New filter zaps e-mail spam

New filter zaps e-mail spamNovember 17, 2003Judy Holmesjlholmes@syr.edu

During its first full day of operation on Nov. 12, Brightmail-the University’s spam filtering software-removed 225,533 spam messages, or 63 percent of the total messages sent that day through SU’s new e-mail server, which was installed by Computing and Media Services on Nov. 9. The percentage of spam mail that was detected and deleted is similar to that reported by other universities using spam-filtering software.

“The new mail server is functioning well in filtering out both spam and viruses,” says Ben Ware, CIO and vice president of research and computing. “I am hopeful that our e-mail services are now up to the standard we expect. I appreciate everyone’s patience through these problems and the required upgrade.”

Users should note that not all spam is removed because Brightmail only removes messages that have been certified as spam after rigorous examination. About 10 percent of spam messages will continue to show up in clients’ inboxes.

Also, only mail that is routed through the CMS mailbox.syr.edu server passes through the spam and virus filters. E-mail that is set up to route messages directly to another mail server in specific colleges or departments will not receive the benefit of the virus and spam filtering system CMS has in place. CMS technicians are willing to work with individual departments or clients to arrange for e-mail routing through the mailbox.syr.edu server. For more information, e-mail consult@syr.edu or call 443-2677.