Using CleanMail and CleanMail Plus

Using CleanMail and CleanMail Plus

CleanMail and CleanMail Plus are available only to customers using NetNation's Advanced Mail Service. You can upgrade to Advanced Mail Service in AccountManager's Email section.

CleanMail and CleanMail Plus provide spam and virus filtering that helps keep your email spam- and virus-free.
Using CleanMail
Upgrading to CleanMail Plus
Using CleanMail Plus

The next topic provides detailed instructions for using third-party email clients to filter and route email messages that have been scanned by CleanMail and CleanMail Plus.

Using CleanMail
If you are using NetNation's Advanced Mail Service, CleanMail provides you with standard virus and spam filtering. You can enable virus filtering, spam filtering or both. The following sections provide detailed information on how CleanMail's filtering works.
How virus filtering works

As soon as an email reaches our mail servers, our virus filtering system scans the incoming message and any attachments using the latest virus definitions. If an email is found to contain a virus, the email is automatically deleted and a notification is sent to both the sender and the recipient. In a few cases, the sender will not receive a notification. For example, if the address from which the virus was sent is forged or invalid or if the virus filters out the sender's email address.

The virus notification includes the name of the virus and the email address specified as the sender's address. The email's subject provides detailed information, as the following sample email subject line illustrates:

***VIRUS***(from<random@yahoo.com>)(W32/Hawawi.G@mm)

Our virus definitions are updated on a daily basis to provide the greatest security.

Note: Emails that have already been scanned for viruses and which contain either X-Virus-Scanned or X-Virus-Hold in the header will not be re-scanned. The system does not scan messages less than 24 KB in size regardless of attachments.

How spam filtering works

Our spam filtering system, which utilizes SpamAssasin, is built around a set of spam rules that have been carefully developed to provide you protection from spam while reducing the number of valid email messages that may be mistakenly categorized as spam.

All incoming emails are evaluated against these spam rules and are assigned a "spam score." This score determines whether the message will be classified as spam. The threshold is set at 5, meaning any message with a score of 5 or higher is classified as spam. Messages scoring between 5 and 10 will be delivered, but will include a spam notification in the subject of the email so that you can immediately identify and delete these messages. The following illustrates a sample subject line of an email message that scores between 5 and 10.

***SPAM***FREE PAY-PER-VIEW for life!

Messages that receive a spam ranking above 10 are automatically deleted so that they do not end up in your in-box.

Note: Emails that have already been filtered for spam and which contain the X-Spam-Flag in the header are not checked. Emails greater than 150 KB are not spam filtered.

Upgrading to CleanMail Plus

You can upgrade to CleanMail Plus within AccountManager's Email section.

To upgrade to CleanMail Plus:

In AccountManager, click the Email menu to display the Email management page.
Click Upgrade to CleanMail Plus. The Add Feature page displays.
Review the information, including any additional costs that may apply, and then click Add.
You can now configure CleanMail Plus settings. See the following section for detailed information.

Using CleanMail Plus
CleanMail's specially-developed filtering rules enable you to customize the level of filtering for your entire domain or for each individual email account on your domain. When you set a filter rule for your domain, it is applied to all of your users' email accounts automatically. You can, however, change the settings for selected users as necessary. For more information on the predefined rules, see the CleanMail Plus Filtering Rules section below.

You can also create your own blacklists and whitelists. A blacklist enables you to specify email addresses from which all incoming email messages are automatically blocked. A whitelist enables you to specify the email addresses from which email messages should never be blocked. You can specify a full email address, such as myemail@mydomain.com, or a partial email address that begins with the @ symbol, such as @mydomain.com. Remember that emails blocked by the blacklist cannot be retrieved. You can create a blacklist and whitelist for your entire domain and can add additional blacklist and whitelist entries for the individual email accounts on your domain.

To configure CleanMail Plus settings:

In AccountManager, click the Email menu to display the Email management page.
Click Manage CleanMail Plus.
To select a filtering rule for all email accounts in your domain, click the filter drop-down box and select the appropriate filter.
To create a blacklist and whitelist, click the Black/White List button.
On the Black/White List page, enter the partial (@mysampledomain) or full (myname@mysampledomain.com) email address to add to the black or white list and then click Add.
Repeat step 5 for each address you want to add to the Black or White list. When you are finished, click Done.
To apply the domain level settings to all of your users' email accounts, click Apply. Note that this resets any user-specific settings you may have previously configured.
To configure settings for individual email accounts, locate the appropriate user in the Manage Users section and repeat steps 3 - 6. Be sure to click Apply after configuring each user's settings.

CleanMail Plus Filtering Rules

Rule Description

Standard Filtering without Labeling This option is identical to the default option except the subject line of emails identified as spam are not modified to include the ***SPAM*** identifier.

Standard Filtering This option provides protection from viruses and spam while minimizing the risk of legitimate email messages being identified and processed as spam. CleanMail scans incoming messages for both spam and viruses. Messages identified as containing viruses are automatically deleted before they reach your In Box.

Messages scoring a 5 or higher on NetNation's carefully developed spam scale are marked in the Subject line as ***SPAM*** so that you can easily identify them. Messages scoring a 10 or higher on the spam scale are automatically deleted.

No Filtering
CleanMail spam and virus filtering is disabled for all incoming emails. CleanMail does not scan incoming emails for spam or virus, and all emails are delivered as usual.

You should use this option only if you have your own virus detection system in place and want to receive all incoming email messages, regardless of their subject and content.

Virus Only CleanMail scans incoming emails messages, as well as any attachments, for known viruses and automatically deletes them before they arrive in your In Box. CleanMail sends you and the sender an email notification indicating that a virus was detected in the incoming email message.

Spam filtering is disabled, meaning CleanMail will not scan for or filter out spam.

