The UVa Central Mail Service (CMS)

CMS Spam Tagging and Filtering

[Nov 23, 2009 14:09] Web access to Microsoft Live@edu accounts now works.

About CMS Spam Tagging

The Central Mail Service's (CMS) spam tagging/spam filtering system can be used to scan incoming messages for many of the telltale signs of spam, and tag them accordingly. With an easy Web-based tool, spam-tagged messages can be blocked from the Inbox and re-routed to a special mailbox called uva-potential-spam. (The "potential spam" mailbox should be checked from time-to-time for any legitimate messages that may have gotten inadvertently filtered.) The spam tolerance level can be controlled by the user of the account. The system can also delete mail from uva-potential-spam automatically after 14 days, or the time-to-deletion can be managed by the user.

Turn on CMS Spam Filtering

  1. Log in to the UVa WebMail Service using your Central Mail Service login ID (e.g., mst3k) and password. Even if you do not use WebMail to read your email, you will need to use it to configure your spam-handling settings. Once you have set up spam filtering, you can use whatever email program you normally use with the CMS and filtering will still take place.
  2. Click the Settings tab near the top of the page, then click the Spam link on the left.
    settings tab and spam link
  3. Set Spam Filtering to "Enabled".
    filtering enabled
  4. Select a Spam tolerance level from the radio buttons provided. ITC recommends an initial setting of 5. You can change it later if it becomes necessary.
    The more aggressive your tolerance settings—the lower number you set—the stricter your account will be in deciding whether or not an incoming message is spam. Very aggressive settings may cause an unacceptable number of legitimate messages to be routed to your uva-potential-spam mailbox.
    tolerance level
  5. Choose a method for Filtered Mail Management.
    management method
  6. Click the Update button to save your settings.

Any time you change your spam tolerance setting, you should check the potential spam mailbox every day until you feel comfortable that the level you have set isn't filtering out too many legitimate messages. Note that if you currently use a POP mail program, you will need to log into the CMS using another program (such as WebMail) to view and manage your uva-potential-spam mailbox.

Remember: the filtering system only works on messages coming into the Central Mail Service.

Additional questions about spam tagging and filtering are answered in the Frequently-Asked Questions.

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