Strict Anti-Spam (opt-in self-service) Email Protection.

The University’s anti-spam policy (powered by Microsoft Defender), protects your inbox from junk, phishing, and malicious emails and uses advanced filters to decide what should be delivered (to your inbox or junk mail folder), quarantined, or blocked. But do you still notice some unsolicited (spam) mails end up in your inbox and you desire that more of those are delivered in your junk mail folder?

Our main Anti-Spam policy is currently set at the recommended (balanced) bulk email threshold, which is the protection level that balances security with convenience, as it allows most legitimate emails through, while blocking obvious spam and phishing emails.

What is different with the Strict policy? 

Understanding the Bulk Email Threshold.

Bulk Email Threshold sets the Bulk complaint level (BCL). BCL can be from 1 to 9. A lower value indicates benign bulk email (newsletters, ads you signed up for, mail from known good bulk senders, etc.). A higher value indicates the bulk message is 'bad' (likely unwanted and more spam-like).

The bulk email threshold for the Strict (Aggressive) policy is set at 4. (Threshold for the general (Standard) UoE Anti-Spam policy is set at 6). A higher bulk email threshold means more bulk email will be delivered.

FeatureNormal PolicyStrict Policy
Spam filtering levelStandardAggressive
Phishing protectionModerateHigh
False positives (legit email marked spam)LowHigher
User quarantine useOccasionalFrequent
Good forGeneral staffExecutives, finance, IT, external-facing roles

Do you however desire a higher anti-spam protection, meaning that you want a stronger defense against spam which will result in the email security detecting and moving more spam-like messages to your junk mail folder?  Then feel free to try out this Strict Anti-Spam opt-in self-service.

But before you join in, please note:

-    A more aggressive policy — It blocks a wider range of suspicious messages — even those that might be legitimate — to maximize protection from phishing and malware.

-    More false positives — legitimate messages may be delivered into your junk mail folder or quarantined.

-    More Frequent Visit to the Quarantine area — Users need to regularly check their quarantine and request release if they detect a legitimate mail.

Still want to experience that higher level of spam protection? Click on the (Join Policy) link below to join in! (Link will open a power apps join button on a web browser).

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