If only blocking junk email, or spam, were as easy as sending it. The Computing Infrastructure Technologies Group (CITG) is working to roll out Brightmail, a new anti-spam service that uses advanced technology to identify spam. This service will dramatically improve users' ability to manage junk mail.

The system will not delete the spam it identifies. Rather, suspected spam will arrive in your Inbox tagged with "[SUSPECTED SPAM]" at the beginning of the subject line. The Lab is using this approach - instead of just deleting identified spam - because no system is perfect and there is a chance that legitimate messages could be misidentified as spam and lost. So, rather than simply deleting suspected spam, the system tags it and allows you to sort or filter it, so you can make your own decision about whether to review it, or delete it. After the initial test period we will determine if the number of non-spam messages blocked is small enough to allow us to just delete the messages.

When CITG is closer to putting the service online, they will send you information and instructions for how to manage spam tagged by Brightmail, what to do if you get spam that Brightmail missed, and how to help make Brightmail work best for the Lab.

Labwide testing will begin in late February. CITG will send out another notice to let you know when the service goes online.

For more information about Brightmail, Read the prior Computing and Communications Services News article.