PrivacyPost© Tutorial
Table of Contents
PrivacyPost© from Privacy NETworks, is an advanced security and message
filtering application that is designed to work with your email system. PrivacyPost© gives the
users and system administrator control over the processing and disposition
of incoming email. Messages are processed and sorted based on the
mail source and the Spam % value associated with the email
content. The Spam % value is automatically calculated by PrivacyPost©, using advanced
algorithms to determine the likelihood that a received message is
Spam. PrivacyPost© automatically
adapts to each unique environment by continually learning
and updating itself based on the email traffic that is processed and
the user's determination which messages are legitimate and which
are actually Spam.
Spam % values above user-designated
thresholds will cause emails to be automatically isolated in a Trashcan or in a Graybox. For example, if the Graybox threshold is set to 54 and the Trashcan threshold is set to 65, messages with a calculated value below 54
will be sent to the user's Intray; messages with a calculated value
between 54 and 64 will be sent to the user's Graybox; and
messages with a value above 64 will be sent to the user's Trashcan;
Both the Graybox and Trashcan areas can be easily
reviewed by the user and all messages can be retrieved and sent to
the user's Inbox. PrivacyPost© contains
an integrated Anti-Virus scanner to ensure that incoming messages are
free from viruses. When enabled, messages containing a virus are
isolated in the quarantine area and cannot be forwarded or activated.
There are 4 components associated with PrivacyPost©
Message sources can be designated by the user and
administrator into three categories at both the user and domain
levels:
Whitelist - a known non-Spam email source
(Good mail).
Blacklist - a known Spam source or an
unwanted email source (Bad Mail).
Graylist - an undetermined email source
(Questionable mail).
PrivacyPost© users will receive an email, called the PrivacyPost© Update,
in their Inbox that shows them what has been filtered from their Inbox.
This message is sent every few hours and the user can select how often to
receive the Update by changing the option in the Preferences section
(discussed later). The PrivacyPost Update shows the messages that have
been filtered since the last update, so if there have not been any messages
blocked from your Inbox there won't be an Update sent to you.
By default this message will come in HTML format allowing the user to click on the link and be taken to the message. The PrivacyPost© Update allows the user to quickly manage messages by looking at a single email to review quarantined messages.
Users will need to log into PrivacyPost© if they wish to review or retrieve any email that
has been quarantined in the Graybox or Trashcan.
This is the screen that you will see whenever you
wish to access PrivacyPost©:
First time users must register by
clicking on "Sign up here", and filling in the
registration screen:
The required fields are First and Last name,
Password and Email address. The Phone field is optional.
Once a
user has registered they can start using the system by going back to
the logon screen and putting in their Login (complete email address)
and password. The user will be logged off automatically if they close
the application or after 4 hours have elapsed.
The different areas of PrivacyPost© are accessed
by clicking on the tabs at the top of the screen. Below are descriptions
of each area.
The Graybox is the default screen that the
user will see when they log into PrivacyPost©.
Any email that cannot be classified with certainty
as Spam or not Spam will appear in the Graybox based on the
calculated Spam %. Users can set the Spam % threshold
level for messages to be sent to the Graybox (explained later
in the Preferences section). Users can also add email sources
for inclusion to the Graybox, which we will see later in the Graylist section. In addition, messages that have been scanned
and found to have viruses will be isolated in this area.
The messages in the Graybox can be sorted
by From, Date, Spam % or Subject. To
sort, just click on the column title. Clicking on the column heading
a second time will reverse the order. The default setting is to have
the messages sorted by Date.
Spam sources can be Blacklist-ed or Graylist-ed, or Whitelist-ed either at the email
address or domain level by using the drop down box on the top left
hand side. If the user designates adding the message sources to the Blacklist, the messages, and any subsequent messages from that
same source, will be automatically sent to the user's Trashcan.
A user can Forward a message to the user's
email Inbox or Delete it from this area by using either of
those action buttons, or you can forward the message to your Inbox
and Whitelist the email source using the Forward and Whitelist button.
In the Graybox, the Delete as Spam button indicates that the email
messages to be deleted are identified by the user as Spam. This helps train
the PrivacyPost© software and results in higher Spam catching ability and fewer Spam messages getting to your Inbox.
