Services > Faculty & Staff Email

Virginia Western Email Changes

IET recently implemented changes to the college email system to comply with VCCS standard 20.5. These changes are intended to improve security and email processing.

Background:

Email is a mission critical communication tool that unfortunately, can be used maliciously to compromise security. Everyday thousands of emails are sent to our user community, attempting to obtain personal information, money or account credentials. VWCC Email is filtered to remove as many messages containing junk, malware, phishing links and advertisements as practical while delivering the rest of the actual good messages. This process is part automated and part user managed.

How do these changes affect me?

The recent changes removed the Barracuda Anti-Spam system from the mail flow. As a result, you will notice these changes:

You no longer get messages from this system to check your Barracuda email quarantine.
Check your Junk Mail folder periodically to ensure that legitimate mail is not landing there. If you do see email there, mark it as Not Junk and it will move to your Inbox. Most SPAM and advertisement emails will end up here.
Advertisements and other Email that is not desirable may land in your Inbox. Mark these as Junk to train the system to put emails of that nature in Junk. This will reduce the amount of unwanted email in your Inbox, but some unwanted messages may continue to get through.
Some Email will be tagged with messages to help you identify the type of mail. Message tags indicating (Spam) (Personal)
Message headers are enabled to notify that mail originates outside the college. This helps raise awareness of the email source and is particularly helpful at identifying emails that impersonate a person or service. If an email is shown as external and is representing a college service or user, it is suspect.
Email that is particularly suspicious of phishing (a way of luring a user to provide information or click a link to a hack) will be sent to a quarantine location. Each day a process runs to see if there is an email in this quarantine, providing a chance for review and release if a legitimate message has been incorrectly classified.

Email Access and SPAM

Email can be accessed in 2 ways.

You may use a web browser and log in to Office.com with your email address and VWCC password. This is Outlook Web Access or Webmail. Webmail can be accessed from any computer.
You can use the local Microsoft Outlook client installed on a desktop, laptop, tablet or phone. This option downloads messages for local access even when not connected to the Internet. Email can be read and composed without Internet access. An Internet connection must be present to send and receive using the full client.

How can I find email that I may be missing?

Email is stored in the Microsoft Cloud, on the local storage of a device using the full Outlook client and a copy is also stored on the Barracuda Mail Archiver. Occasionally email will be “lost”, requiring a search to find out where it may be.

Junk and Spam

Filtering is used in the email environment to prevent malicious emails, particularly ones that are “phishing” trying to obtain user credentials or in some way have a negative impact on the recipient. Some legitimate emails can be misclassified and hung up in the mail system, classified as Junk or Spam. .

Email may go to the Office Cloud Junk folder

Use a web browser and log in to Office.com with your email address and VWCC password. This is Outlook Web Access (Webmail). Search in the Junk Folder for your missing email.

Email may go to the Outlook Junk folder

Open the local Outlook client. If a message is missing from the user’s Inbox, the first action would be to check the Junk folder in the Outlook client being used. This will be either Outlook on the device or using the browser-based Outlook Web Access. Simply go to the Junk folder and search for the email by sender or date.

Email may go to the Quarantine

Email filters look for messages that may contain phishing. It will then move them to quarantine for user review. This area is checked each day for content and if there are messages to review and email like the one below will be sent to the mailbox owner. If the email is legitimate, the user can release it to their mailbox and if not, they can trash it.

Email Archiving

All email sent to and from virginiawestern.edu accounts is copied to a mail archival system. This archiving device provides search capabilities for all emails the college has ever sent or received. Users may login to this link with their email address and search the message library.

Link: https://archiver.virginiawestern.edu

In Summary – Check these places

If you suspect that you are missing an email that was sent to you, check the following:

Check the Junk folder in your Webmail (Office.com online or Microsoft Web Outlook). If you use the Outlook client app, check for the message in that client Junk folder too.
Review any quarantine notifications from Microsoft.
Check the Archiver.
Report the missing email to the Help Desk.

If you have questions about the information we provided, please contact the Help Desk. We will be glad to personally assist you and answer any related questions you may have. Please check the Information & Educational Technologies web page and SharePoint site for various notices including upcoming deployments.

Requesting a D-list or Shared Email Account

Do I need a d-list or a shared email account?

A d-list does not store the emails, they are forwarded to individual accounts. When you reply to an email received, it comes from your individual email, not the d-list email address.

A shared email account is a separate email account that more than one person has access to. To access the account, you must log on through Office 365 Webmail. Replies to emails come from the shared account’s address.

To request a d-list or shared email account, you must complete a Security Access Request Form (SARF). You will receive an email from the Help Desk when the account has been created.

