Spam Filtering

Overview
IR&C uses Tumbleweed Mailgate to filter all UCOP incoming e-mail; classify each message as "legit," junk, or bulk; and hold all e-mail messages in a folder called the spam report. With Tumbleweed, UCOP e-mail customers are assured that they will not miss any legitimate e-mail messages, provided they manage their spam report. Customers manage how Tumbleweed classifies their e-mail by reviewing the spam report and, if the Tumbleweed categorization was incorrect, reclassifying messages or senders. Because Tumbleweed is very accurate at detecting spam, most customers will spend very little time managing the spam report.

Your Role in Managing the Spam Report
Read this section for an overview of how to manage the spam report. Detailed steps and screenshot illustrations are provided in the instruction manual. The Best Practices document offers pointers on ways to avoid getting spam. Key points about message classification, and a summary of basic steps for report management, are provided here as well.

• Spam Management Instruction Manual
• Best Practices for Deterring Spam
• Key Points about Message Classification
• Basic Steps for Report Management

Reviewing the Report
Periodically you will receive an e-mail in your Outlook Inbox from "mailadmins@ucop.edu" that provides a Web link allowing you to access the spam report. For security reasons, the report is only accessible from the UCOP network. You should regularly review all messages in the Tumbleweed spam report to ensure that classification of your e-mail is accurate and that you do not miss legitimate messages erroneously tagged as junk or bulk. You may change the frequency with which you receive the report--perhaps from weekly to daily or every two days.

Key Points about Message Filtering and Classification

• "Legit" messages are likely legitimate. All legit messages are delivered to the Outlook Inbox but are also listed in the spam report. If you agree they are legitimate, do nothing with them.
• Junk messages are likely spam. They are deleted fourteen days after they were received at UCOP.
• Bulk messages are generally from newsletters or mailing lists. They are deleted fourteen days after they were received at UCOP.
• Legitimate e-mail messages erroneously tagged as junk or bulk will be deleted after fourteen days if they are not sent to the Inbox.
• No e-mail is dropped, except for messages sent from servers that have been blacklisted by SBL-XBL Spamhaus and CBL.abuseat.org, which are two of the best organizations for identifying spammers.
• E-mail messages from UC campuses are "whitelisted," or pre-approved, and sent directly to the Outlook Inbox.
• Tumbleweed's spam recognition capabilities are sophisticated and very accurate but cannot stop all spam from reaching the Inbox.

Basic Steps for Managing the Spam Report
To access your spam report:

• Open the e-mail message from mailadmins@ucop.edu.
• Click Web Login.
• Log onto Tumbleweed to review the report of all e-mail received over a range of days.
• To log on, enter the same password you use for your computer. (This is your AD password.) The username will be filled in for you.
• Determine if the messages are spam or legitimate:
• If they are junk-or bulk messages you don't want-do nothing. They will be deleted after fourteen days.
• If they are legitimate but tagged as junk or bulk, click on the sender's e-mail address in the From column and, in the next window, select the "legit" classification for the message.

Shortcut for Managing Junk E-mail Only
As a shortcut, you may review a report of junk messages only without logging onto Tumbleweed. Note that if you need to review bulk and legitimate e-mail as well, or e-mail received over several days, you must log onto the report.

• Open the e-mail from mailadmins@ucop.edu to review junk messages received that day.
• Review the items listed.
• Send erroneously tagged junk e-mail to your Outlook Inbox by clicking "Send to me."
• In the popup window, reclassify messages as appropriate.

The Outlook Junk Folder
Some legitimate messages that Tumbleweed sends to the Outlook Inbox may actually end up in your Outlook junk folder, depending on the settings you have established for desktop filtering. You may wish to occasionally open your Outlook junk folder to make sure it does not contain legitimate messages.