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Advanced SPAM Filtering

FAQ

1. What is the difference between Standard SPAM Filtering Service" and Advanced SPAM Filtering Service"?

Standard Filtering is free to all GOL customers. We estimate that Standard Filtering (a combination of language filtering, local blacklists, and public real-time blacklists) blocks out approximately 70-80% of incoming SPAM. For some users, this is satisfactory to maintain a functional E-mail account. Others, who receive higher volumes of daily SPAM, require a stronger solution. The Advanced SPAM Filtering Service was developed with such users in mind. The combined effect of the Standard and Advanced filters will push the percentage of blocked SPAM to 98-99% (when used correctly).

2. What does "Signed Envelope Sender"(SES) mean?

Non-Delivery Notifications (A.K.A."bounces") that appear in your inbox due to remote mail systems incorrectly interpreting (and returning) undeliverable mail is known as "backscatter". The SES authenticity routine checks all such incoming mails for a GOL-specific "signature" to judge weather the mail actually originated from your account or not. Only E-mail with the presence of the signature confirmed is allowed in.

3. What is the "Greylist" filter?

The Greylist filter is intended as a powerful last wall of defense against cleverly designed SPAM that sneaks by other filters. Incoming mail that seems suspicious is put into a temporary holding queue where it will wait to be identified as legitimate or not.

4. What is the purpose of the Whitelist?

There are two Whitelists. One contains entries of E-mail addresses and the other contains a list of IP addresses. Incoming mail that originates from an IP address or E-mail address existing in either of the Whitelists will be let through unimpeded.

5. What happens to e-mails that are held in the Greylist queue?

Such mail will be stored on the server (24 hours maximum) awaiting confirmation from the sender's remote mail server. If the mail is confirmed legitimate within that time, an entry will be added to the Whitelist (to ensure that all future mail from that sender will be let through unobstructed) and then delivered to your inbox. What this means is that mail that is caught by the Greylist filter may be delayed in reaching your inbox by a few hours but this occurs only once and the sender will not be aware that any delay has occurred.

6. What is the difference between the "Blacklist" and the "Greylist"?

The entries contained in the various Blacklists that are employed by GOL are proven sources of SPAM and will never be accepted so long as they are in effect. Our GreyList, on the other hand, contains entries that do not exist on the Whitelists or Blacklists and are in the process of being categorized for future reference.

7. What is "SPAM Assassin"?

"Spam Assassin" is a self-learning, self-improving anti-SPAM tool that scans the content (headers and body) of incoming mail for pre-defined "tokens" (certain words, phrases, coding, etc.) that are then assigned a numerical score and added up to be checked against your personal filtering level. Customers have full control over the "strictness" of SPAM Assassin by choosing their own filtering level from a scale of 1 to 20.

8. I received SPAM with a score of 5 ("*****") or less. What should I do?

In the event that and SPAM with a SPAM Assassin score of 5 or less arrives in your mailbox, please forward it to spam@gol.com with the full headers pasted at the top. If possible, we will attempt to add some aspect of the SPAM to one of our local blacklists. You also have the option of lowering your SPAM level to a value of 5 or less but, anything below 5 is quite strong and could possibly block legitimate, and potentially important, E-mail.

9. I am not receiving e-mail that I know was sent to me. What's going on?

First of all, please make sure that you have not exceeded your mailbox storage limit. If you can confirm that lack of available space is not the problem, another possibility for unreceived mail may be that the mail in question is currently being queued in the Greylist, temporarily. Please contact us when you believe the circumstances above are not applicable.

10. Can I assign different filtering settings to my additional mailboxes?

Yes, log in to the Member's Station with the ID and Password that correlates to the additional mailbox you would like to configure and then proceed to "User Settings from the main menu. You can change your filtering preferences from "Advanced Spam Filter/Virus Filter Settings". Be sure to click "Update Spam and Virus Filter Policy" when finished to save changes.

11. Can I assign different filtering settings to my email alias?

No, the settings for any aliases you may have will be the same as the E-mail accounts they are attached to.

12. How do I apply for the "Advanced Spam Filtering Service"?

Please log in to the Member's Station and proceed to "Optional Services" from the main menu.

13. How do I enable/disable the "Advanced Spam Filtering Service"?

Please log in to the Member's Station and proceed to "User Settings" from the main menu. You may enable, disable, or alter previous configurations by clicking the "Advanced Spam Filter/Virus Filter" button. Be sure to click "Update Spam and Virus Filter Policy" when finished to save changes.