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Anti-Spam Service (Proofpoint)
Unsolicited commercial email, also known as spam, has become an increasing problem at the university. To reduce the amount of time involved with managing spam, CaTS is now offering a new anti-spam service called Proofpoint, which is available to faculty, staff, students, and alumni with CaTS based email accounts (@wright.edu). Proofpoint provides the most sophisticated spam evaluation system, and has very few errors when determining whether or not a message is spam. Check out the FAQs below for more information on Proofpoint and how to use it. You can also view the document below for a quick overview of using the service.
Proofpoint User Cheat Sheet (PDF)
Frequently Asked Questions
General Questions
General Usage
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How do I access Proofpoint?
If you want to log in to Proofpoint to change setting and view quarantined messages, follow the steps below:
- Open your web browser (Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari, etc.)
- Go to the website https://antispam.wright.edu
- Login with your campus username and password
Below is a screenshot of the Proofpoint login screen.

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How do I enable Proofpoint's spam filter?
By default, Proofpoint's spam filter is already enabled for all faculty, staff, students, and alumni.
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Can I disable or opt out of Proofpoint's spam filter?
Although not recommended, you can disable, or opt out of, Proofpoint's spam filter. To do so, follow these steps:
- Login to the Proofpoint system, located at https://antispam.wright.edu, with your campus username and password.
- Click on the Profile button on the left side of the screen.
- On the right, you'll find the My Settings area.
- Under the option for What type of spam detection do you want? choose the Opt out of spam filtering option.
- Click the Save button at the bottom to save your changes.
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Can I choose what happens to my mail?
Yes, you can! The Proofpoint system has various ways that allow you to choose what to do with the spam that comes to your account. Below is a screenshot of the My Settings screen (accessed after you login to the spam filter at https://antispam.wright.edu). The screen shows six ways you can select to choose what happens to your mail. Below the screenshot, each option is explained.

- Default - This is the Proofpoint default spam policy that comes pre-configured.
- Opt out of spam filtering deliver all messages. - Choose this option if you want all spam messages delivered to your inbox, without any option of quarantines.
- Discard definite spam (messages scoring 100 points) - Choose this option if you want Proofpoint to automatically discard any messages it marks with a 100 point score (see "How does Proofpoint work?" above for an explanation of scores).
- Quarantine disabled. Add SPAM tags to subject line. - Choose this option if you want all spam delivered to your inbox, but still be tagged. Your messages will be tagged with either "Spam", "Phish", or "Adult" in the subject line.
- Vacation Policy. Spam quarantined for 4 weeks. - If you like to view what spam has been quarantined in your inbox, but you're going to be away for more than 2 weeks, choose this option so that all spam will be quarantined and left alone for 4 weeks, instead of the normal 2 weeks.
- Global Spam Policy - This is another default option that WSU faculty, students, staff, and alumni may choose. You may also choose the "Default" option, which provides the same amount of spam protection.
End User Digest
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What is an End User Digest?
An End User Digest is a summary e-mail that you receive daily from the Proofpoint server. The digest contains a listing of the suspected spam that has been filtered from your account in the previous 24 hours. After review, you can delete the digest just like any other email. Messages left in quarantine will be deleted automatically by Proofpoint after 14 days. See the screenshot below for a sample End User Digest.

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Can I disable digest messages?
Yes, digest messages can be disabled. Your daily digest email contains a link called Manage My Account. Click this link, and then select the Settings button on the left side. You will now be on the My Settings page. To disable the digest only when there are no spam message in your quarantine, uncheck the box at the top for Send digest even when I have no messages in my End User Digest. To disable the digest even when you have messages in your quarantine, uncheck the box at the top for Send digest with new messages in End User Digest.
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Can I request a digest at any time?
You can request a digest at any time by clicking the link for Request New End User Digest within your current End User Digest email. A new digest will be sent to your email address, showing any new messages that have been quarantined since your last digest was sent.
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How often is the digest delivered?
The End User Digest is delivered to your email inbox at 7 a.m. each morning.
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Why didn't I receive a digest today?
If Proofpoint does not block or find any spam messages for your inbox within a 24 hour period, you will not receive an End User Digest.
Lists
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What are safelists and blocklists?
Safelists are lists of email addresses (usually defined by the user) that tells the anti-spam system to deliver any message that comes from those particular addresses directly to the user's inbox. Blocklists are lists of email addresses (usually defined by the user) that tells the anti-spam system to quarantine any message that comes from those particular addresses.
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How do I add or remove addresses to/from a safelist?
To add a sender to a safelist, follow these steps:
- Login to the Proofpoint system, located at https://antispam.wright.edu, with your campus username and password.
- Click on the Lists button on the bottom left side of the screen.
- Click on the Safe Senders List on the left side.
- On the right side, at the very top, click the New button.
- In the box, type in the sender's address, or, if you'd like to make an entire domain safe, type in the domain in the format of "@domain.com." See the screenshot below.
- Click the Save button.

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How do I add or remove addresses to/from a blocklist?
To add a sender to a blocklist, follow these steps:
- Login to the Proofpoint system, located at https://antispam.wright.edu, with your campus username and password.
- Click on the Lists button on the bottom left side of the screen.
- Click on the Blocked Senders List on the left side.
- On the right side, at the very top, click the New button.
- In the box, type in the sender's address, or, if you'd like to block addresses from an entire domain, type in the domain in the format of "@domain.com." See the screenshot below.
- Click the Save button.

