OIT Offers New Email Tool To University Users

The Office of Information Technology (OIT) has announced the unveiling of the Junk Mail Analyzer, a tool designed to assist University of Maryland computer users in the fight against junk e-mail. The tool identifies e-mail messages that are likely to be junk mail and allows users to easily delete them.

"Junk mail is a serious problem both for individuals and the university as a whole. It clogs up inboxes and impedes the efficiency of the network," said David Henry, Associate Director of OIT Enterprise Internet Services. "Although the Junk Mail Analyzer cannot completely eliminate the unwanted e-mail, it is another weapon in the arsenal to manage it."

The Junk Mail Analyzer does not delete your incoming e-mail. Rather, it scans messages using a number of tests before they are sent to users' inboxes. Each e-mail receives a score and ones with high scores are tagged with the label [Junk Mail] in front of the subject line. When users get their e-mail, a quick glance reveals whether they should delete or save the messages.

"We recommend people use the default setting of the analyzer for a week or so to gauge how much junk mail they get. If the default setting is not enough, they can choose to activate additional protections," said Henry.

Users can personalize different settings on the analyzer to meet their specific needs. For example, a person could set the analyzer to always prevent e-mail from a certain address from coming to their inbox. Finally, the person can set their e-mail client to redirect tagged e-mail to a junk mail folder using message filters. From there, they can open the folder, make sure no wanted e-mail was mistakenly included, and then delete the contents of the folder.

To learn more about the tool and to access a link to activate it, visit www.oit.umd.edu/junkmail/. Questions about the tool may be directed to the Help Desk (CSS West Wing Room 1400; phone: 301.405.1500).