Spam Blocking

How much does this cost?

This facility is provided at no extra cost to all Internode mail server users.
We believe that you deserve nothing less.

How does the Spam system work?

Our email system scans incoming email and determines a 'spam rating' for each piece of email based on a variety of elements of each message.

The 'spam rating' is essentially the sum of a set of 'demerit points' assigned to these elements. The higher the number assigned, the more likely that the message is spam.

If the 'spam rating' is above a threshold level (which you can control), the incoming message is quarantined into a special area on our server, rather than being delivered into your mailbox.

What are these Spam threshold levels? What is highest, what is lowest, what holds more spam?

The spam settings drop down box allows you to select the threshold at which spam is held on our mail systems. To understand these settings, you need to understand how spam tagging works (as described briefly above).

When selecting a spam level, you are telling the server to hold mail which is tagged at or above the level that you select. Those levels range from 1 to 10:

• 1 is the strongest setting
  Any email tagged with a 1 or more will be held. This will generate false positives, i.e., the mail server will hold some legitimate email as suspected spam.
• 10 is the weakest setting
  Only the very worst spam will be held, and it is likely that a lot of spam will still get through to you. It is very unlikely that the server will hold legitimate email.
• The default level is 7
  This means that only the worst spam will be held by the server, but its unlikely to hold any legitimate email.

To give you a good idea of the ranges, here are some approximate values based on our testing of the system. NOTE: your mileage may vary (these may vary for you).

• Legitimate email:
  Tends to range from 0 to about 3 or 4, maybe even up to 5 or 6 depending on the email.
• Spam email:
  Tends to range up from about 3, with the most average spam being from about 3 to 6 or 7 working up to the worst spam which contains questionable content being above 7 to 9.

How do I check if my mail has been quarantined/held by the mail server?

You can check on the 'quarantined' email at any time via the
Email Configuration tool.

Alternatively, you can go directly to the page, after logging in, by using this URL:

• https://mailconfig.internode.on.net/cgi/user.cgi?lcmd=user_spam_stored_load

Any message that is held by our system can be viewed, delivered, or 'allowed' (delivered and also added to a list of permitted future senders).

If not otherwise dealt with by you, these quarantined messages are deleted from our web system automatically after 14 days.

You can set the threshold above which incoming messages are quarantined. Initially, all customers have a 'hold' threshold level of '7'. This blocks the delivery of the 'worst' of the spam that may arrive.

At this setting you will still receive some spam. There is a balance that you may need to find between blocking more spam, and the chance of blocking some messages (e.g. from mailing lists) that you do wish to receive.

We encourage you to try changing this setting to find the level that best suits your needs. We suggest that a setting of '4' is worth starting with, before gradually raising the threshold if you need to do so.

How do I turn the Spam System off?

If you wish to turn the system off, just set the spam hold threshold on the Spam Configuration
page to NEVER hold.

Figure 1: Turning the spam system off

I keep getting these messages from the Email system, what are they?

You will receive regular email reminders from our new system to tell you what email has been quarantined, including a web link to show you any held mail.

How do I get to the Email Configuration?

The direct link to access the Email Configuration system (if you wish to bookmark it) is:

• https://mailconfig.internode.on.net/cgi/user.cgi

You don't need to remember this link - You can also access the system by clicking on Email Configuration in the Online Tools page at http://www.internode.on.net/support/tools/

I get regular account status reports from the Internode Mail System, how do I turn these off?

You can turn these off, or adjust their frequency on the Account Log page in the Email Configuration system:

• Email Configuration: Account Log (direct link).

Virus Filtering

Our email system also includes Virus filtering!

By default, if anyone sends you email containing a virus, it will be blocked from being delivered to you - protecting your computer from the potential of being infected by a Virus coming in via the email system.

If you wish to turn off this protection, you can do so by un-checking the Virus Scanning tick-box on this page:

• https://mailconfig.internode.on.net/cgi/user.cgi?lcmd=user_spam_load

Mail Forwarding and Auto-Responder

Our email system also provides you with the ability to automatically forward email for your Internode mailbox to another destination.

Simply use the Forwarding Options link on the pages referred to above, if you wish to configure email forwarding.

Finally, on the same page, you can also engage an Auto-Responder.

This is a facility which can automatically send a response email to people who send email to you.

A typical use for this facility is as a 'vacation message' facility, to tell your friends when you are away from your mail for a while.

Please note that changes to the forwarding and auto-response settings may take up to an hour to take effect.

Mail Storage Times

How long does the Internode mail server keep email online?

In order to avoid the accumulation of wasted files on the Internode mail server, we implement a policy of purging messages that have not been accessed by customers for an extended period of time.

The following table lists the current message purging policy that is applied on the mail server:

Location	Time email is kept
Inbox	Unread email is purged after 12 months. Read email is never purged.
Trash	All email in the Trash folder is purged after 1 month.
Held Messages (Spam System)	All email is purged after 2 weeks.
Other Folders	Email is never purged from any other folders.