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Spam Trap

Prerequisites    |    Activating Spam Trap    |    Configuring Spam Trap    |    Expert Interface

CONFIGURING SPAM TRAP

Dealing with Spam can be a time consuming and difficult process. The ODU Spam Trap software provides several options to help with this task. These options range from selecting one of several 'predefined' rule sets to a much more flexible (and complex) 'Expert Interface'. Making use of any of these options requires you to  log into the Spam Trap web site at www.spamtrap.odu.edu with your MIDAS ID and password.

How Spam Trap Works
Email that comes into campus goes through Spam Trap before it gets delivered to the user in Lotus Notes. Spam Trap uses special software to assign a SPAM �Score� to email. This special software is routinely updated to reflect the latest trends and techniques used by the SPAM senders. The email is examined and points are accumulated for each element that 'MAY' qualify as SPAM. For example, the use of the word �Viagra� gets a point or two. Add those points with other points gained through the analysis of the email and you get the total �Score� for the piece of email. The higher the score, the more likely the piece of email is SPAM. A score of 15 is very likely to be SPAM. A score of 5 is likely to be Spam but may very well not be. Most of the rules you set in Spam Trap have to do with how to handle email that scores at various levels.

Using the Simple Interface
Access the Spam Trap website at www.spamtrap.odu.edu.

  1. Login with your MIDAS username and password.
  2. Select the level of Spam filtering that you prefer.
  3. Click on the 'Set Spam-Scanning Level' button
  4. Click on the 'Log Out' button

Your selection can be changed as often as you like. Changes will only apply to new e-mail being processed, not to email that has already been processed.

Note on Tagging: Selecting a level with �Tag� adds the phrase "[SPAM: ##]" to the beginning of the subject line of email that is scored and NOT held or rejected. The ## in the tag is the numeric Spam score that was assigned to that piece of email. OCCS suggests starting with a �Tag Only� setting so that you can see which emails the system would consider being Spam.

Spamtrap & Outlook
Outlook will automatically filter any emails tagged with "[SPAM:" into the Junk E-mail folder.  Messages delivered to the Junk E-mail folder are retained for 30 days and then deleted automatically.

Using the Expert Interface
The 'Expert Interface' for Spam Trap provides much more flexibility on how to deal with potential Spam. It includes many features like 'White List', 'Black List' and more precise control over what to do with email that scores at different levels. With this expanded flexibility also comes more complexity. The Expert Interface has a lot more control options that may be set.  There is extensive documentation on the various controls available. The full Expert Interface documentation can be found at www.odu.edu/af/occs/datasecurity/antispam/usersguide.html

Enabling the Expert Interface
Once you have enabled the 'Spam Trap' service in MIDAS, you may log into Spam Trap using your MIDAS ID. Once logged into Spam Trap, click on the 'Enable Expert Interface' button to enable the expert interface. If you ever want to return back to the simple interface, click on "Simplified Interface" from the expert interface screen. Your previous selection on the simple interface will be lost.

Common Spam Trap Expert Interface Tasks
Users who have enabled the Expert Interface often perform a few tasks as they start to use the system. This section explains some of the common tasks that many users find themselves needing to perform early on as they make use of the Expert Interface.

Review Pending Spam
One of the tasks that you should do is to check the Spam trap every few days for pending Spam. Users who have pending Spam held in Spam Trap should get an email if there is Spam in the trap. In order to review pending Spam, first visit www.spamtrap.odu.edu. Then login with your MIDAS user ID and password. Click on "Trap contents" and then "Pending".  You will have the ability to take action on the items held here. You can do things like 'Reject the message', 'Accept the Message', 'Whitelist the sender' or 'Blacklist the Sender'.

Whitelist a Sender
You may find that messages from a particular email address occasionally get caught or flagged as Spam. In order to always accept email from a particular email address, you can "white list" that email address so the Spam trap will always deliver the message. In order to do that, follow these steps. Log into Spam Trap with your MIDAS ID.

  1. Click on "Rules/Lists"
  2. Click on "Senders"
  3. Type the email address that you want to always accept (white list) or always reject (black list) into the field labeled "Enter a specific Sender's email address', then
    Click on the 'Go' button
  4. A new screen will appear showing the e-mail address you just entered. From the 'New Action' drop down box, pick 'Always Allow' or 'Always Reject'.
  5. Click on the 'Submit Changes' button

Using Simple Interface Levels With White/Black List
You may find that you like a particular Simple Interface Spam-Scanning Level, but it always flags email from a vendor you wish to receive email from as spam. Or you may feel comfortable with the Simple Interface Spam-Scanning Level you have, but there are a few Spam messages that always manage to end up in your mailbox. SpamTrap allows you to configure custom "while lists" and "black lists"  and still use one of the predefined Simple Interface Spam-Scanning Levels. In order to do so, follow these steps:

  1. From the Simple Interface "Spam-Scanning Level" page click on "Enable Expert Interface",
  2. Click on "Rules/Lists"
  3. Click on "Senders"
  4. Type the email address that you want to always accept (white list) or always reject (black list) into the field labeled "Enter a specific Sender's e-mail address', then
    Click on the 'Go' button
  5. A new screen will appear showing the email address you just entered. From the 'New Action' drop down box, pick 'Always Allow' or 'Always Reject'.
  6. Click on the 'Submit Changes' button
  7. Once you have configured your "white list" or "black list" click on "Simplified Interface"
  8. Click on the radio button for the Spam-Scanning Level you had or would like to use
  9. Click "Set Spam-Scanning Level"
  10. Click on "Log Out"

You now have your personal "white lists", "black lists", AND a predefined Simple Interface Spam-Scanning Level.

Advice on Configuring Your Own Spam Trap Settings
There are a few settings to configure for the Spam Trap early on. Various preferences can be set for how the Spam Trap processes email. Preferences are available when you click on "Preferences" and then "Stream Settings" (the Spam trap refers to a user configurable group of settings as a "stream'). The three most common settings are:

  • For users who want to discard email automatically, you can experiment with "Automatically reject messages scoring more than this amount" setting. Any message that scores above or equal to this level will be automatically rejected.
  • �Spam threshold� is the score at which email message information is held in your Spam trap awaiting approval from you. The email is actually �held� on the server of the person who is sending the email to you. If you do not accept an email message that you really do want within five (5) days, in most cases, the email will be bounced back to the sender as undeliverable and the message will no longer be available.
  • If you want to just tag Spam, choose "Yes" for the "Only tag Spam -- do not hold any messages?" option.