Take the BITE outta SPAM!

Koi Media's Spam and Virus Firewall User’s Manual For Koi Media Clients

Now that you’ve signed up for one of the most aggressive spam and virus protection services on the ‘net today, it’s time to start learning how to take advantage of all its features. Once you learn how easy it is to block upwards of 90% of your incoming spam and virus e-mail you’ll wonder how you lived in the digital world without it!

A.     Allowed and Tagged Email.

Once your email system has been set up to defer via Koi Media’s Barracuda server, you’ll notice a significant drop in incoming spam and virus messages. To understand how much this will increase your server productivity, let’s take a look at the below graph.

Hourly Mail Statistics

Blocked: Rate Control Blocked: Bad Recipient Blocked: Spam Blocked: Virus Quarantined Allowed: Tagged Allowed

Daily Mail Statistics

Blocked: Rate Control Blocked: Bad Recipient Blocked: Spam Blocked: Virus Quarantined Allowed: Tagged Allowed

                        The light green fields indicate the amount of email that you can expect to arrive in your in-box untagged by the system. This Allowed mail includes mail from addresses you have regularly accepted mail from before, mail from addresses you have added to your Whitelist, or mail that does not trigger any spam or virus filters. Tagged mail (represented by the dark green fields) arrives in your inbox similarly to Allowed mail, however, the words BULK MAIL will appear in the subject line of each email. Tagged mail has not triggered any virus warnings, but has generated a low-level spam filter. If the incoming mail is from a trusted source, you can add their address to your Whitelist, otherwise simply delete it.

B.     Quarantined Mail Notifications.

The next level of email filtering is mail that has been held from your inbox on the server in Quarantine (indicated by the ochre colored fields of the previous graph). This is mail that triggered moderate spam filters or questionable virus potential. You’ll be notified by email when your first message is held in Quarantine, and from that time on you can choose how often you receive notifications.

                                                              i.      Initial Quarantine Email Notification

Your initial notification email will arrive from Barracuda Spam Firewall (bulk@koimedia.com). This message will notify you that there is one or more emaisl held in Quarantine for you on the Koi Media server. It will include your username (generally your email address) and a temporary password. You are strongly encouraged to change your password upon your first use of the Quarantine system. You can change your password by accessing the Security tab in your Quarantine Preferences (more on this below). Quarantine notifications will also include a direct link supported by most mail clients.

                                                            ii.      Recurring Quarantine Notifications

After your initial Quarantine notification, you will receive future Quarantine summary notifications at intervals of your choosing. Although the notification default is daily, you can also select weekly, or you can opt to turn off your Quarantine notifications entirely (for more regarding these options, read on to Quarantine Preferences). If you have no mail held in Quarantine, you will not receive notifications. To see what a notification email will appear like in your inbox, see the example below.

C.     Quarantined Mail Inbox and Preferences.

                                                              i.      Create New Password.

Upon your first visit to your Quarantine Inbox, you should change your password. This is done in the Security section of Quarantine Preferences. However, when you arrive at the Quarantine log-in screen, you will see a button providing you the option to Create New Password (see below). This is not the place to select a new password, but is intended for those who have lost or forgotten their existing passwords. To generate a new password when you have lost or forgotten your previous one, fill in your Username (generally your email address) and click the Create New Password button. A new password will be mailed to you that will allow you to access your Quarantine Inbox. Once you have generated this new password, you are encouraged to change it to something unique that you will remember by accessing the Security tab in the Quarantine Preferences section.

                                                             ii.      Quarantine Inbox

1.      Filter & Pattern – If you have multiple pages of Quarantine messages, you can opt to filter them be selecting a field Filter (From, To, etc) and/or a Pattern or keyword and then clicking the Apply Filter button. This will change the display of your Quarantined mail in order by the Filter field, or isolate ones according to the Pattern you indicate.

2.      Deliver – Selecting the “Deliver” option will release the selected email or emails from Quarantine and forward them on as if they were Allowed mail.

