A new program released by Information Technology Services could be the answer for students whose e-mail accounts have been overwhelmed by spam.
ITS recently introduced its spam filtering system for use with all Mississippi State University e-mail accounts.
Spam is any unwanted e-mail that a person receives. These messages are usually delivered in bulk and can include viruses.
“The best way to avoid the spam is to sign up for the software,” Matt Raven, ITS User Services director, said.
The software the filter uses comes from a company called Roaring Penguin. The software is based on Spam Assassin and Clam AV.
“We wrote enhancements from the software and created a simple interface for users to utilize,” Timothy Griffin, ITS Director of Systems and Networks, said.
Students who are interested in registering for the software must log in at www.stopspam.msstate.edu.
After registering, users can choose between a simple interface, which is recom mended for most users, and an expert interface.
Students can also choose between low, moderate and aggressive filtering settings.
“The filter analyzes each e-mail, but the level it analyzes them is determined by the setting that the user chooses. The aggressive level is the best level,” Griffin said
Users can add as many MSU e-mail accounts as they want.
There are ways that users can avoid spammers. One way they can avoid spammers is by not giving their e-mail address when signing up for online products. Usually companies will use a person’s e-mail address and sell it to different companies, Griffin said.
Spam is so widespread because it costs nothing to create and send it to someone else. Also, some people respond to spam, which creates more spam. It is hard to control because there is no way to authenticate e-mails. In an e-mail, a person can assume any identity they choose, Griffin said.
Filters like the one at MSU have to be updated because spammers develop new ways to beat the systems every day.
“Some spammers add text from dictionaries to enable their messages to pass through some systems. The best thing to do with spam is just to delete it,” Griffin said.
“The best way to avoid the spam is to sign up for the software,” Raven said.