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LACA Spam
Filtering Services
Note: Use your LACA e-mail
username and password to log into the MailMarshal website
Click HERE for
a Mailmarshal Quick Reference Guide (PDF Format)
(Contributed by Mount Vernon City Schools Technology Dept)
What is Spam?
Spam is the term given to unwanted
junk e-mail. The official term for spam is UBE (Unsolicited
Bulk E-mail). Whatever you decide to call it, it is a nuisance.
What software does LACA use to fight spam?
The State of Ohio K-12 Network runs a state-wide spam filter based on
Ironport (http://www.ironport.com)
technology. Ironport strips off the most obvious spam messages
before they ever reach LACA. All incoming mail not stopped by the
state-wide Ironport spam filter is then run through MailMarshal
(Marshal Software
http://www.marshal.com/). Mailmarshal is a system housed at
LACA, and it examines the actual content of the message and weeds out spam and virus-infected messages.
How does MailMarshal know
what is spam and what is not?
MailMarshal analyzes each message
entering the LACA network and assigns points to the message based upon
elements it finds. For example, the word "FREE" in all
capitals in the subject line might be worth 20 points, the word Viagra
might be worth 5 points, etc.
LACA chooses a minimum point value that
classifies a message as Spam. When a message earns enough points to
go over this value, it is dropped by MailMarshal. Our current point
value is 101, which was decided upon by raising and lowering the point
value during the evaluation period, and analyzing how much legitimate mail
would have been blocked at each setting. 101 blocks a majority of
spam while not posing any threat to legitimate e-mail messages necessary
for LACA's customers to perform their jobs.
How can I prevent Mailmarshal
from blocking e-mail from my friends, family, and co-workers e-mail
addresses?
Click HERE
for instructions on adding e-mail addresses to your own personal Safe Sender list.
Why does some spam still get
through?
Some spam messages still get through,
simply because they did not have any elements in them that triggered the
MailMarshal filter, or the elements MailMarshal found did not total enough
points to classify the messages as spam. The sender may have spelled
words incorrectly (on purpose, to fool spam filters), or maybe the message
does not contain any text, just an image file that contains the text of
the spam.
Setting the minimum point value too low can
cause legitimate messages to be classified as spam and disrupt e-mail
services. LACA's approach is that it's better to allow some spam
through and still insure legitimate messages are delivered, rather than
being too aggressive with spam blocking and potentially blocking
legitimate messages. LACA is also trying to meet the needs of
multiple customers, which adds to the challenge of choosing a point value
that works for everyone.
What do I do if I'm still getting
LOTS of spam?
LACA does add custom filtering
rules to MailMarshal, if MailMarshal is failing to block a large number of
messages on it's own. If you feel you are getting a very high amount of spam,
please e-mail MailMarshal@laca.org
for assistance. PLEASE DO NOT DELETE THE SPAM MESSAGES OUT OF YOUR
INBOX. LACA STAFF
WILL NEED TO SEE THEM IN ORDER TO ANALYZE THEM AND CREATE A FILTERING RULE
FOR MAILMARSHAL. JUST LEAVE THE MESSAGES IN YOUR INBOX UNTIL LACA
HAS HAD A CHANCE TO ANALYZE THEM AND CREATE A RULE.
How do I see what messages have been
blocked for my account?
LACA provides a web interface where you
can see what messages have been blocked for your account. Click the orange
button labeled MailMarshal Login at the top of this page to access this website.
Use your LACA e-mail username and password to log in. You will only be
able to see 14 days worth of blocked messages, after which time LACA deletes
them permanently. Mailmarshal
sends me a Daily Digest e-mail showing what messages were blocked. What if I no
longer wish to receive those?
You will have to create an e-mail rule to
automatically delete these notices, or add
daily-digest@mailmarshal.laca.org to your Blocked Senders list to file them
in your Junk Mail folder.
Click this
link for a tutorial on doing this. | 
