- Campuses :
- Twin Cities
- Crookston
- Duluth
- Morris
- Rochester
- Other Locations
Controlling your junk mail:
Approximately 60% of all e-mail coming in to the University is from bulk mailers. A good portion of this is considered spam: mail that is bulk-mailed to people who have not requested it. This is a huge drain on the system.
ARE YOU WONDERING?
If the University started blocking spam on September 30th, why am I still getting this junk? And why is there nothing in my "Blocked Incoming Mail" list? The University did indeed start putting procedures in place to block spam, and within 48 hours we were rejecting two messages every second. Within 96 hours we were blocking one out of every three e-mail messages entering the University system. Not a bad start, but only a start.
We're writing to be sure you understand how to use the spam options that we are gradually putting into place. We all want to avoid mistakes due to false assumptions or lack of information.
POORLY-BEHAVED SERVERS
Blocking spam involves rejecting e-mail messages originating from "poorly-behaved" servers. There are several categories of poorly-behaved servers and they are being dealt with one after another. To see a description of what defines a poorly-behaved server, go to www.umn.edu/myaccount, select "Incoming E-mail Controls", and click the "list" link.
The first stage of the project involved blocking mail from servers that do not accept Delivery Status Notifications. Such servers continue to send mail even after being notified that an address is undeliverable.
The next category of poorly-behaved servers are called Open Relays. A mail system is an open relay when it allows remote sites to send e-mail through them to a third party. Many junk mailers use this in order to hide their identity and thwart efforts to block unwanted e-mail. We will be using Open Relay lists from various sources to identify systems that fit this classification.
Blocking mail from Open Relays runs a higher risk of blocking mail people may want to receive. To make sure people are not hindered from receiving e-mail they want to get, we have implemented a procedure to release blocked messages.
CREATE YOUR PERSONAL EXCEPTIONS LIST
E-mail sent to you in the last two weeks that have been blocked. To see a list of e-mail messages to you that have been blocked in the last two weeks, go to www.umn.edu/myaccount and select "Show Blocked Incoming Mail". If this list is still empty, that simply means that you haven't been sent mail from the category of servers in the first stage of the project. If there is blocked mail listed, the addresses in the block list will become links. Click the link to un-block future mail coming from that server to your e-mail address.
** PLEASE NOTE **
Clicking the link WILL NOT allow you to see the message. Instead, it will unblock all further messages with that return address for the next six months. So, if you don't recognize the address, don't click on it.
** Spammers Hide Their Identity. Don't Be Fooled!**
Spammers are clever and frequently hide their identity behind something that looks legitimate. For example, mail coming from
"AT&T_Consumer_Services@bcl.customer-contact.net" has nothing to do with AT&T; it comes from a known and notorious spammer. How about "electricity.board@state.mn.us"? It looks, on the surface, like something you might want to read, but actually it came from a spammer in Singapore.
** So, How Can I Tell? **
If you don't know exactly who the sender is,... if you have never received e-mail from this source before,... if you didn't request this communication... ...don't unblock it.
WHAT'S COMING UP
Spam-blocking is a gradual process, though highly effective already. It will take about six to eight weeks to block all the categories of poorly-behaved servers.
In about three weeks we will send you another message about how to report spam that gets through the blockers, and how to use SpamAssassin.
If you have any questions or comments, please send e-mail to help@umn.edu.
On September 30, the University will activate a system to begin controlling and limiting the spam that comes to campus. There will be two new links on the www.umn.edu/myaccount Web page:
This page provides three options for servers you will accept mail from:
The first option (well-behaved servers) will be the default for all University accounts. You can select another option if you wish.
On this page, you will also have an option to filter incoming mail through a program called SpamAssassin. The default value for this option is "no e-mail scanning" and, at this early stage of the project we recommend that most people use this option. We will be sending future communication when this recommendation changes.
This page will display the originator information for all mail rejected on your behalf during the previous seven days. If someone you wish to communicate with is on this list, you will be able to add them to your personal exceptions list. The sender will also have a method to have us notify you that they have had e-mail rejected. You need not worry that someone you need to communicate with will be unreachable!
If you have any questions, call 612-301-4357 (1-HELP) and select option #1, or send e-mail to help@umn.edu.