A new antispam system called SpamAssassin has been implemented for Cuesta College. Whereas the old filter relied on a Blocked Phrase List (BPL), the new system incorporates multiple technologies including Blacklists and Bayesian filtering.
SpamAssassin automatically scans all incoming email. If a message appears to be spam, the system will mark it as such. You can make a rule in your email program to find this mark in an email and deal with the spam automatically.
If you do nothing, no spam will be removed from your inbox. You need to take action in order to remove the spam from your inbox.
If you would like to remove spam from your inbox, please follow the steps below.
Windows Users:
1. Review the FAQ below.
2. Read the instructions for Outlook 2003 (or click here for instructions for Outlook 2000).
Mac OS 9.x Users:
Submit a work order at http://support.cuesta.edu for assistance in creating your spam rule.
Mac OS X Users:
1. Review the FAQ below.
2. Read the instructions.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Why is our spam filtering system
changing?
We are switching to SpamAssassin because of it's greatly improved
ability to catch spam. SpamAssassin is well supported and in use by many
other colleges and businesses.
How does it work?
SpamAssassin uses sophisticated techniques including header analysis, rule
sets, DNS blacklists, collaborative spam-tracking databases, and Bayesian
algorithms
to help identify spam.
The system will mark suspected spam email so that you can set a rule to
automatically remove it from your inbox.
Why should I automatically remove
spam from my inbox?
The objective of this system is to reduce the amount of spam that you have
to deal with.
Do I have to set this up?
No, you only need to do this if you want to remove spam from your inbox.
This is available to all Cuesta email accounts, but it is not required.
Why do I have to make a rule in my email
program?
The server only marks spam messages. It does not delete any spam email.
You have to take action to have the suspected spam moved from your inbox
automatically
Can I just delete the email that is marked as spam?
You can, but we don’t recommend it. The system COULD
incorrectly mark legitimate email as spam. By moving the
suspected email to a folder called “spam” you can then review the email and
delete the spam on a regular basis.
Where will the spam go?
We recommend that you set a rule so that it will automatically be moved to a
folder called “spam”
Can I help improve
systems ability to identify spam?
You can help improve the accuracy of the
system by reporting spam
that the system doesn’t correctly mark.
How do I report spam?
Simply compose a new email addressed to
spam@cuesta.edu then click and drag spam messages from your mailbox onto
the new message. Once you have dragged all of the messages you want to
report as spam, put the word SPAM in the subject line and send the message.
If you send spam messages to
Computer Services this way, you will not have to open each message
and forward it.
How well will
this system work in identifying spam?
The effectiveness will vary. During pilot testing, we found a much higher
effectiveness level than that of our previous system. We cannot guarantee
all spam will be caught or that legitimate email will never be incorrectly
identified as spam. The new system will get updates as they become
available.
What if a message gets caught that is not
spam?
Compose a new email addressed to
notspam@cuesta.edu then click and drag non-spam messages from your
mailbox onto the new message. Once you have dragged all of the messages you
want to report, put NOT SPAM in the subject line and send the message.
How do I drag messages from my mailbox into a
new email?
See this
document.
