Frequently Asked Questions
Click on a question below to view the answer.
The Impact of Spam and the University's Efforts to Block It
- What is spam and why is it a problem?
- How is e-mail used in identity theft?
- How is the University trying to block viruses and spam?
- Do the University's anti-virus and anti-spam services offer 100% protection?
- What e-mail accounts are supported by the anti-spam service?
- Can a department mailbox be subscribed to the anti-spam service?
The Anti-Spam Service
- What is the Quarantine Manager?
- How do I access the Quarantine Manager?
- Must I subscribe (opt in) to the anti-spam service?
- Can I unsubscribe (opt out) from the anti-spam service?
- How does the campus e-mail system handle spam?
- How will I know when a message containing spam is quarantined?
- How long are messages held in quarantine before they are deleted?
- What if a legitimate message is placed in quarantine?
- How soon after I release a message will it be delivered to my Inbox?
- Why are quarantined messages not kept indefinitely?
- Can I block messages from certain senders?
- Can I block messages from certain domains?
- Can I prevent messages from certain senders from being quarantined?
- How soon do changes to my Approved Senders and Blocked Senders lists take effect?
- How can I manage quarantined messages when I am away from campus?
- What will happen to my Approved Senders and Blocked Senders lists if I opt out of the anti-spam service?
- Will I still receive a Spam Digest if I opt out?
Technical Support and Best Practices
- Where can I get technical support on the anti-spam service?
- Where can I get training materials on the anti-spam service?
- How can I safeguard my e-mail account?
Q:
What is spam and why is it a problem?
A:
Spam is sometimes referred to as unwanted junk mass e-mail. The California Business and Professions Code (Division 7, Part 3, Chapter 1, Article 1.8) describes it as consisting of unsolicited commercial e-mail advertisements. Spam is a problem because it:
- May contain computer viruses that can cause serious damage to University computing resources.
- May be sent by a counterfeit address that looks legitimate to trick recipients into taking a harmful action (like opening a virus-infected attachment or divulging personal information).
- May take up valuable storage space on computers and servers.
- Uses valuable and limited network bandwidth.
- Is an increasing drain on operating budgets (cost of unproductive time, anti-spam software, additional hardware, etc.).
- May be annoying.
- May contain inappropriate content.
Q:
How is e-mail used in identity theft?
A:
Spammers can counterfeit the return address of a message. If you are tricked into thinking the sender is legitimate, you may respond or provide personal information such as your Social Security Number, mother's maiden name, account PIN or password, and date of birth. Read more about spam, viruses, and identity theft at the Information Security website.
Q:
How is the University trying to block viruses and spam?
A:
The following interventions are implemented to help protect the campus's information and computing resources:
- Anti-Virus on the Desktop:
At the desktop level, virus software is continually alert for infected files. In addition, security patches and updates are installed as they become available or as necessary. Information Technology Services (ITS) checks for updates and pushes them out to campus workstations daily. - Anti-Spam on the Desktop:
By configuring Outlook to handle junk mail, users can reduce the amount of spam in their mailboxes. - Anti-Virus/Anti-Spam on the Network:
Software performs hourly checks for updates and installs them immediately. - Router Controls:
Certain vulnerable ports are blocked, some to incoming traffic and some to both incoming and outgoing traffic. - Traffic Management:
Inbound traffic is evaluated for appropriate network usage. - Blocked IPs/Firewall:
The University blocks some known spam Internet Protocol (IP) addresses. - Enhanced Anti-Virus/Anti-Spam Services:
Enhanced anti-virus/anti-spam services provide an additional layer of protection for ITS-managed e-mail accounts. The anti-virus service is applied to every campus account. The anti-spam service is automatically applied to all student accounts, and faculty and staff have the option to subscribe to the service. When subscribed to the anti-spam service, users can:- Maintain a blocked senders list.
- Maintain an approved senders list.
- Release messages from quarantine to their Inbox.
- Delete blocked messages from view in the quarantine.
Q:
Do the University's anti-virus and anti-spam services offer 100% protection?
