University of Leeds Academic Services How to use ISS filtering service to remove spam with Outlook Qin Li ISS Service Coordinator

University of Leeds Academic Services Objectives l Learn what is ISS filtering service l Learn the format of spam tags l Learn how to set up a basic rule l Learn to set up exceptions l Learn how to refine rules

University of Leeds Academic Services ISS filtering service l A system to filter coming to Leeds l Running PureMessage, an enterprise spam filtering software on dedicated servers l Tags each message with a spam rating l End users can use client programs such as Outlook to control and remove spam messages

University of Leeds Academic Services Format of spam tags l Where to find spam tags –[PMX:#...] indicator prefixed to Subject for messages rated over 50% spam probability –X-Perlmx-Spam special header l An example –Subject: [PMX:#####] Your free ticket to … –X-Perlmx-Spam: Gauge=XXXXXXXXXII, Probability=92%, Report="BIG_FONT, CLICK_BELOW, CTYPE_JUST_HTML, FROM_ENDS_IN_NUMS, HEADER_8BITS, …

University of Leeds Academic Services Format of spam tags (cont’) l A specific header –X-Perlmx-Spam: l A gauge –Gauge=XXXXXXXXXII l A probability in percentage –Probability=92% l A report –Report="BIG_FONT, CLICK_BELOW, CTYPE_JUST_HTML, FROM_ENDS_IN_NUMS, HEADER_8BITS, …

University of Leeds Academic Services Reveal tags in full headers l Open a message in Outlook l Click ‘View’ menu l Select ‘Options’ l You will see a window similar to the picture to the right l Look in the box ‘Internet headers’

University of Leeds Academic Services Set up a basic rule in Outlook l Click ‘Tools’ and ‘Rules Wizard’ l You will see the Rules wizard window displayed l Click New button to start building a basic rule

University of Leeds Academic Services Set up a basic rule in Outlook l Tick the radio button next to ‘Start from a blank rule l Select ‘Check messages when they arrive l Click Next button to continue

University of Leeds Academic Services Set up a basic rule in Outlook l Tick the box next to ‘with specific words in the message header’ l Double click the under lined word ‘Specific words’ to continue

University of Leeds Academic Services Set up a basic rule in Outlook l Type the exact trigger phrase in the search text field l Click Add button to add it to the search list. l Click OK to continue

University of Leeds Academic Services Set up a basic rule in Outlook l Notice the trigger text is displayed in the Rule description box l Click Next button to continue

University of Leeds Academic Services Set up a basic rule in Outlook l Tick the box next to the line ‘move it to the specified folder’ l Click under lined word ‘specified’ to open the folder list

University of Leeds Academic Services Set up a basic rule in Outlook l Select ‘Spam’ folder, or click ‘New’ button to create a folder called ‘Spam’ l Click OK to continue

University of Leeds Academic Services Set up an exception l Tick the box next to the line ‘except if send is in specified address book’ l Double click the under lined word ‘specified’ to continue

University of Leeds Academic Services Set up an exception l Select ‘Contacts’ and then click ‘Add’.

University of Leeds Academic Services Set up an exception l You will see ‘Contacts’ address book has been added to the exception l Click OK to confirm the exception

University of Leeds Academic Services Finalise the rule configuration l Give a name to the rule if you don’t like the default l Tick ‘Turn on this rule’ l Click ‘Finish’ to complete the task

University of Leeds Academic Services Refining rules (false positive) l Review the Spam folder l Find any messages falsely identified l Find the sender’s address of such messages l Add a new rule in front of the basic rule to allow this sender through l Or, add the sender to your contact list l Go to the top step and review again later

University of Leeds Academic Services Refining rules (false positive) l Add a new rule to allow messages from a friend through l Tick the box next to the line ‘with specific words in the sender’s address’ l Click the underlined ‘specific words’ in the Rule description box

University of Leeds Academic Services Refining rules l Add your friends’ address to the list l Click OK to continue

University of Leeds Academic Services Refining rules l You will see your friend’s address is now in the rule. l Click Next button to continue

University of Leeds Academic Services Refining rules l Tick the box next to the line ‘stop processing more rules’ l Press ‘Next’ button to continue

University of Leeds Academic Services Refining rules l Make sure this new rule is in front of the spam rule l Use ‘Move Up’ or ‘Move Down’ button to reorder

University of Leeds Academic Services Refining rules (false negative) l Still too many spam messages in the Inbox l Find any spam messages not identified l Find the probability rating in the full headers l Modify the existing rule to reduce the threshold, from initial 90% to 80% and then to low% (50% or even lower) suitable to the circumstances. l Or, add a new rule to filer by report tags l Review false positive and negative regularly

University of Leeds Academic Services Summary l Learnt what is ISS filtering service l Learnt the format of spam tags and where to find them l Learn how to set up a basic rule with rule wizard l Learn to set up exceptions by adding conditions to the basic rule or extra rules l Learn how to refine rules by reviewing Inbox and Spam folders

University of Leeds Academic Services Further Information l ISS Documents – –How23, How24 and How25 –Appendix section contains report tag details l Microsoft –Outlook Help, search under ‘rule’ –Office web site, Outlook tips