KU Spam Tagging

The Provost's office has funded a campus service to protect our KU email services. The vendor providing this system has extensive experience with the wide variety of messages found in university environments.

How it works:

  1. The email gateway service provides improved detection and filtering of junk and malicious mail. It will stop obvious spam before it ever reaches user mailboxes. As a result, users will see much less unwanted email.

  2. This service will tag all messages that might be junk email by adding Spamtag to the subject of the messages, then forwarding them to central campus email systems.

    This service affects all @ku.edu addresses, including those that forward messages to other email systems, as well as addresses ending in @mail.ku.edu, @kansan.com, @kletc.org, and @kualumni.org.

    Departments running independent mail systems that would like to take advantage of this service should contact the IT Customer Service Center at 864-8080.

  3. Tagged messages that are forwarded to Exchange accounts will be handled according to the user's Junk E-mail settings that have previously been selected in Outlook Web Access.

    • If Junk E-mail filtering is turned on, the tagged messages will be delivered to the Junk E-mail folder

    • If Junk E-mail filtering is not turned on, the tagged messages will be delivered to the Inbox.

    Users can check their existing settings and change them by following the directions at http://www.email.ku.edu/spam/owaJunkEmail.shtml. This works for all Exchange users, even those that use other email software to read their Exchange email.

  4. If a message contains a virus or has one of the blocked file extensions (listed at http://www.email.ku.edu/faqs/extensions.shtml), it will be handled in one of two ways:

    • Incoming email: If the incoming message contains a virus or a blocked file extension, the attachment or virus will be removed and the message will be delivered to the KU recipient, along with a notice telling the recipient what the problem is.

    • Outgoing email: If an outgoing message contains a virus or blocked file extension, the message will not be sent, the attachment or virus will be removed, and the message will be returned to the KU sender with a notice that the message was not sent and the reason why it wasn't sent.

If you encounter any problems with this service, please contact the IT Customer Service Center at 864-8080.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the current KU email policy?
The KU Campus email policy is available at: http://www.provost.ku.edu/policy/email_policy/

What do I do if I'm still receiving junk email?
Please report continued problems with spam or other unwanted messages. Follow the instructions for reporting spam to make sure that all the information needed is included.

What do I do if I don't receive a message I'm expecting?
If an expected message has not been delivered in a reasonable amount of time, check your Junk E-mail folder first to see if it was delivered there. If not, report this problem to the IT Customer Service Center at 864-8080.

My @ku.edu email is forwarded to an account on another system (like Yahoo, Gmail, AOL, etc.) How does the email gateway affect me?
Email sent through to the @ku.edu address will go through the email gateway before it is forwarded. If there is a question as to whether a message is junk email, it will be tagged with Spamtag in the subject line, then forwarded to the other email provider. Depending on the email system, the message may be delivered to that system's junk mail folder or to the Inbox.

My email address ends in @mail.ku.edu, @kansan.com, @kletc.org, or @kualumni.org. How does the email gateway affect me?
Email sent through to these addresses will go through the email gateway before it is forwarded. If there is a question as to whether a message is junk email, it will be tagged with Spamtag in the subject line, then forwarded to the account. Depending on the email system, the message may be delivered to that system's junk mail folder or to the Inbox.

I was trying to send an attachment to a colleague and I received a message telling me that it was blocked from being sent. How can I send this attachment?
To send or receive an attachment that has one of the blocked file extensions (listed at http://www.email.ku.edu/faqs/extensions.shtml) , the sender of the message must first place the file into a password-protected .Zip file, then attach it to the message. There are a variety of Windows and Macintosh programs that can create .Zip files, including WinZip and StuffIt.

Frequently Asked Questions (KU Exchange email accounts)

How do I change the delivery location of tagged email?
If you want tagged items to be delivered to your Inbox instead of your Junk E-mail folder, you will need to turn off the Junk E-mail filtering in Outlook Web Access.

  1. Sign into your account using Outlook Web Access (http://owa.ku.edu).
  2. Click on Options at the bottom of the Navigation Pane on the left side of the screen. Scroll down to the Privacy and Junk E-mail Prevention section.
  3. Un-check the Filter Junk E-mail checkbox.
  4. Click Save and Close at the top of the screen to save these changes.
  5. You may want to create rules to deal with spam that comes into your Inbox.

If you want tagged items to be delivered to your Junk E-mail folder instead of your Inbox, you will need to turn on Junk E-mail filtering in Outlook Web Access.