A:
No. Virus and spam blocking services are not 100% effective because:
- A virus may hit the campus before there is a virus definition for it.
- Users may click on links in spam messages or visit compromised websites, resulting in viruses being downloaded to users' workstations.
- Spammers sometimes use forged return addresses that look legitimate.
- Spammers may change their return addresses and/or subject lines to avoid detection.
- Once spammers identify a particular spam filter, they change elements in the spam message in order to pass through the filter.
While no virus or spam blocker offers 100% protection, the many layers of protection deployed on campus provide a strong defense against most virus and spam attacks.
Q:
What e-mail accounts are supported by the anti-spam service?
A:
The anti-spam service supports all student, faculty, and staff e-mail accounts. The anti-spam service is automatically applied to all student accounts. Faculty and staff may subscribe to the anti-spam service through the Quarantine Manager website.
Q:
Can a department mailbox be subscribed to the anti-spam service?
A:
Yes. To request for a department mailbox to be subscribed to the anti-spam service, mailbox owners must e-mail the ITS Help Desk at helpdesk@calstatela.edu. The e-mail should include the requestor's name, department, extension, and the department mailbox address.
Q:
What is the Quarantine Manager?
A:
The Quarantine Manager is the web-based user interface portion of the anti-spam service. It allows users to view and manage messages that are quarantined (blocked), as well as manage user-specific sender lists.
Q:
How do I access the Quarantine Manager?
A:
You can log in to the Quarantine Manager using your myCSULA Identity account. For instructions, visit the How to Log In to the Quarantine Manager page.
Q:
Must I subscribe (opt in) to the anti-spam service?
A:
All student e-mail accounts are automatically subscribed to the anti-spam service. Subscribing is optional for faculty and staff accounts. For instructions, visit the How to Subscribe to the Anti-spam Service page.
Q:
Can I unsubscribe (opt out) from the anti-spam service?
A:
Students may not opt out of the anti-spam service. Faculty and staff may opt in or out whenever and as often as they like. For instructions, visit the How to Unsubscribe from the Anti-spam Service page.
Q:
How does the campus e-mail system handle spam?
A:
Messages that do not contain viruses are evaluated by the campus e-mail system in the following order:
- Blocked Attachments:
If the attachment is allowed, the evaluation continues. If the attachment is blocked, the message is quarantined. - Recipient's Subscription Status:
If the recipient's account is subscribed to the anti-spam service, the evaluation continues. If not, the message is delivered to the recipient's Inbox. - Blocked Senders:
If the sender has not been blocked by the recipient, the evaluation continues. If the recipient has blocked the sender, the message is quarantined. - Spam Probability:
If the message is rated not likely to be spam and the score is below the set threshold, the message is delivered to the recipient's Inbox. If the message is rated likely to be spam and the score is above the set threshold, the message is quarantined.
Q:
How will I know when a message containing spam is quarantined?
A:
If one or more messages are quarantined, you are e-mailed a Spam Digest which lists each quarantined message's ID number, the time the message was received, the subject of the message, the e-mail address of the sender, and the spam probability score.
It is strongly recommended that you check each Spam Digest to determine if any messages were erroneously placed in quarantine. If a legitimate message is quarantined, you can release it and have it delivered to your Inbox.
Q:
How long are messages held in quarantine before they are deleted?
A:
All quarantined messages are deleted 14 days after their delivery date. Check the Spam Digest or Quarantine Manager for the delivery date.
Q:
What if a legitimate message is placed in quarantine?
A:
During the 14-day quarantine period, any blocked message can be released and delivered to a user's Inbox.
- For instructions on how to release one or more messages from the Spam Digest, visit the How to Release E-mail Messages from the Spam Digest page.
- For instructions on how to release one or more messages from the Quarantine Manager, visit the Blocked Messages page.
Q:
How soon after I release a message will it be delivered to my Inbox?
A:
It may take up to 15 minutes for a released message to be delivered to your Inbox.
Q:
Why are quarantined messages not kept indefinitely?
