Thanks for the suggested solution ... I'll pass it along.
The mail team is exploring a range of solutions, from free to
expensive, for both the anti-spam and anti-virus issues. In
both cases, you want a very low false positive rate, while still
being as close to 100% as possible in catching real spam or
viruses. Anti-spam products in particular cost dramatically
more as you get closer to 100% effectiveness. Getting the most
bang for the buck is the issue.
On another note, yes, we certainly do understand the costs of
spam -- both the cost of lost productivity and the cost of
user frustration. The request for funding for anti-virus
competed with many other worthy technology funding requests.
Finally, keep in mind that even a free central anti-spam and
anti-virus solution is likely to require additional hardware
to do all the processing -- another cost.
Maybe this would be a good agenda item for the next face-to-face
NAG meeting?
/rich
>Amavis with clam antivirus seems like a very good fit for
>the existing Exim base for mail.msu.edu.
>
>On a second note, developing a web interface for end users
>to select from public blacklists to use for filtering their
>incoming mail would also be a nice feature, or at the very
>least, implementing something like a SpamAssassin option
>for the user to allow for tagging of emails before
>downloading/reading if they choose.
>
>I've setup multiple servers with this type of configuration,
>and end users haven't seen a single virus in their inbox for
>a very long time, and spam loads are reduced by 95%+.
>On average, 50-75% of incoming email has proven to be spam
>for the systems that I admin. I expect MSU has similar
>(if not higher) stats.
>
>While these solutions are not commercial products, neither
>is Exim, or the OS running under it (generally).
>
>I know it's not as simple as saying "this works, lets plug it
>in and use it", but there are some very effective solutions
>out there that don't cost a too much.
>
>That's my $0.02 on the subject anyhow. :)
>
>-Russell
>
>
>Rich Wiggins wrote:
>
>> E-mails laden with viruses, especially fraudulent software patches,
>> are for sure very common these days.
>>
>> The Computer Laboratory mail team is exploring a range of anti-spam
>> and anti-virus alternatives. Some money was provided for this
>> in the most recent APP&R but the most effective commercial products
>> are very expensive.
>>
>> Note that centralized anti-spam and centralized anti-virus tools are
>> related issues but might or might not lead to a solution from a
>> single vendor.
>>
>> We suggest that members of the MSU community use a desktop anti-virus
>> tool, and we'll continue to suggest this even if we eventually offer
>> a centralized mail filter for viruses. E-mail is only one vector
>> for delivery of viruses.
>>
>> Anti-spam and anti-virus, along with other customer suggestions for
>> improvements to mail.msu.edu, are on the "wish list". Go to the
>> MSU home page and search for:
>>
>> mail wish list
>>
>> .. to see the entire list.
>>
>> /rich
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