I accidentally deleted my Junk E-mail folder and spam is being delivered to my Inbox again. How do I get the Junk E-mail folder back?
Outlook 2003 and Outlook Web Access protect the Junk E-mail folder from being deleted, but any other email software allows it to be deleted. To recreate the folder, you need to turn junk email filtering off, then on again. Here's how to do this:

  1. Go to a browser and open Outlook Web Access.

  2. If the Junk E-mail folder was deleted, it's probably still in the Deleted Items folder. You will need to empty the Deleted Items folder before proceeding, because the original needs to be gone before a replacement can be created. Follow the instructions below for your email software.

    Outlook Web Access through Internet Explorer:
    Right-click on the Deleted Items folder and choose Empty Deleted Items from the resulting list.

    Outlook Web Access through other browsers:
    Click on the Deleted Items button on the left side of the screen to view the contents of the Deleted Items folder. Once you can see the messages, click the Recycle Bin button Recycle Bin located in the toolbar at the top of the screen. You will be asked if you want to permanently delete all the messages and subfolders in the Deleted Items folder. Click OK to delete the messages.

  3. Once you're in Outlook Web Access, click on Options at the bottom of the Navigation Pane on the left side of the screen. Scroll down to the Privacy and Junk E-mail Prevention section. Un-check the Filter Junk E-mail checkbox. Click Save and Close at the top of the screen to save these changes. If you are using a browser other than Internet Explorer, scroll up to the top of the screen, above the Safe Senders list, and click Save and Close to save your changes.

  4. Repeat the steps above, but check the Filter Junk E-mail checkbox to turn on Junk email filtering , then click Save and Close. The folder will then be recreated and junk email filtering will resume.

How do I empty my Junk E-mail folder?
Messages older than 14 days will be deleted automatically from the Junk E-mail folder. To empty it sooner, follow the instructions below for your email software:

    Outlook Web Access through Internet Explorer:
    Right-click on the Junk E-mail folder and choose Empty Junk E-mail from the resulting list.

    Outlook Web Access through other browsers:
    Click on the Junk E-mail button on the left side of the screen to view the contents of the Junk E-mail folder. Once you can see the messages, click the Recycle Bin button Recycle Bin located in the toolbar at the top of the screen. You will be asked if you want to permanently delete all the messages and subfolders in the Junk E-mail folder. Click OK to delete the messages.

    Outlook, Entourage, Thunderbird, Eudora, Outlook Express, other email programs:
    Most email programs have a way to select all messages within a folder.

    Click on the Junk E-mail folder to open it, then click once on one of the junk email messages to select it. Once you have selected one message, hold down the CTRL key and press A. This will select all the messages in the folder. Then press the Delete key on your keyboard to delete all of the messages.

    If CTRL-A doesn't select all the messages in the folder, look through the pull-down menus at the top of your screen to find Select All.

Why can't I manage the Junk E-mail folder using Outlook 2003 instead of Outlook Web Access?
In order to manage the Junk E-mail folder in Outlook 2003, Cached Exchange Mode has to be turned on. In our experience, Cached Exchange Mode has caused many problems for users, so we recommend managing the Junk E-mail folder through Outlook Web Access instead. Also, since Outlook Web Access is available to all Exchange users, this allows users that are using other email programs to connect to Exchange to manage their Junk E-mail folder.

I have a rule that moves messages with SpamScore in the subject to the Deleted Items folder. Why isn't it working anymore?
Rules are very specific in the way that they work. If the rule is set up to move items with "SPAMSCORE" in the subject to the Deleted Items folder, it will only find items with "SPAMSCORE" in the subject. With the current email gateway, the subject of items that might be spam includes Spamtag. Update your rule to look for Spamtag and it will start working again.

I use an IMAP client (Outlook Express, Thunderbird, or Eudora, for example) at home to send email. How can I prevent messages that I send from being considered spam?
One of the factors that is used to determine whether an email message is junk or not is whether the message is being sent from the same location as the account. Previously, users at home using IMAP or POP connections to Exchange had been instructed to use their Internet Service Provider's SMTP server (smtp.sunflower.com or smtp.sbcglobal.net, for example.) as the Outgoing server when sending messages from Exchange accounts.

If you are using an IMAP or POP client to connect to your Exchange account, you should make sure that you are using AUTHSMTP.KU.EDU for your Outgoing Mail (SMTP) server so that messages coming from you are not considered spam. Follow the instructions at http://www.email.ku.edu/imap/ to reconfigure your connection to Exchange. As an added benefit, SSL encryption will keep your password from being visible as it is sent to the Exchange system.

I subscribe to a product newsletter and it’s being spamtagged. How do I get it delivered to my Inbox instead of my Junk E-mail folder?
If email that you want to receive is being Spamtagged and sent to the Junk E-mail folder, you will need to use Outlook Web Access to add the sender(s) of that email to your Safe Senders list. Open Outlook Web Access using Internet Explorer, right-click on a message and choose Add Sender to the Safe Senders List. This allows you to quickly add senders to the Safe Senders list without going through the Options screens.