To activate a message for action, click on the box
at the left hand side of the message so that a check mark appears
next to it. Messages can be checked individually or can be selected
all at once using the "Select All" button. You can
unselect individual messages once you Select All, by clicking
on the check mark next to the message you want to unselect. After the
messages have been selected, action can be taken on them.
To read an individual message, click on the Subject line for that message. Once in the message, you can Whitelist, Blacklist or Graylist the user or the
domain of the message source by selecting the desired designation in
the dropdown box and then clicking on the Move to List button.
You can also forward the message to your email Inbox or delete the
message.
Multiple pages may be stored in your Graybox,
depending on how many messages you have received, with each page
displaying up to 20 emails as the default setting. This can be
modified in the user Preference settings, as shown later. The Page drop down box in the middle top or bottom of the frame
will let you see how many pages you have, while the total number of
stored messages can also be seen in that area of the screen. To view
the following pages, click on the Page drop down box or click
on the Next button to view the next page of messages. The Previous button will take you to the previous page.
Please Note: Action must be taken one page
at a time; you can't select items for action, as in Delete or Forward, and then go to the next page without losing the
action selection.
Messages are held in the Graybox for a
designated period of time. You can set your desired amount of time
(to a limit) in the Preferences section as discussed later.
The System Administrator sets the overall time limit for the system.
If the message appears as red
text in the Graybox listing, the
message has been found to have a virus attached to it and you will
not be able to read or otherwise open the message. This is to ensure
that the virus is not activated.
All email sources that have been Blacklist-ed
by the user, as well as mail with a Spam % above the
user-defined level, will be automatically forwarded to the Trashcan.
User defined Spam % level for inclusion into the Trashcan is explained in the Preferences section.
"Undesirable" email will be quarantined in the Trashcan until the user manually removes it or it has exceeded
the amount of time it is allowed to remain. This time limit can be
set system wide by the System Administrator and individually by each
user in the Preferences section, with the maximum amount of
time determined by the System Administrator.
Action can be taken on items in the Trashcan in the same way as in the Graybox. The Forward and
Whitelist button will send the email to the user's
Inbox and add the sender to the user's Whitelist. Future
mail from this source will automatically be sent to the user's
Inbox. (If virus scanning is enabled by the Administrator, email will
first be checked for viruses before being sent to user's Inbox.)
The Forward button will move selected items to the user's Inbox.
The Send to Graybox button will move selected items to the Graybox.
The Empty ALL Trash button will delete all items in the Trashcan.
The Search Message option allows you to
search for and find messages that contain a specific word or string
in the message Subject or From areas. For example, if
you wanted to search for all messages that contained the word "Linux"
in the Subject or From categories, you would type it the dialog box
and click on Submit. Once the results are displayed, you can
take action on the messages in the same way as in the Graybox or Trashcan - such as adding some or all of those email
sources to the Whitelist or Blacklist.
The area under the Lists tab allows the user to manage the three
lists that control how PrivacyPost© processes incoming email.
Clicking on Search Lists and then typing in a keyword will search
any or all of the lists for addresses that contain that keyword.
(Click the button for the list you want to search. The System lists
affect all users and are managed by the System Administrator.)
The Whitelist is a list of mail sources set
by each user, from which any email will automatically be placed in
the user's standard email Inbox, providing the message does not
contain a virus. This list is in addition to the System
Whitelist, so users will not need to input mail sources already
added to the System Whitelist by the System Administrator.
Users can check to see if specific addresses are on the System Whitelist by using the Check Address tab at the top of
the page.
Users cannot place mail sources on multiple Lists --
you can't have a mail source on your Blacklist and your Whitelist at the same time. But, you can Whitelist a
specific user address, even though you have Blacklist-ed a
domain. For example, you want to block all email from somemail.com
because lots of Spam comes from that domain, but you do want to
receive email from aunt_mary@somemail.com.
So, you add somemail.com to the Blacklist and add aunt_mary@somemail.com to your Whitelist. You can get mail from Aunt Mary while blocking all
other messages from somemail.com.
You cannot override the System settings from the
Administrator without permission. For example, if the administrator
has a mail source on the Blacklist, you cannot put that same
source on your Whitelist and receive mail from them without
having permission from the Administrator.