To request a d-list

Access the electronic SARF on VWConnect (see the link above for assistance). Complete all of the information at the top of the form.
For “Is this request for an existing employee?”, mark Yes. In the comment field, enter what the request is for.
For “Is this a position or department change?”, mark No.
For “Name Change?”, mark No.
For “Replacement of VWCC Employee?”, mark No.
Check the box next to D-list email account needed.
Check either Yes or No for “D-list needs to receive emails from off campus?”.
Select the option for D-list.
In the Name of account field, enter the email address you would like.
Select the names of the employees that you want to receive the email.
Put the name of the supervisor at the bottom of the form. The supervisor cannot be the same person listed at the top of the form.

To request a shared email account

Access the electronic SARF on VWConnect (see the link above for assistance). Complete all of the information at the top of the form.
For “Is this request for an existing employee?”, mark Yes. In the comment field, enter what the request is for.
For “Is this a position or department change?”, mark No.
For “Name Change?”, mark No.
For “Replacement of VWCC Employee?”, mark No.
Check the box next to D-list email account needed.
Check either Yes or No for “D-list needs to receive emails from off campus?”.
Select the option for Shared Email.
In the Name of account field, enter the email address you would like.
Select the names of the employees that you want to have access to the account.
Put the name of the supervisor at the bottom of the form. The supervisor cannot be the same person listed at the top of the form.

Searching for Emails Using Barracuda Archive Tools

There are four options for searching for emails using Barracuda Archive Tools.

Barracuda Plugin for Outlook

Note: This option is not available for Office 365 Webmail. Please use one of the other options below.

In the Outlook client, select the Home tab and look for the Barracuda Networks section in the upper right hand corner of the screen.
Choose Search Archive. The first time you do this, a login box will appear. If prompted for the URI, enter archiver.virginiawestern.edu. Use your email credentials to log in.
The Search box will appear. Use the available options to search for the email you are looking for.

You can search your archived mail by criteria you choose, such as text, dates, folder locations, and so on. For example, to deal with the scheduled removal of the @vw.vccs.edu domain, you would locate the senders who are still using your old email address by searching for @vw.vccs.edu as shown above. The search output window would display all email received after January 1, 2009 containing that text.

To search in specific folders, you would use the In: drop down menu and select “Folders”. You will then see a box to choose the folder you wish to search in.

Barracuda Standalone Tool

In Windows, click the Start button, choose All Programs and then Barracuda Message Archiver Search.
You will get the same login and search window as in the section above. Enter your search parameters as before.

Barracuda Archiver Web Interface

To access the Barracuda Archiver Web interface, go to https://archiver.virginiawestern.edu.
Log in with your Virginia Western username and password. Once logged in, you will see the message list window.
Enter your Search criteria and click Search. The Advanced option will let you search with multiple criteria and specify folders to search in.

Barracuda Archiver Smartphone App

Go to your iOS or Android app store and search for Barracuda Archive and download the app.
Configure the app by setting the Host to archiver.virginiawestern.edu and using your Virginia Western email and password to log in.
Click the Search Icon () in the top right corner to open the search window. You can search the archive by keyword, to, from, and date range.

Tips for Reducing Spam

Follow these guidelines to lower your risk of receiving junk email!

Take advantage of the Junk Email Filter in Outlook and Office 365 Webmail. Outlook and Office 365 webmail help mitigate the problem of spam by providing a Junk Email filter, which automatically evaluates incoming messages and sends those identified as spam to the Junk Email folder.
Block pictures in HTML messages that spammers use as Web beacons. Outlook has an additional anti-spam feature. By default, this feature blocks automatic picture downloads and other external content in messages if the content is linked to another server. When this feature is turned off, if you open a message that has external content, that content downloads automatically, inadvertently verifying to the sender that your email address is valid. Your email address can then be sold to a spammer. You can unblock external content for messages that come from sources you trust.
Turn off read and delivery receipts and automatic processing of meeting requests. Spammers sometimes resort to sending meeting requests and messages that include requests for read and delivery receipts. Responding to such meeting requests and read receipts might help spammers verify your email address. You can turn off tracking by:
1. On the File menu, click Options.
2. Click Mail, and then scroll down to the Tracking section.
3. Uncheck any options you no longer wish to use.
Limit the places where you post your email address. Be cautious about posting your email address on public web sites, such as newsgroups, chat rooms, bulletin boards, and so forth. When visiting public sites, you might want to use an email address that is different than your main email address. Whenever you list or link to your email address, you increase your chances of being spammed. Emails addresses on the VWCC website are masked in a way to prevent them being harvested by spammers.
Review the privacy policies of web sites. When you sign up for online banking, shopping, or newsletters, review the privacy policy of the site carefully before you reveal your email address or other personal information. Look for a link or section (usually at the bottom of the web site’s home page) called “Privacy Policy”, “Privacy Statement”, “Terms and Conditions”, or “Terms of Use”. If the web site does not explain how your personal information will be used, consider not using the services at that site.
Watch out for check boxes that are already selected. When you shop online, companies sometimes add a check box that is already selected, which indicates that it is fine with you if the company sells or gives your email address to other businesses (or “third parties). Clear this check box so that your email address is not shared.
Don’t reply to spam. Never replay to an email message — even to subscribe from a mailing list — unless you know and trust the sender. For example, if the email address comes from a service, online store, or newsletter that you know you have signed up with. Answering spam just confirms to the spammer that your email address is an active one.
If a company uses email messages to ask for personal information, don’t respond by sending a message. Most legitimate companies will not ask for personal information to be sent in an email. Be suspicious if they do. Such a request could be a spoofed email message disguised to look like a legitimate one. This tactic is known as phishing. If the possible spam appears to be sent by a company that you do business with — for example, your credit card company — then call the company to verify that they sent it (not using a phone number provided in the email). If the request is a legitimate one, the company’s customer service representative should be able to assist you. The Junk Email filter also includes phishing protection to help identify and disable suspicious messages.
Don’t contribute to a charity in response to a request sent in email. Unfortunately, some spammers prey on your good will. If you receive an email appeal from a charity, treat it as spam. If the charity is one you want to support, locate their telephone number or web site to find out how you can make a contribution.
Don’t forward chain email messages. Besides increasing overall email volume, forwarding a chain email message might be furthering a hoax — and meanwhile, you lose control over who sees your email address.

