Mass Influx of Spam Messages - No action required - [Updated]
Posted: 2013-04-03 14:53:35 Expiration: 2013-05-31 14:53:35
There has been a nationwide increase of spam recently across many major email systems. These new spam messages have had a critical part of their design changed in an attempt to bypass spam filtering systems. The design change has seemingly failed and resulted in message breakage, causing them to appear blank for all users. Note: The spam reports we have now indicate that they are no longer blank, but continue to be delivered in higher quantities .
These spam messages pose no new threat to WiscMail users that previous spam messages haven't already. For all intents and purposes, users can disregard the influx of spam messages and they will very likely reduce back to normal levels in time.
The WiscMail Team has been surveying the situation since traffic logging originally saw a 10% spike in spam. The built-in spam filter for the WiscMail system is able to identify and successfully re-direct these messages to the junk mail folder effectively for almost all users. If any users still receive these messages in their inbox, a review should be made of their server-side -and- local spam filtering rules (client filters).
If the HelpDesk walks through properly setting up filters with a customer and the problem is still unresolved, handling should be collected and cases should be forwarded up. Any cases forwarded up concerning these spam messages should provide message headers and whether the customer has client-side filters in the handling information.
- Filter Configuration: https://kb.wisc.edu/2368
- WiscMail/WiscMail Plus Handling: https://kb.wisc.edu/13581
-- WiscMail: Mark Jenkins