Managing Your Account
Managing the Spam Filter
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What do I need to do to monitor spam using Proofpoint?
Generally, there isn't much that you'll need to do to monitor spam filtering through Proofpoint. By default, spam filtering is turned on, and predefined levels are already set. However, you can do a few things to make sure you stay on top of what Proofpoint is filtering as spam.
- Open the End User Digest e-mail that you receive each day and review the listing of messages that were marked as spam.
- If any messages you find are not spam, click the Release or Safelist links to release the message to your inbox, and if applicable, add the sender to your safelist.
- If all messages are spam, you can simply delete the End User Digest email.
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Can I block foreign languages?
You cannot block foreign languages. The Proofpoint systems uses a large number of variables to determine whether a message is spam, and these variables are far more effective than simply blocking foreign languages.
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How do I unjunk a message that isn't spam?
When you receive a copy of your End User Digest, and find that there is a message marked as spam that you would like to unjunk, you can do so by using the tools listed beside each message. These tools are described below.
- View link - The View link allows you to open the email from within the Proofpoint server so that it can be safely read. You can then determine whether or not the message is spam.
- Release link - The Release link releases the email from the Proofpoint quarantine and delivers it to your inbox.
- Safelist link - The Safelist link releases the email into your inbox and places the sender on a safelist so that subsequent emails from the sender arrive in your inbox.
- Not Spam link - The Not Spam link releases the email into your inbox and sends a notification to Proofpoint indicating that the email was not spam. Future message that are similar to the message will not be filtered as spam.
Quarantine
Email Scan Alerts (Phishing)
Points to Remember
- CaTS will never ask you for your account information (username or password) in an email.
- If an email is difficult to read (poor grammar or wording), it is most likely a scam.
- If you receive an email about a problem with your account, do not click on any links or provide your username and password. Go directly to the site and log in.
- Do not follow any link in an email coming from an unknown source.
- Banks, credit unions, and other financial institutions will never ask for your account information in an email.
Recently there has been a large number of phishing attempts targeting Wright State University students, faculty, and staff. These attempts appear in the form of an email sent to a university inbox, and tries to get the user to "verify account information" by sending their CAMPUS username and password in an email, or clicking on a link within the email.
CaTS has developed this page to provide you with tips on how to keep your information safe from phishing attempts, and to alert you to any attempts you may see in your inbox. Please take a moment to review the "Points to Remember" section on the right for tips on how to protect your account information. Then, review the examples below showing the many recent scams targeting Wright State. If you receive an email that looks like any of these, do not reply to it or click on any of the links in the message.
If you have reviewed the information on this webpage and are still unsure as to the authenticity of an email you have received, please do not hesitate to contact the Help Desk at 937-775-4827 or 1-888-775-4827, or by email at helpdesk@wright.edu. We will help in any way we can to validate the email you've received.
Phishing Alerts
Tuesday, April 26, 2022
Two-Factor Authentication - Hacking Techniques
Wright State recently made two-factor authentication mandatory for all faculty, staff, and students. This implementation improves our security posture, however as more and more companies implement this technology, hackers are developing methods to get by this security control.
There are currently two methods that are being used to get users to approve a fraudulent 2FA request. They are both similar in nature.
Thursday, March 3, 2022
The Help Desk was recently notified of an email phishing scam that targets Wright State members with the subject line of "Covid-19 Benefits," and appears to come from a Wright State email address.
Please be aware that this is a scam. As always, do NOT click on any links or download any documents that may be contained in this email, and do not respond to this email with any personal information. If you have already clicked on a link and entered any personal information or your Wright State credentials, please reset your Campus "w" account password immediately.
Tuesday, January 25, 2022
Revisiting Sensitive Data Sent in Email
Targeted Attack Protection
CaTS has implemented an email protection program from Proofpoint called Targeted Attack Protection (TAP). TAP helps protect against emails that contain malicious URLs and attachments, and has been implemented as an enhancement to our existing spam filtering service.
TAP URL Defense
With TAP, all URLs in an email message are rewritten as "proofpoint.com" addresses. When a user clicks a URL in an email message, the URL is redirected to Proofpoint's URL validation service. If the URL is not known to be malicious, the user will be redirected to the original URL. If the URL is malicious, the user will see a warning message and the site is blocked in the browser.
When a malicious URL is clicked on, the image below will appear:

If you click a URL and believe that the site is being blocked in error, call the CaTS Help Desk at 937-775-4827, or email helpdesk@wright.edu. The blocked URL will then be investigated further.
TAP Attachment Defense
Along with TAP URL defense, CaTS has now implemented TAP Attachment Defense from Proofpoint. This system detects an email that contains a malicious attachment and strips the attachment to prevent phishing and targeted malware attacks. If you receive an email containing an infected attachment, Proofpoint will filter out the email to protect your account from being compromised. Please be aware that while the attachment is being analyzed for malicious content, there may be a delay in delivery of a few minutes.
This enhancement to TAP is being implemented to our existing spam filtering service. If you have questions about TAP, call the CaTS Help Desk at 937-775-4827, or email helpdesk@wright.edu.