IS Connection

New Resource Offered for Spam Management

Info Systems is pleased to announce that a new anti-spam system has been implemented for all email received by the EMU email servers. The product is called Pure Message. We have purchased it from Sophos, the same vendor that we use for anti-virus protection on all EMU servers and desktop computers. The new system became operational on Tuesday morning, August 24, 2004.

EMU email users do not have to do anything special to utilize the new system. Every incoming email message will be scanned by the Pure Message process and any messages that are judged to be spam will be marked with the designation [PMX:#####] in the SUBJECT line of the email message. The extent to which it is judged to be spam will be reflected in the number of “#” characters in the designation. A message that is most likely to be spam will have five “#” characters in the designation text. A message that is likely spam, but barely so will have just one “#” character. A complex set of tests is used by Pure Message to evaluate email messages and permits it to develop a “spam score” which is then reflected in the number of “#” characters in the SUBJECT line.

Users can filter their mail messages on the basis of the “PMX:” designation to separate the probable spam from ordinary email. Our FAQ section on our web site includes the question “How do I filter my spam”. If you do filter you messages for spam we urge you to check your "junk folder" regularly to determine if any false positives are being created for your mail.

Info Systems purchased Pure Message after testing it for several weeks. It was found to more reliably identify probable spam than our previous product, Spam Assassin. It also has a more extensive set of administrative tools that, as we become more familiar with the system, we will be able to utilize to do an even better job of identifying and managing spam email messages.

If you have questions about Pure Message or anything else related to spam management, please don’t hesitate to contact the Info Systems Helpdesk (x4357, 540-432-4357 or helpdesk@emu.edu).

Additional resources about spam:

From Sophos: Best practice advice for minimizing exposure to spam
From IS FAQ: What is spam? How do I stop it?