Clicking on the + sign on the left
hand side of the screen next to Whitelist takes you to the Whitelist and lets you view all Whitelist-ed users and
domains specific to your account. Once the list appears, you can
delete any or all of the Whitelist-ed entries by selecting
them and clicking the Delete selected entries button.
You can add new email sources to the Whitelist by typing in
the user address or the domain and then clicking the Add button.
After doing so, all email from the specified user or domain will be
automatically deposited into your normal email Inbox.
Once a mail source is removed from the Whitelist,
any new mail received from that source will be reviewed by PrivacyPost© for Spam % content
just like any unknown mail source.
graylist","Graylist
The Graylist option allows the user to
select users and/or domains for which email will automatically be
deposited into the Graybox for review and processing. Graylist sources might be domains from which you don't want to receive
messages into your regular email Inbox, but you wish to be able to
review the individual messages before deleting. For example, you may
wish to have your Frequent Flyer statement sent to your Graybox instead of your Inbox. There is no System level Graylist.
Once again, clicking on the Graylist +
sign will take you to the addresses on the list. Deleting and Adding
in the Graylist are the same as in the Whitelist (see Whitelist above).
Please Note: Adding a domain
to the Graylist will cause all email from that domain
to be forwarded to your Graybox except for sources that you
might have on your Whitelist and/or Blacklist.
The Blacklist is a list of mail sources,
set by each user, from which any email will automatically be placed
into the Trashcan. Your list is in addition to the System
Blacklist, so you will not need to input mail sources already
added to the System Blacklist by the System Administrator.
Users can check to see if specific addresses are on the System Blacklist by using the Check Address tab at the top of the
page and typing in the address.
If an email source is deleted from the Blacklist,
any future emails from that source will be processed for Spam % values like any unknown email source.
Once again, mail sources cannot be on multiple
Lists, so you cannot have a mail source on your Blacklist and Whitelist, for example.
Please Note: Adding a domain
to the Blacklist will cause all email from that domain
to be forwarded to your Trashcan, so this should be used with
caution or you might have some legitimate emails ending up in your Trashcan.
The Check Addresses tab lets users find in
which List - White, Gray or Black - a specific user or domain
is located. Its purpose is to allow the user to find out why they
are getting email, or not, from a specific mail source.
It will also inform the user if the address is on the System White or Blacklist and if the user is able to
override system wide Blacklist-ed or Whitelist-ed
entries. To check an address (e.g. myfriend@mail.com) or domain (e.g.
mail.com), type it into the dialog box and click on "Check
Address". The results will display on the screen.
The User Preferences are a set of options
that allow the user to customize their email service.
To access any of these options, click on the Preferences tab. You will see your User Information.
To access the Aliases and Change Password areas, click on the + box on the left hand side of the panel, and you
will see that area expanded.
The Submit changes button saves any changes you have made to your
User Information settings. Be sure to click this button after changing any
of the settings below.
-
Graybox level - This setting allows
the user to set the Spam % value for incoming email to be
quarantined in their Graybox based on the calculated
probability that a message is Spam. Remember that PrivacyPost© is calculating the Spam % Level automatically for
you. As you lower the Graybox Spam %, less mail will be sent
directly to your email Inbox. For example, setting the Graybox
Spam % to 40 will only allow processed messages with a Spam % value of 39 or less to enter your email Inbox. Messages with
values of 40 and higher (up to the Trashcan Spam % -
explained next) will be sent to the Graybox. PrivacyPost© is automatically configured with the recommended default settings.
Users can adjust the Graybox Spam % to meet their
individual preferences. Message sources on one of your Lists
(White, Gray or Black) are not subject to this process, but
will be sorted as to your List designation.
-
Trashcan level - This allows the user
to set the Spam % value for which mail will be deposited
directly into the Trashcan. For example, if you set the Trashcan level to 65, all processed messages with a
calculated Spam % value of 65 and higher will be sent
directly to the Trashcan. Using the Trashcan level with the Graybox level sets upper and lower boundaries
for incoming messages to be confined to the Graybox and Trashcan. Remember that message sources on one of your
Lists (White, Gray or Black) are not subject to this
process, but will be processed by the selection in your List.
