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About this service
Spam filters are provided on K-State's central e-mail system as a service for the university community.
Spam, also known as unsolicited bulk/commercial e-mail, is the number one e-mail complaint on campus. It
consumes time and resources, can be a security risk, and is illegal in some cases.
K-State uses SpamAssassin software to identify and score
all e-mail sent to central @k-state.edu and @ksu.edu addresses.
This process is called "tagging" (see the section How spam tagging works).
Incoming e-mail tagged as spam is labeled and moved to the individual's Junk mail folder (IMAP).
Junk folders are checked daily, and messages over 14 days old are automatically deleted.
What K-Staters need to do
No spam filter is perfect, so you should do these:
- Check your Junk folder on a regular basis so you don't lose legitimate e-mail.
- Set your spam-filtering options to what work best for you. (Sign in to your eProfile
and in the E-mail section, select the spam filtering "change" option.)
- Read the Tips on handling spam below.
Spam-filtering options
K-Staters are assigned default spam-filter settings, which they can change via their eProfile page:
- Disable spam filtering. By default, spam filtering is turned on for all K-Staters.
- Sensitivity. Adjust the scoring sensitivity to control what is considered spam.
- Spam destination folder. Specify the folder your spam gets moved into (default is "Junk").
- Subject change. Personalize the Subject line of e-mail marked as spam.
- Accepted languages. Select the languages you want to receive (default is "all").
- Custom tagging rules. Accept/reject specific e-mail addresses.
Tips on handling spam
Use these suggestions to deal with spam fast:
- Use the Delete key. Much of the spam can be identified by a
quick look at the subject, so just delete it and don't worry about it.
Many e-mail programs have ways to delete e-mail without viewing the message.
- Never buy from, or do business with, anyone who uses
spam to advertise. Don't encourage spam as a marketing tool.
- Don't reply to spam, not even to complain. Return addresses
are usually bogus or forged. If your reply does get through, it verifies
your e-mail address is active -- and spammers will keep you on their lists.
- Don't try to get removed from a spam mailing list. Most of
the "how to get removed" claims at the bottom of a spam message are false and can make matters worse.
- Think twice before putting your e-mail address on any Internet
webform, survey, or webpage. This will minimize your exposure to
spammer tools that harvest e-mail addresses from such places. (The sites listed
at the bottom of this page have more tips on hiding your e-mail address from harvesters.)
- Get a free e-mail account elsewhere and use it for webforms and subscriptions.
Services like Yahoo and Hotmail provide free e-mail accounts that can be listed
on forms instead of your K-State e-mail address.
- Use e-mail filtering software. Many newer e-mail programs
have spam-filtering functions. Use these at your own risk, though.
You'll need a way to identify legitimate messages that the software may falsely identify as spam.
Should I report spam?
K-State doesn't have the resources to handle individual spam reports nor to track down
spammers around the world. However, it is important to report spam that originates at K-State.
Do your research first, as spammers typically falsify the "From" address and other headers
to look like spam is from a K-State address. See InfoTech Tuesday's
What should I do with spam from a K-State e-mail address?
If you want to join the crusade against spam,
or have received spam that you believe is fraudulent or otherwise unlawful, use the websites at the bottom of this page
to report spam to the appropriate federal and state agencies. Beware, though, that this
will take a lot of your time -- much more than simply deleting the spam and moving on.
How spam tagging works
"Spam tagging" is a process by which K-State's spam-filtering software checks for basic spam characteristics
and labels e-mail above a certain level as "spam". It works by assigning a score for different parts of your
e-mail. Each message is graded and tagged through the scanning of information
included in the message's header and body text. As an e-mail message proceeds
through each check, the system keeps a running total of the message's "spam score".
On completion of the check, a header is added to the message that identifies
the version of spam checker that was used, and the level and status of the score accumulated.
Depending on the level of sensitity set in your spam configuration, the filter then determines
if the score is high enough to move the message to your Junk folder. A few of the checks used
to identify a message as spam include:
- Header analysis: Filters check for a number of tricks used to mask spammers'
identities and/or fool you into thinking it is valid mail or that you subscribed elsewhere.
- Text analysis: Spam e-mails often have characteristic styles, topics, disclaimers, and "remove me" phrases.
- Blacklists: K-State's spam-tagging service supports many useful
existing blacklists, such as mail-abuse.com,
www.surbl.org, and others.
- Distributed hash databases:
Vipul's Razor, Pyzor, and
DCC are collaborative spam-tracking databases that
work by taking a signature of spam messages. Since spam typically
operates by sending an identical message to hundreds of people, these
databases short-circuit this by allowing the first person to receive a spam
to add it to the database -- at which point everyone else will automatically block it.
See the Apache SpamAssassin Project
for the tests that K-State uses to grade your e-mail.
For more information
If you have other questions about spam, contact the IT Help Desk
at 785-532-7722, or e-mail helpdesk@k-state.edu.
More about spam filtering is on these sites:
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