Clearing the Auto-Complete Email Address Cache in Outlook

Outlook has an automatic completion list for any email address that you try to type into the To or CC fields. This feature does not pull from the contacts or address book, because you may have tried to email somebody that isn’t in your contact list.

The problem arises when you put in a bad address, and then every time you go to type in the email address, the incorrect one appears in the auto-complete list.

To remove an email address from your auto-complete list:

In the To: or CC: field, begin typing in the address that shows up incorrectly.
A list of email addresses that match what you have typed will appear in a dropdown list below the field.
Click the X next to the address you wish to delete.

How to Classify Quarantined Email Messages

If you receive a Spam Quarantine Summary email from Barracuda, follow the directions below to decide if you want to Deliver, Delete, Whitelist, Classify as Spam, etc.

Deliver: Delivers the selected message to your standard email box. Note: If you want to classify a message or add it to your whitelist, make sure to do so before delivering the message to your inbox. Once the Barracuda Spam firewall delivers a message, it is removed from your quarantine list.
Whitelist: Adds the selected message to your whitelist, so all future emails from this sender are not quarantined unless the message contains a virus or banned attachment type. The Barracuda Spam Firewall adds the sending email address exactly as it appears in the message to your personal whitelist.
Whitelist/Not Spam: Performs the functions of both Whitelist and Classify as Not Spam at the same time.
Delete: Deletes the selected message from your quarantine list. The main reason to delete messages is to help you keep track of which quarantine messages you have reviewed.
Classify as Spam: Classifies the selected message as spam.
Classify as Not Spam: Classifies the selected message as not spam. Note: Some bulk commercial email may be considered useful by some users and spam by others. Instead of classifying bulk commercial email, it may be more effective to add it to your whitelist (if you wish to receive such messages) or blacklist (if you prefer not to receive them).

When you receive a Spam Quarantine Summary email from Barracuda:

If you would like to just delete all the messages, click the DELETE ALL DISPLAYED EMAILS link in the email. This will open a browser window, where the messages will be deleted.
If you wish to more thoroughly classify the messages or inspect them further, click the View your entire Quarantine Inbox or manage your preferences link at the bottom of your email.
Use the checkboxes next to each message or the links (Deliver, Whitelist, Delete) following each message to classify each message. You can use the checkboxes to select more than one message at a time.
When you are finished, click the Log Off link in the upper right corner.

You will receive an email from Barracuda whenever you have messages that have been quarantined.

Please contact the Help Desk if you have any questions.

Importing Calendar Date Files into Outlook

Outlook allows you to save calendar dates into a file (with a suffix of .ics), that can then be imported into an Outlook calendar. This is useful for loading standard dates into your Outlook calendar without having to enter them manually. Some calendar date files that have been created at VWCC are:

Full-Time and Part-Time Timesheet Due and Manager Approval Due Dates
Campus Police Timesheets Due
Campus Police Manager Approval Due Dates
VWCC Holidays
Academic Calendars by semester

To import a calendar date file into your default Outlook calendar:

Open Outlook and select File > Open & Export.
From the Open menu, select Import/Export.
Select Import an iCalendar (.ics) or vCalendar file (.vcs) and press Next.
Navigate to H:\Install_Points\Calendars and select the date file you wish to import and hit OK.
When prompted, press the Import button.

The dates from the selected file will now appear on your Outlook calendar.