ESU 10 Filter FAQ

Explanation of Internet Content Filtering at ESU 10

ESU 10 currently has two different types of Internet content filters in place. They filter web traffic(http) and email.

The web filter, which was formerly known as IGear, is called Web Security by Symantec. Web Security filters all ESU 10 web-based internet traffic. This means that every web page accessed on the World Wide Web is filtered for content that may not be suitable in an educational setting. ESU 10 policy requires we block web pages that fit into the following pre-defined categories in order to meet e-rate eligibility: crime, sex/acts, and violence. Individual schools may block/filter content in addition to what ESU 10 blocks by default. Other pre-defined categories of web traffic that can be blocked/filtered by schools include drugs/advocacy, drugs/nonmedical, entertainment/games, entertainment/sports, finance, gambling, interactive/chat, interactive/mail, intolerance, job search, news, sex/attire, sex/nudity, sex/personal, sex-ed/advanced, sex-ed/basic, sex-ed/sexuality, and weapons.

Web sites can also be filtered dynamically. This means a web page that is being accessed is scanned for key words. Each key word has a rating. If too many key words cause the total rating to exceed the threshhold defined by a school, the web page will be blocked.

Web security also has the ability to filter other aspects of web traffic, such as downloads of files with certain extensions or specific web sites that do not fit in to one of the pre-defined categories.

The email filters scan email for spam and viruses.

The virus email filter is called F-Prot. F-Prot scans email headers for problems that might cause security holes in email clients. F-Prot also scans email attachments for viruses. If F-Prot finds a virus in an email, the infected email message will not be sent to the recipient. A message will then be sent from MailScanner to the intended recipient, notifying the recipient that an email intended for him/her was not delivered.

The spam email filter is called SpamAssassin . SpamAssassin only filters email in order to block spam, or unsolicited email. SpamAssassin works by applying a set of rules to each email message. It parses through every part of a message, including the headers and bodies of email. It also compares email to a black list of known spammers. The most conspicuous spam is automatically deleted and not forwarded on to the intended recipient. Other email messages that are most likely spam are marked by the system and sent on to the recipient. These marked email messages have {Spam?} inserted into the Subject line of the email.

Most email clients have the ability to automatically forward incoming email messages based on user-defined criteria. This feature can be helpful in automatically removing the email messages marked as spam from the Inbox. The messages can be moved directly to the Trash or another folder.

*Note: Because there is the possibility that email messages may incorrectly be marked as spam, it may not be a good idea to move messages directly to the Trash. It is common to just have spam email forwarded to another folder where they can be viewed and deleted.

In any email client, the general steps for automatically forwarding spam to a specific folder are:

1. Create a new spam folder where spam emails can be stored.
2. Create a new email filter that scans all incoming email for {Spam?} in the subject line.
3. Configure the filter to send spam to the spam folder that was created

Following are specific instructions for commonly used email clients.

Squirrelmail

1. Log in to Squirrelmail. (http://webmail.esu10.org/)
2. Click on the Folders menu at the top of the screen.
3. In the Create a Folder box, create a folder called Spam as a subfolder of Inbox.
4. Click on the Options menu at the top of the screen.
5. Select Message Filters from list of options that are displayed.
6. Set What to Scan to All messages, and click the New link.
7. In the Match box, select Subject.
8. In the Contains box, type {Spam?} (including the braces).
9. In the Move to box, select Spam.
10. Submit.

Outlook

1. From the Tools menu, select Rules Wizard.
2. Select New from within the Rules Wizard.
3. At this screen, select ?Check messages when they arrive.? Click Next.
4. Check the condition that says ?with specific words in the subject.? In the area directly below the selection just made, click the blue underlined link labeled specific words.
5. In the dialog box that pops up, enter {Spam?} and click the Add button, and then OK. Click Next.
6. In this screen, check the box that says ?move it to the specified folder.? In the area directly below the selection just made, click the blue underlined link labeled specified. At this point you can create a new folder for incoming spam, or select an existing folder such as the Trash. After selecting the folder, click OK and then Next.
7. At this point you can click Finish or continue with the remaining steps in the wizard.

Outlook Express

1. From the Tools menu, select Message Rules > Mail.
2. For the condition, select ?where the subject line contains specific words.? In the area directly below the selection just made, click the blue underlined link labeled contains specific words.
3. In the dialog box that pops up, enter {Spam?} and click the Add button, and then OK.
4. For the action, select ?move it to the specified folder.?
5. In the area directly below the selection just made, click the blue underlined link labeled specified. At this point you can create a new folder for incoming spam, or select an existing folder such as the Deleted Items folder.
6. Enter a name for the rule and click OK.

Eudora

1. From the Tools menu, select Filters.
2. Click New.
3. Check the Incoming box.
4. In the first Header selection box, select Subject.
5. The next drop-down box should say Contains.
6. Type {Spam?} in the box next to contains. In effect, the filter should say ?incoming subject contains {Spam?}.?
7. In the first Actions drop-down box, select Transfer To.
8. Click the button that appears next to the selection you just made, and select or create the folder where spam messages should be moved.
9. Close the Filters dialog box.

There are also software alternatives that can be purchased which work with common email clients to detect spam and deal with it appropriately.

- FAQ by Jamie Kramer Draft 2/4/2003