Spam Only CleanMail scans incoming email messages and evaluates them against NetNation's "spam" criteria.
All messages scoring higher than a 2 are "tagged" as spam in the email header. Messages scoring a 5 or higher on the spam scale are marked as spam and have ***SPAM*** added to the subject line so that you can automatically identify them. Messages scoring a 10 or higher are automatically deleted before they reach your In Box.

Virus filtering is disabled for incoming emails, meaning CleanMail will not check incoming mail or attachments for viruses. You should use this option only if you have your own virus detection system in place.

Tag Virus CleanMail scans your incoming email messages, as well as any attachments, for known viruses. If CleanMail detects a virus, the email is "tagged" as containing a virus in the email header. These email messages, however, are still delivered to your In Box.

Spam filtering is disabled, meaning CleanMail will not scan for or filter out spam.

Moderate Filtering This option provides both spam and virus filtering but significantly reduces the number of legitimate email messages that might otherwise be marked as spam or automatically deleted.

This option is similar to the default option, however CleanMail does not add ***SPAM*** to an email's subject line unless it scores a 10 or higher on NetNation's spam scale. Spam messages are not deleted automatically unless they score a 20 or higher.

Aggressive Filtering This option provides more aggressive spam filtering and keeps a higher number of spam emails from reaching your In Box.

This option is similar to the default option, however CleanMail more aggressively filters your incoming messages for spam. CleanMail automatically deletes all messages scoring a 5 or higher on NetNation's spam scale.

Tag Spam and Virus CleanMail scans incoming email messages for both viruses and spam. When scanning for spam, CleanMail evaluates the email message against NetNation's "spam" criteria. All messages scoring higher than a 2 are "tagged" as spam in the header.

CleanMail checks incoming messages, as well as any attachments, for known viruses. If CleanMail detects a virus, it tags the email in the header. Messages tagged as spam or virus are not deleted automatically but are delivered to your In Box.

Tag Spam and Delete Virus CleanMail scans incoming email messages for both viruses and spam. When scanning for spam, CleanMail evaluates the email message against NetNation's specially formulated "spam" criteria. All messages scoring higher than a 2 are "tagged" as spam.

CleanMail checks incoming messages, as well as any attachments, for known viruses. If CleanMail detects a virus, the message is automatically deleted before it arrives in your In Box.

Rule	Description
Standard Filtering without Labeling	This option is identical to the default option except the subject line of emails identified as spam are not modified to include the *SPAM* identifier.
Standard Filtering	This option provides protection from viruses and spam while minimizing the risk of legitimate email messages being identified and processed as spam. CleanMail scans incoming messages for both spam and viruses. Messages identified as containing viruses are automatically deleted before they reach your In Box. Messages scoring a 5 or higher on NetNation's carefully developed spam scale are marked in the Subject line as *SPAM* so that you can easily identify them. Messages scoring a 10 or higher on the spam scale are automatically deleted.
No Filtering	CleanMail spam and virus filtering is disabled for all incoming emails. CleanMail does not scan incoming emails for spam or virus, and all emails are delivered as usual. You should use this option only if you have your own virus detection system in place and want to receive all incoming email messages, regardless of their subject and content.
Virus Only	CleanMail scans incoming emails messages, as well as any attachments, for known viruses and automatically deletes them before they arrive in your In Box. CleanMail sends you and the sender an email notification indicating that a virus was detected in the incoming email message. Spam filtering is disabled, meaning CleanMail will not scan for or filter out spam.
Spam Only	CleanMail scans incoming email messages and evaluates them against NetNation's "spam" criteria. All messages scoring higher than a 2 are "tagged" as spam in the email header. Messages scoring a 5 or higher on the spam scale are marked as spam and have *SPAM* added to the subject line so that you can automatically identify them. Messages scoring a 10 or higher are automatically deleted before they reach your In Box. Virus filtering is disabled for incoming emails, meaning CleanMail will not check incoming mail or attachments for viruses. You should use this option only if you have your own virus detection system in place.
Tag Virus	CleanMail scans your incoming email messages, as well as any attachments, for known viruses. If CleanMail detects a virus, the email is "tagged" as containing a virus in the email header. These email messages, however, are still delivered to your In Box. Spam filtering is disabled, meaning CleanMail will not scan for or filter out spam.
Moderate Filtering	This option provides both spam and virus filtering but significantly reduces the number of legitimate email messages that might otherwise be marked as spam or automatically deleted. This option is similar to the default option, however CleanMail does not add *SPAM* to an email's subject line unless it scores a 10 or higher on NetNation's spam scale. Spam messages are not deleted automatically unless they score a 20 or higher.
Aggressive Filtering	This option provides more aggressive spam filtering and keeps a higher number of spam emails from reaching your In Box. This option is similar to the default option, however CleanMail more aggressively filters your incoming messages for spam. CleanMail automatically deletes all messages scoring a 5 or higher on NetNation's spam scale.
Tag Spam and Virus	CleanMail scans incoming email messages for both viruses and spam. When scanning for spam, CleanMail evaluates the email message against NetNation's "spam" criteria. All messages scoring higher than a 2 are "tagged" as spam in the header. CleanMail checks incoming messages, as well as any attachments, for known viruses. If CleanMail detects a virus, it tags the email in the header. Messages tagged as spam or virus are not deleted automatically but are delivered to your In Box.
Tag Spam and Delete Virus	CleanMail scans incoming email messages for both viruses and spam. When scanning for spam, CleanMail evaluates the email message against NetNation's specially formulated "spam" criteria. All messages scoring higher than a 2 are "tagged" as spam. CleanMail checks incoming messages, as well as any attachments, for known viruses. If CleanMail detects a virus, the message is automatically deleted before it arrives in your In Box.