borderware

Spam Whitelists sent via email

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To assist users in the spam server transition Steve Fabian will be sending out copies of each user’s trusted sender lists (whitelist) today or tomorrow. You can paste these addresses into the new system’s white list.

Barracuda Whitelist Bulk Add Screen Grab

Since the new system uses different methods for classifying spam, it’s best to build your black list from scratch as needed. If you have concerns about your blacklist please contact computer support at support@chemistry.ohio-state.edu so we can address issues on a case-by-case basis.

Department SPAM filtering service changes

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It is necessary for the Chemistry department to transition to a new spam detection and prevention mechanism.

The Borderware Spam Appliance in use by the Chemistry department (as well as several other departments in the college) is nearing end-of-life (October 2010). In addition, Arts and Sciences began offering Microsoft Exchange to departments early this year. This service offering includes a separate spam filtering mechanism using a Barracuda Spam & Virus Firewall.

Chemistry’s cost-sharing partner departments who have used the Borderware Spam Appliance are rapidly shifting all of their mail services to the Microsoft Exchange server offered by Arts and Sciences. As a result the Chemistry department is faced with the choice to bear the entire burden of licensing fees or to find an alternative solution.

Continuing maintenance is cost prohibitive for a single department. Steve Fabian has worked with Arts and Sciences to test use of their Barracuda Spam & Virus Firewall in conjunction with our existing mail services- a cost-free and effective solution. We will be moving to this solution next week. The transition to the new spam system will be completed on the evening of Monday, 8/30/2010.

If you use the quarantine server to check for mail flagged as spam, to configure spam detection parameters, or to whitelist or blacklist email sender addresses there will be some changes. These are outlined below:

* Old web interface login: https://hormel.mps.ohio-state.edu – we will no longer use this URL
* New web interface login: https://mx1.asc.ohio-state.edu – after the transition, begin using this URL to manage your spam settings and view quarantined mail
* As with the old web interface login, you will be able to access the new web interface using your Chemistry Department username@chemistry.ohio-state.edu email address and password as your login credentials.
* Your BorderWare Trusted/Blocked Senders lists will NOT be automatically transferred to the Barracuda Spam and Virus Firewall. The two systems use different methods to classify spam, so it is necessary for you to rebuild these lists on our new system. We recognize that this might present an inconvenience and we appreciate your patience and understanding.
* Finally, the Arts and Sciences Barracuda system has the added benefit of receiving and classifying a substantially greater volume of mail. The system has already intercepted and learned to recognize over a million spam messages since going live. This will provide better detection and prevention of spam over time.

If you have any questions or would like assistance with this new service or managing the transition, please contact us at support@chemistry.ohio-state.edu