving mail servers can then use this information
to determine if a message originated from a mail server identified by the domain
owner. If it came from a mail server identified by the domain owner, it is probably
legitimate. And if not, there is a high likelihood that the message is spam.
There are other solutions similar to SPF, such as the Microsoft protocol called
Sender ID. However, SPF is currently the most commonly used. For additional details
regarding SPF and how to deploy SPF for your domain, see
http://www.openspf.org. Also, there are some online SPF validation tools
available here;
http://new.openspf.org/Tools.
Lastly, a good tool to use to look up your SPF data is available here;
http://dnsreport.com. Enter the domain name you want to check and click
on “DNS Report”; the SPF data for the domain is displayed at the bottom of the “Mail”
section of the page.
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