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SPAM Announcement (3/25/08): Reducing SPAM With Trusted Servers

LAN Coordinators:

As you know, Cal Poly has recently seen an increase in SPAM email that is able to bypass our filters by appearing to come from a Cal Poly address.  On Thursday, March 27, we are planning to take the following steps to address this problem and want to ensure that you understand how it may impact you and your users. Please contact me if you have concerns.

  1. Score all email that does not come from a "trusted source" (see below); trusted email will not be rated, tagged or deleted.
  2. Messages from all non-trusted sources, including those appearing to come from a calpoly.edu address, will be scored and may be tagged as cpSPAM.

NOTE: If a user has created a rule to automatically delete messages with cpSPAM in the subject line, email appearing to come from a calpoly.edu address could now be tagged and deleted.To ensure continued delivery of valid messages from calpoly.edu, users may wish to temporarily change their rule so all messages tagged as cpSPAM are delivered. This will allow them to identify and create rules to whitelist any calpoly.edu addresses from a non-trutsed source that they wish to receive mail from. Once the user is comfortable that no valid mail is being tagged, they can reinstate the automatic deletion rule. For help with email filters, users can visit Cal Poly's email support website, contact their LAN Coordinator, or contact the ITS Service Desk at 805.756.7000, servicedesk@calpoly.edu.

WHAT EMAIL IS TRUSTED?

  1. Email sent using an OCS web client.
  2. Email sent using the Oracle Connector (Outlook) that is setup to send outgoing email through mail.calpoly.edu.
  3. Email sent using a client (e.g., Thunderbird, Outlook, Outlook Express, MacMail, etc.) or a smartphone that is set up to send outgoing email through mail.calpoly.edu.
  4. Email sent through an email server that has been identified as trusted, i.e., white-listed.
  5. On-campus email with the outgoing mail server configured as smtp.calpoly.edu, port 25, will be considered trusted for a few weeks.

NOTE: If you manage a college/departmental email server or an application that does not send mail using mail.calpoly.edu, mail has the potential to be tagged as cpSPAM. To ensure your email is trusted, please contact the ITS Service Desk to create a Remedy ticket (CTI: Software/Email/Whitelist Request). If you are not sure of your configuration, please contact your LAN Coordinator or the ITS Service Desk for help.

Thank you,
Terri Bruns
ITS Collaboration Support