3.      Whitelist – Selecting the “Whitelist” option will add the email address of a Quarantined email to your Whitelist and Deliver it forward to your mail client. Future messages from the same address will be scored as Allowed Mail.

4.      Delete – Selecting the “Delete” option will delete the selected email, denying it from being forwarded any further. This option will also notify our server that this was a spam mail, contributing to future spam scoring.

5.      Log Off – Selecting the “Log Off” link logs you out of the Quarantine system. If you are checking your Quarantine mail from a shared or remote-accessed computer, we recommend always logging out to protect your mail security at the end of each session.

6.      Confirmation – When you have completed an action on the Quarantine System, you’ll see a “Configuration successfully updated” message. This appears under the Quarantine headings to let you know your changes have been saved.

                                                          iii.      Preferences

1.      Security

We recommend changing your password from the auto-generated system password to a unique alphanumeric string of up to 29 characters. To change your password, enter the auto-generated password from your Quarantine Initial Email Notification in the Old Password field, then fill in the New Password field with anything you choose. PASSWORDS ARE CASE SENSITIVE, so please take care in selecting your New Password. After you Re-Type New Password, the new selection will be set in the system and you will enter it whenever you log in to the Quarantine system. You can change your password at any time, and it is always a good idea to change your passwords every six to eight months.

2.      Quarantine Enable/Disable

If you prefer not to have to log into the Quarantine system, you can opt to have Quarantined email scored as Tagged Mail. This mail will be delivered to your mail client with a QUARANTINE tag in the subject line. Please note that turning off the Quarantine system means that your mail will not have the benefits of keeping potential viruses away from your computer, only of being alerted that they might be present. Quarantine is Enabled by default. To Disable the system you must select the “No” radio button and click the Save Changes button.

3.      Spam Filter Enable/Disable

If, for some reason you want to test the system, or need to turn off your Spam Filters for any length of time, you can opt to Disable them. Please note that turning off the Spam Filter system means that your mail means that all incoming mail will be delivered with spam scanning (although suspicious mail with virus potential may still be retained in Quarantine). Spam Filters are Enabled by default. To Disable them, you must select the “No” radio button and click the Save Changes button.

4.      Spam Scoring Levels

Spam Scoring Levels are the number values electronically assigned to each incoming email, in order to determine whether or not it is a spam message. Drawing from a complex set of factors, these rankings take into account certain keywords (virus or product names, etc), encryption tricks, and other potential spam tactics and try to gauge the validity of each email. If you find the System Defaults are restricting too much friendly mail, you can alter Current Scoring Levels to reflect looser standards. Alternately, if you are finding that too much spam is still making it through the system, you can alter Current Scoring Levels to tighten up your Spam Filters. You can change the levels of Tagged, Quarantined, and/or Blocked email by Selecting the “No” radio button at the top and then entering a decimal number in the appropriate field(s) before clicking the “Save Changes” button. The higher the number, the more mail will be allowed through the system – the lower the number the more mail will be filtered and screened. You can always restore the System Defaults by clicking the “Yes” and then “Save Changes” buttons.

5.      Whitelist/Blacklist

If you find that friendly emails are being tagged or spam messages are still getting through, you can maintain lists to customize what gets through, or gets blocked. By entering email addresses into the “Allowed Email Addresses and Domains” field, you can make sure that important messages from your co-workers, clients, friends, and family come through no matter what their mail Spam Scoring Levels are. Alternately, you can Blacklist unfriendly email addresses by inputting them into the “Blocked Email Addresses and Domains” field. Blacklisted addresses may also be shared with our servers to notify them that this was a spam mail, contributing to future spam scoring.

6.      Quarantine Notification

Quarantine Notifications are only sent out on days when you incur Quarantined emails. Although the system defaults to Daily, you can opt for Weekly notifications, or turn them off completely by selecting the appropriate Notification Interval radio button and then clicking the “Save Changes” button. Please note that if you opt to Never receive Quarantine Notifications, you will need to remember to periodically check your Quarantine Inbox, otherwise the mail will be held indefinitely until it falls out of the system entirely.