Anti Spam Services
Our spam-scanning engine searches each message for certain words, styles or phrases, which are characteristic of spam. Additionally, the unique 'fingerprint' of the mail is looked up in a central spam database, and the sending machine is also looked up in several anti-spam databases. Over 600 tests in total are carried out, and each test is assigned a 'score'.
When the scanning is complete, the scores are added up, and if the total is over a user-defined threshold, then the mail is put into a quarantine area (see below).
Virus Scanning
Similar to spam scanning, several tests are performed on the message and any attachments. If the message contains any known viruses, then the whole message is moved into quarantine. There is no 'score' to consider here, either the message contains a virus, or it doesn't. The database is updated daily.The Quarantine
The quarantine is a separate area within the user’s mailbox where spam or virus-laden email is stored. Items in the quarantine are not downloaded to the user’s PC when a send/receive is performed. The user is provided with a page where the contents of the quarantine can be inspected for 'false positives' (legitimate mail incorrectly identified as spam), and messages there can be diverted into the regular mailbox area, or removed permanently.
Messages in quarantine will be left on the server for 7 days by default (user-configurable), and then removed. If the user is collecting mail using IMAP, then the quarantine area can also be accessed as a separate folder called 'Trash'.
A 'digest' is also available, which is an email sent to you every day informing you of what's in your quarantine area, and links to browse the contents.
You can also set the anti-spam threshold or 'aggressiveness' from the quarantine area page. Lower numbers will move more mail into quarantine. The threshold is per-address customisable, meaning you can have a lower threshold on 'sales@yourdomain', than on 'yourname@yourdomain'.
Limitations
No guarantees can be made as to the effectiveness of this system, but testing has shown it to be very accurate, and can cut out over 95% of spam if an appropriate threshold is used. Forwarding accounts cannot be scanned. Our anti-virus & anti-spam service should be regarded as an additional protection to anti-virus/anti-spam being run on the receiving PC.
Ordering & Usage
The anti-virus/anti-spam service is ordered on a per-domain basis. To order you'll need to login to your account. Please see our FAQ on How to Order
When the set-up of anti-spam/anti-virus is complete for your domain, you’ll receive instructions via email on how to configure the thresholds for each email address.
To view the quarantine and change settings for anti-virus/anti-spam, you should log into http://webmail.<domain>/ with a POP3 (mailbox) username and password. You can also administer settings via Email Admin within your Online account.
By default the threshold on each address is set to 20 - no spam or viruses will be filtered out at this threshold. In order to activate anti-virus/anti-spam, the threshold must be lowered. Setting it between 8 and 10 will catch a lot of obvious spam, 4 to 5 will catch about 70% of spam, and between 2 and 3 for very effective filtering. The lower the threshold is (particularly lower than 3), the more times you should check the quarantine folder to make sure legitimate mail hasn't been filtered by mistake. If a lot of legitimate mail is being filtered, then the threshold should be increased slightly.
| Anti Virus and Anti Spam | Monthly | Annual | Setup |
| Anti Virus and Anti Spam enabled on a domain plus you can configure up to 20 POP3 accounts. | n/a | £29.99 | free |
| Additional Anti Spam/Virus for 10 POP accounts | n/a | £10.00 | free |