Proofpoint - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is Proofpoint?

Proofpoint is the industry leader in Internet email protection. The product filters out spam, viruses, and other malicious content from Internet email. While no product can remove all unwanted email, Proofpoint consistently creates innovative ways to block more than others.

I never received an important Internet email. How do I check to see if Proofpoint blocked it?
Proofpoint keeps a copy of all filtered messages in a quarantine holding area. A summary of your quarantined messages will show up in a digest email each morning. Scan the list of quarantined messages in the digest email, select the message you wish to receive, and click ‘Release’. The message will now appear in your inbox.

In addition, at any time you can point you can open a recent digest message from your email inbox and select the 'Manage My Account' link. This will provide you an up to the minute view of all of your quarantined messages. You can release any as needed. 

What is a “Spam Digest” and Why am I receiving emails from digest@fairfield.edu?

The “Spam Digest” is a list of all emails Proofpoint considers spam. These messages are not delivered but are held in a quarantine by Proofpoint. You will receive a digest message every weekday at 7am listing new e-mail messages suspected of being spam. The report only includes messages added to the quarantine since the last digest email was generated. A message will reside in quarantine for 14 days, before it is automatically deleted.

I see a message in the digest that is not spam. I want to release it and allow all future emails from the sender.

Next to the message in question are links that enable you to:

View

Safely view the message within Proofpoint, it is not sent to your inbox.

Release

Releases/sends the full message to your inbox.

Safelist

Releases message and all future email from sender will not be subject to inspection.

Not Spam

Informs Proofpoint that you believe this message should not be classified as spam. Proofpoint may use this information to update their database.

I want to add a particular email address or entire domain to my Safe List.

Manage your own personal safe sender’s list at portal.proofpoint.com.  After logging in with your Fairfield University email address and password click on the 'Settings' gear that appears in the upper right-hand corner of the window.

    

Under Quarantine, select the ‘Allow List’ option.
Click “+ ADD ADDRESS” and type in the full email address. To block an entire email domain, enter an asterisk, the ‘@’ sign, and the email domain (*@example.com will allow all email from example.com).

I want to add a particular email address or entire domain to my Block List.

Manage your own personal block list at portal.proofpoint.com. After logging in with your Fairfield University email address and password, click on the 'Settings' gear that appears in the upper right-hand corner of the window.

Under Quarantine, select the ‘Block List’ option from the menu that appears.
Click on “+ ADD ADDRESS” and enter the email address you would like to block. To block an entire email domain, enter an asterisk, the ‘@’ sign, and the email domain (*@example.com will allow all email from example.com).

Bulk messages such as advertisements are being quarantined to my daily digest. I want these messages automatically delivered to my inbox.

Bulk email is typically comprised of marketing messages from legitimate companies, and is wanted by some users and considered spam by others.

Bulk email by default is quarantined, but can be released by using the daily digest messages or the portal at portal.proofpoint.com. If, however, you would to receive bulk email, change the default behavior by logging into the Proofpoint portal (with your Fairfield email and passwords created when you registered) at portal.proofpoint.com.

Once logged in, click on the 'Settings' gear in the upper right-hand corner. 

Under General, select 'Less Restrictive Policy - Allows Bulk Mail'.
Then click 'Save'.

You will now receive email sent in bulk.

I no longer want to receive the daily digest message in my inbox.

The digest messages are an important part of Fairfield University’s security strategy and we strongly suggest you continue to receive and review them.  However, if you wish not to receive them, we recommend creating an Outlook rule. If you would like to discuss further please click here to submit a ticket with ITS4U Help Desk.

I did not receive a daily digest message today. Is something wrong? 

This is almost always because there are no spam emails assigned to you in the Proofpoint quarantine. The digest is configured to send only when emails are pending your review, and will not send when empty. The digest is also not sent on Saturdays and Sundays.

What is [SECURE] and when would I consider adding it to my email messages?

You can use [SECURE] to ensure and audit delivery of highly sensitive information. Instead of sending the actual message, [SECURE] sends a link inviting the intended recipient(s) to ‘come and get’ the message or attachments through a secure browser.

This method has the advantage of providing an audit log (confirmation of receipt, time/date stamps of access) and also provides the ability to revoke access to data in the case the message was sent to the wrong address.

I clicked on a link within an email and I received a message that access to the website has been blocked. What’s happening?

The Proofpoint system or the Fairfield firewalls have determined the website is unsafe. This happens when an email (and the link contained within) is part of a phishing campaign. If you feel this is happening in error, please click here to submit a ticket with ITS4U Help Desk.

What is the maximum size limits for inbound/outbound email?

The following are the limits used by Fairfield University for all email:

Maximum email size
10 Megabytes 

Maximum uncompressed attachment size
250 Megabytes 

Maximum number of attachments (compressed or uncompressed)
256 Files

Where should I go for more assistance (questions, comments, or concerns)?

Click here to learn how to contact the ITS Help Desk.