Like most sane people in the world, we hate SPAM.  We hate getting it, managing it, and dealing with it in general.  We hope it someday will simply go away, but until then we need a few strategies for dealing with it. 

Currently when an email message is delivered to the KISD network, we have a special device (think of it like a little elf working around the clock) that attempts to figure out if that message is SPAM or legitimate mail.  Our little "elf" works pretty well, but tries to strike a balance between catching all SPAM and allowing legitimate messages through. 

Our little SPAM "elf" handles email messages in one of the following ways:

1. When our little "elf" knows for certain that a message is SPAM, he simply blocks that message.

2. When he thinks that a message probably is SPAM or may contain a virus, he quarantines that message in a special mailbox until a real human can determine whether or not it is a legitimate message.

3. When our "elf" is suspicious of a message, he attaches [SPAM] to the subject line of a message and delivers the message to the recipient.  Knowing this, you (the savvy user in this scenario) can filter out those unwanted messages.  There are several ways to do this, but here's one way we recommend.

4. Finally, if our "elf" is convinced that it is a legitimate message he will forward it to the intended recipient. 

For what it is worth, this is what our little SPAM "elf" has been doing recently.  The chart below shows all messages received by KISD in the last 24 hour period. 

RED = Blocked Spam    

Dark Green = Tagged [Possible Spam]    

Light Green = Allowed    

Pink = Blocked

SPAM is a complex problem and we hope that things will get better.  If you're concerned about SPAM on your home computer, you might do well to visit some of the following sites:

Refdesk's Pop-Up/SPAM Page -- http://www.refdesk.com/anti.html

Fight Spam on the Internet -- http://spam.abuse.net

The Official Spam Website (in case you want the original) -- http://www.spam.com