SPAM USER GUIDE
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
Complete and up-to-date Spam User Manual.
GETTING STARTED
Logging into the system
You can log into your spam management page by going to https://maxmail.gfi.com/ in your web browser. Your username will be your email address, and your password will either be your windows password or one given to you by your administrator.
Your Home Page
From this page, you can quickly jump to your most important spam management tasks with just one click, see an overview of your message volume and access your quarantined and queued messages.
MANAGE YOUR ACCOUNT
Account Settings
Enter the correct timezone so message and digest delivery times are converted to your local time.
Change Your Password
This will only affect your MailProtection login, and not your actual email password. If you use the same password to log onto your computer and/or check your email, you might not be able to change your password through this screen (you would need to contact your administrator).
JUNK MAIL DIGESTS
Junk Mail Digests give you a chance to inspect the mail we’ve quarantined as spam to reclaim any messages that were actually legitimate. Access the Digest settings by clicking “Preferences” (1), and then “Digests and Notifications” (2).
Digest Scheduling
You can configure the days of the week and the address to which your digest is delivered (unless you are instructed to do otherwise, it is best to keep it as the default address). “Advanced Settings “ (3) will allow you to configure the approximate times of day (up to 3) the digests are delivered.
Using Your Digest
The digest will arrive in your email as a list of probable and definite spam. You can see the sender (1), and click Release(2) to deliver the message to your inbox, removing it from quarantine. You will be redirected to a success page and given the option to whitelist all messages from that sender.
MESSAGING FEATURES
In the event your mail server goes down, we can provide you with a temporary means email capabilities until your service is restored.
Your Message Queue
You can view and send email through our interface by clicking “Messages” (1) at the top of the page, and then “Message Queue” (2) on the navigation bar. Any mail that was unable to reach your server is viewable here. Click on a message (3) to view it.
View Queued Messages
You will be able to read, reply to and forward your queued email with our interface.
WHITELISTING
When used judiciously, whitelisting is a valuable tool in keeping your mail flowing. When configured incorrectly, it can be an open door for spam. Following these guidelines will help you achieve desired results.
Whitelist by “From” Address
Click: “Preferences”(1) , and then “Whitelist”(2).
Enter addresses, one per line, which you would like to have bypass spam filtering. All whitelisted senders will be delivered regardless of content, with the exception of viruses.
IMPORTANT: DO NOT WHITELIST YOUR OWN ADDRESS OR DOMAIN, AS THIS WILL CAUSE A LARGE AMOUNT OF SPAM TO REACH YOU.
Acceptable formats include:
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[email protected] - (all mail from this address will be allowed through)
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domain.com - (all mail from all users from this domain will be allowed through)
Suggestions:
-
Try not to pre-populate the whitelist with a large number of domains, but rather use it as a tool to correct false positives.
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Large, well-known domains shouldn’t be whitelisted at the domain level (Microsoft.com, aol.com, etc), but rather at the individual address level you know and trust.
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Well-known addresses ([email protected], etc) are candidates for spoofing as well. The more widely-known the address is, the more caution you should use when deciding whether or not to whitelist.
Whitelist by "To" Address
This tool is usually used to allow all messages through that are sent to you via a mailing list.
IMPORTANT: DO NOT WHITELIST YOUR OWN OR ANY OTHER ADDRESS WITHIN YOUR
AS THIS WILL CAUSE A LARGE AMOUNT OF REACH YOU.
Whitelist by Subject (3)
This tool will allow you to have selected messages bypass filtering, regardless of sender, based upon the subject line. Add entries based upon:
Exact match
Begins with
Ends With
Contains (recommended)
BLACKLISTING
Blacklisting is best used to combat the messages that you know you will never want, although they might not be spam to everyone.
Blacklist by “From” Address
Click: “Preferences”(1) and then “Blacklist”(2). Enter addresses, one per line, which you would like to automatically block without exception.
IMPORTANT: DO NOT BLACKLIST YOUR OWN ADDRESS OR DOMAIN, AS THERE ARE CERTAIN TIMES WHEN LEGITIMATE MAIL FROM THESE ADDRESSES ARRIVES EXTERNALLY.
Acceptable formats include:
-
[email protected] - (all mail from this address will be blocked)
-
domain.com - (all mail from all users from this domain will be blocked)
Suggestions:
-
Try not to pre-populate the blacklist with a large number of domains, but rather use it as a tool to block recurring spam sources.
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Marketing emails you may have inadvertently opted into are a good blacklisting candidate, although you also have the option of clicking “unsubscribe” if the sender seems reputable. (ex: retail store marketing newsletter)
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Blacklisting for each piece of spam that reaches you is unnecessary and ineffective, as most spammers don’t use the same address repeatedly.
Blacklist by Subject (3)
This tool will allow you to have selected messages automatically classified as spam by the subject line. Add entries based upon:
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Exact match
-
Begins with
-
Ends With
-
Contains (recommended)
These “Blacklisted by Subject” entries will be visible in your digests and quarantine (but not your inbox) unless you have “Hide Egregious Spam” enabled, as we have to accept the message to analyze the subject.
SPAM SETTINGS
You can change the aggressiveness and handling of your spam filtering at any time by selecting the “Preferences”(1) icon at the top of the screen and then selecting “Spam handling”(2) via the navigation bar.
Spam Aggressiveness
We recommend starting with a setting of "High". From there, you can either move up to “Very High" if you are seeing spam pass through the filters, or down to “Medium” if you encounter a large number of false positives.
Advanced Settings (3)
Here you can choose to hide high-scoring (egregious) spam and blacklisted messages from being displayed in your digests and quarantine, making it easier to scan for misclassified mail. We recommend not enabling this option until you are confident you have not accidentally misconfigured your blacklist.
WE DO NOT RECOMMEND CHANGING THE SETTINGS ON THE “HANDLING OPTIONS” SIDEBAR LINK FROM THE ADMINISTRATOR-CONFIGURED DEFAULTS.