A:
Deleting spam messages regularly helps the University manage storage capacity on its e-mail systems.
Q:
Can I block messages from certain senders?
A:
Yes. You can block senders by adding them to your Blocked Senders list. For instructions, visit the Blocked Senders page. The anti-spam service quarantines most messages considered to be spam, so you do not have to block senders of messages that are already in quarantine.
Q:
Can I block messages from certain domains?
A:
Yes. You can use wildcards to block messages from any domain (e.g., @example.com or **@example.com).
Q:
Can I prevent messages from certain senders from being quarantined?
A:
Yes. You can prevent messages from certain senders from being quarantined by adding them to your Approved Senders list. For instructions, visit the Approved Senders page. Messages sent from approved senders are delivered to your Inbox without being scanned for spam.
Q:
How soon do changes to my Approved Senders and Blocked Senders lists take effect?
A:
When you add or delete senders from your Approved Senders or Blocked Senders lists, it may take up to 15 minutes for the changes to take effect.
Q:
How can I manage quarantined messages when I am away from campus?
A:
You can manage quarantined messages from any computer with Internet access by logging in to the Quarantine Manager. If you will not be able to manage your quarantined messages for an extended period of time, we recommend that you temporarily unsubscribe from the anti-spam service so that wanted e-mail messages are not inadvertently deleted.
Q:
What will happen to my Approved Senders and Blocked Senders lists if I opt out of the anti-spam service?
A:
Your Approved Senders and Blocked Senders lists will remain intact even if you opt out of the anti-spam service. If you opt back in, the lists will function as they did before.
Q:
Will I still receive a Spam Digest if I opt out?
A:
No. Once your request is processed, you will not receive a Spam Digest.
Q:
Where can I get technical support on the anti-spam service?
A:
For technical support, contact the ITS Help Desk:
- Location: Library Palmer Wing Lobby
- Phone: (323) 343-6170
- E-mail: helpdesk@calstatela.edu
Q:
Where can I get training materials on the anti-spam service?
A:
Training materials on the anti-spam service are available on the Quarantine Manager Training website.
Q:
How can I safeguard my e-mail account?
A:
Be an informed user. Help protect your e-mail account from viruses and spam by following these simple recommendations:
- Do not open attachments from unknown senders.
- Do not forward messages or attachments from unknown senders.
- Do not respond to spam messages. Responding confirms that you have a valid e-mail address and increases the chances that your e-mail address will stay on the sender's distribution list or be distributed to other spammers.
- Do not use the preview feature in your e-mail program. To determine valid e-mail addresses, spammers may use methods that track when you view a message, even if you do not open or reply to the message.
- Always use caution when clicking on embedded links in e-mail messages, and never click on links in spam messages. Some links can take you to a web page that automatically starts downloading a virus or a file that contains a virus.
- Delete unsolicited messages from unknown senders. A spam message may contain a virus or other malicious software that could damage your computer.
- Do not make purchases by clicking on links in unsolicited e-mail messages. Unsolicited e-mail messages are particularly suspect since spammers can easily counterfeit return addresses. If you need to make a purchase online, go to the vendor's secure website from your browser, not by clicking on message links.
- Never provide your Social Security Number, name, address, mother's maiden name, or other personal identifying information in response to an unsolicited e-mail message. Many spammers counterfeit a return address, such as a bank's, to trick unsuspecting recipients into providing confidential information.
- Use the blind copy (Bcc) field when sending e-mail messages to a large distribution list. Using the Bcc field conceals the distribution list from the other recipients.
- Do not provide your e-mail address to newsgroups, online public forums, or websites. Spammers may utilize techniques to harvest e-mail addresses from these sites.
- Never give your primary e-mail address to anyone you do not trust.
- Use one or more secondary e-mail addresses for making online purchases, submitting registration forms, or requesting information and offers. This helps protect your primary e-mail account from abuse.
- Configure Outlook to automatically handle junk mail in your e-mail account. For assistance, contact the ITS Help Desk at (323) 343-6170 or helpdesk@calstatela.edu.