-
Store user Blacklisted
messages in Trashcan - Enabling this option forces all email
from a source that is on the user's Blacklist into the Trashcan. If this option is not enabled, the message will
be sorted based on Spam % value and delivered to the Graybox or Trashcan based on the threshold values
that you enter. The default for this option is Yes.
-
Number of days to hold messages in
Graybox - This option allows the user to specify how long the Graybox will hold a message before it is deleted. The System Administrator has system wide control; the user has
control under the System threshold. For example, if the System
Administrator has set the maximum number of days to 21, you can only
choose 21 or fewer days. Once again, this is to help ensure that
legitimate email is not accidentally deleted by giving you time to
review the messages in the Graybox.
-
Number of days to hold messages in
Trashcan - This option allows the user to specify how long the Trashcan will hold a message before it is deleted. The System Administrator has system wide control; the user has
control under the System threshold. For example, if the System
Administrator has set the maximum number of days to 30, you
can only choose 30 or fewer days. Once again, this is to help
ensure that legitimate email is not accidentally deleted by giving
you time to review the messages in the Trashcan.
-
Graybox and
Trashcan Update Email frequency - PrivacyPost© can notify you by email of new messages that have been received in
your Graybox or Trashcan. You will receive a message in
your normal email Inbox titled PrivacyPost Update with a
listing of messages that have been quarantined. There will be one
line per quarantined message showing Sender, Subject, Date and
Time. The purpose of this is so that you can review new mail that
has been quarantined in the Graybox and Trashcan and
assure yourself that legitimate email is not missed. This option
allows the user to set how often they will be notified of new
messages that have been isolated in the Graybox and Trashcan. You will see a listing of new messages that have
been received since the last update. For example, if you set the
value to 4 hours, you will receive an email update every 4 hours
to notify you of new messages in your Graybox and Trashcan. If there are no new quarantined messages since the
last update, you will not receive a new update.
-
Send out Update Emails in HTML format - The
user has the option of receiving their PrivacyPost Update email with HTML active links, or as plain text. The active
links make it easy to access the quarantined messages by simply
clicking on the link. Then the message can be reviewed and the
source can be Whitelist-ed, Blacklist-ed, etc. The
default setting is Yes.
In most companies there are multiple email aliases
for each individual user. These email aliases are controlled by the
administrator and permit users to receive email from multiple email
addresses. The Aliases section will list the alias email addresses
that are set up for you in PrivacyPost©.
For example your main email address might be joe@mycompany.com.
You may also receive email addressed to joe.smith@mycompany.com and joe_smith@mycompany.com.
The administrator can add aliases for
you, which would allow you to have your main address and also the
emails from the aliases to be checked by PrivacyPost©. With
this feature, the user can have only one PrivacyPost© account
to check for quarantined email even though the user may have multiple
addresses.
To change your password, you will need to type in
your old password and then type in the new password.
Click the 'Submit Changes' button to save any
changes you have made. If you lose your password and
cannot remember it, you will have to contact your System
Administrator.
To logout simply click the Logout link
located in the upper-right corner of the user screen. Upon logging
out the user is given the option to log back in or close the window.
It is highly recommended that the window be closed if multiple users
use the computer.
The Help area supplies information on the
various subjects within PrivacyPost© and automatically
gives information on the section that you are currently in when you
click on Help. To view other areas, just scroll up or down or
use one of the Top buttons to go to the Help Index,
which has dynamic links to the different subject areas.
When you first begin to use PrivacyPost© you will probably want to have your Graybox and Trashcan email updates sent to you often to ensure that messages are being
processed as to your wishes. Adjustments to your Graybox and Trashcan Spam % levels can be made to allow more or
fewer messages into email Inbox and the Graybox.
You will also want to add email sources to your Whitelist and Blacklist to build a library of good and
bad email senders. Adding email sources to the Blacklist and Whitelist is easy to do using the tools in the Graybox and Trashcan, you don't have to enter them all manually. Just go
through the messages in the Graybox, for example - or the Trashcan, and check the messages you want to add to your Whitelist (or Blacklist). Then by using the drop down
box on the top left hand side, you can quickly add the messages to
the Whitelist (or the Blacklist).
In a short amount of time, you will find that the PrivacyPost© system is allowing the
good mail to reach you and freeing you from the unwanted Spam.
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