Once connected you will see your spam control dashboard:
In this dashboard, you can perform a variety of functions, such as:
- Manage white/blacklists
- Manage size restrictions
- Block certain file extensions
- View logs
- View queues
1. Incoming Section
In this section, you can view and manage options that affect the messages coming from the Spam Filtering tool to your WestHost mail server.
A. Log Search
Search the mail log within a specified date range. You can find e-mails to or from a specific address or domain. This tool will show you the classification of the log entry, as well. This log searches the ENTIRE e-mail log, not just messages that have been filtered or blocked.
Please note that logs are kept for 28 days.
Get Raw logs allow you to download the specified date range.
B. Spam Quarantine
This tool allows you to manage messages that have been marked as questionable but not rejected. If the tool does not have enough evidence to be filtered out as spam, it will be quarantined instead for your review.
C. Delivery Queue
Messages waiting to be delivered will be displayed here.
D. Domain Statistics
This tool allows you to see a report of all messages that have passed through the filtering software, and how they were filtered.
E. Filter Settings
You can change the point on a decimal scale of 0-1 at which your spam tool will flag a message as spam, but still be allowed to go through. You can also change whether certain filtering methods are used such as SPF checks and maximum line length. You can also instruct it on handling messages that may be in doubt, and how to alert when messages have been quarantined.
F. Domain Aliases
This allows you to have mail for other domains filtered as well. The caveat on this tool is that it will still only deliver messages to the users that are actually on the domain your spam filtering tool is configured. You will also need to update the MX entry for the alias domain to have it route mail through the filtering service.
For example, if you have westhost.com with the mail server mail.westhost.com, but you set up an alias domain westhost.org, then mail sent to bob@westhost.org can be delivered to bob@westhost.com after it has been filtered through the Spam tool.
The "To:" headers will still report that message as having been sent to bob@westhost.org.
G. Report Spam / Not Spam
These two tools allow you to upload a saved e-mail message that had been marked as spam, and submit a request that similar messages NOT be marked as spam in the future.
Similarly the "Report Spam" allows you to request that future similar messages be marked as spam from that point on.
Currently, you can only upload .eml files for this tool to work.
2. Protection Report
The Protection Report section generates reports on the messages that have been filtered and allows you to e-mail said reports to a specified location. You can manage what addresses you would like reports sent to here.
A. On-Demand Report
The on-demand report tool can generate a daily or weekly report in HTML or PDF format. It will automatically e-mail it to the address that you specify. The "include extra spam table" option allows the report to generate an extra table for messages that were rejected as spam, but not quarantined.
B. Periodic Domain Report
This report allows a custom time frame.
C. Periodic User Report
This report tool allows you to enable periodic protection reports based on specific users. You can add users either individually or via a .csv upload function.
The PDF report outlines a summary of the spam and viruses that the filtering service has protected the domain or address against. It also includes information about the total volume of mail processed for the said user.
The report also includes a detailed table, for auditing purposes, of messages that were rejected but not quarantined. A similar table is also included of messages that were quarantined, including links to release each message directly.
The option "Automatically Activate for All Recipient" will screen messages so that when spam is delivered to new users not yet known on the system, said users will automatically be added to the Periodic User Report.
3. Email Restrictions
This section allows you to set certain restrictions on incoming messages such as size or attachment content.
A. Blocked Extensions
This will allow you to filter messages based on the file type in the attachments. The tool provides a list of commonly blocked file extensions, though none are enabled by default. You can also add additional types that you may want to block.
B. Email Size Restriction
Filter messages based on their size in kilobytes (KB). If an incoming message is larger than the specified restriction size, it will be rejected.
4. Whitelists and Blacklists
This section allows you to set up white and blacklists based on senders and recipients.
A. Sender Whitelist
Allow individual e-mail addresses to always send mail to you. You can also whitelist entire domains. Keep in mind that if a domain or e-mail address is whitelisted and a spammer is spoofing their e-mail headers, those messages will still be allowed through.
B. Recipient Whitelist
Whitelist specific recipients so that specific inboxes on your domain always receive mail. This is mostly intended to permit addresses such as abuse@ or postmaster@ to always receive incoming mail. In many cases, you will have addresses that you will want to be sure are always able to receive mail, no matter the content or sender's reputation.
Be aware that if a spammer sends to a whitelisted recipient, the messages will not be filtered and will get through.
C. Sender Blacklist
Prevent specific e-mail addresses or domains from sending e-mail to any of your accounts. No mail from a blacklisted user or domain will ever get through your spam filtering.
D. Recipient Blacklist
You can also blacklist recipient addresses on your hosting account, regardless of message content or sender reputation. No e-mail will come into a user's account if they are blacklisted. This is usually a tool utilized to block attempted spam attacks on common users that are not active on your account: info, sales, etc.
If you are using the user as an active account, using a recipient blacklist would prevent it from receiving ANY e-mail.
E. Adding Addresses
To add an e-mail address to any of the white/blacklists, click the "Add Sender" or "Add Recipient" button and enter the entire e-mail address that you wish to list. Click "Add" to complete.
To list an entire domain, enter the full domain name without the "username@" before it, and click "Add."
F. Removing Addresses
To remove an address or domain from any list, select the checkbox next to the entry and click on "Remove Selected."
Changes are immediate.
5. My Account
This section allows you to update your user's profile settings.
You cannot change your domain from inside the User's Profile tool, but you can update the password and primary e-mail address (this will not override custom e-mails that you may have configured in other areas of your spam dashboard).
Essentially you will only ever want to update the password, which should then reflect in your https://cp.westhost.com/ area.