Email Alias – yourname@asme.org
Q:	How does Postini work?
A:	With Postini Junk Email Assistant filters, all e-mail processing is done behind the scenes before it arrives in the online Message Center (inbox). Postini filters out suspected spam e-mail before it is delivered to ASME's mail forwarding server. Improvements to Postini are done behind the scenes and will not affect your home or corporate e-mail client.
Q:	Does someone read personal emails at Postini?
A:	No. All e-mail processing is done through automated filters. In the event a suspicious e-mail message is discovered, it will be directed to your private Postini online Message Center for 14 days pending your review. If you would like to pass on a suspicious e-mail to Postini for further reference, you may do so by forwarding the message to spam@postini.com.
Q:	I have received virus warning notifications from Postini for email that I did not send. Why is this happening?
A:	It is common practice for spammers and those writing malicious email worms and viruses to spoof the from line of an email, which is just a text field. The emails do not actually come from your mail box. The authors of these malicious programs generally write programs that steal legitimate email addresses in order to propagate the virus. If a person had received an email from you in the past and saved your email address on their mail system, opening a virus-infected file attachment would have propagated email to all the legitimate addresses in their address book.
Q:	How do I know junk e-mail is being filtered and not my regular (legitimate) e-mail?
A:	Postini uses an advanced filtering technique built on heuristic rules, lists of approved and blocked senders, and databases of known junk e-mail to maintain the effectiveness of the rules system. Despite these advanced measures, it is possible for an occasional piece of good e-mail to be blocked. This is because the concept of junk e-mail is subjective. However, ASME has spent several weeks testing the junk mail filter settings to provide what we think is the best balance to block questionable or junk mail while delivering good mail.
Q:	Can I change my junk e-mail filtering options?
A:	Yes. Postini enables you to set a lenient-to-aggressive tolerance for filtering suspicious email: lenient filtering potentially lets more junk email through, but also minimizes the risk of legitimate e-mail from getting mistakenly directed to your online inbox. Conversely, aggressive filtering catches more suspicious e-mail at the risk of mistakenly diverting normal email to your online Message Center. Again, ASME has tested multiple configurations of the settings and strongly recommends that you not change the settings. If you do decide to change them, please check your online inbox to make sure you are not blocking good messages.
Q:	How does Postini notify users when email is quarantined as suspicious junk email?
A:	Postini will send a weekly alert via email notifying you if junk mail has been filtered and detained in your online Message Center. However, you can log into the Postini inbox Message Center at any time to monitor and review detained messages. From the inbox you can choose to forward mail on to your account or delete unwanted mail.
Q:	What if I don't want Postini to filter my e-mail?
A:	You can turn Postini Junk Email Assistant off at anytime by simply logging in to your online inbox message center. Click on settings and then click off on the Junk Email toggle switch.
Q:	If a message is blocked from an important sender can I do something to make sure their future messages will not be filtered?
A:	Yes. Your Message Center inbox contains a junk mail settings option in the upper left corner. From here you can explicitly list certain email addresses, regardless of content. Do this by entering valid addresses in the Approved Senders field. Likewise, you can restrict specific e-mail senders if you would like.
Q:	What happens if Postini e-mail processing servers fail?
A:	Postini deploys a large number of enterprise-scale servers dedicated to processing email. However, in the event of a catastrophe, email will be passed through the system by defaulting to your e-mail provider's regular mail servers. There will be no noticeable performance hit. Any suspect messages that were diverted to the Message Center are contained on redundant disk storage devices that are backed up by Postini.
Q:	How often is e-mail deleted from the Message Center?
A:	Postini keeps email messages that have been directed to the Message Center for 14 days following the receipt of the message. This includes any messages that may have been moved to your Trash Folder in the Message Center. After 14 days from first receipt, any message will be deleted. E-mail service providers will send an e-mail activity report on a regular basis to remind users to check their Message Center. Junk mail deleted from the Message Center cannot be recovered.
Q:	I'm a busy person. What if I never check my Message Center?
A:	E-mail that has been directed to the Message Center is deleted 14 days after receipt. Postini recommends that you check the Message Center frequently to ensure personal settings are appropriate and check messages. It is a good habit to bookmark the Log In page and check your message center at least every week. Most browsers will also let you check a box to save your login and encrypted password on your personal PC so you don't have to remember the password.
Q:	What if I lose or forget the password to my Message Center "inbox"?
A:	If you log in with the incorrect password, Postini will give you option to submit to have a temporary password sent to your e-mail address of record (your @asme.org address.) When you log in with the temporary password, you'll be asked to choose a permanent one. (Note: For security purposes, it's generally a good idea to used mixed case passwords of more than seven characters.)
Q:	If I receive spam, what should I do with it?
A:	If junk email reaches your home or corporate e-mail account, you can simply delete the message or forward it to spam@postini.com. This allows Postini to reference it in our junk e-mail database for the future. You can also visit your Message Center and add the sender's address to your Blocked Senders list. Professional spam servers around the world constantly try to defeat anti-spam techniques, including using only graphic image files (.JPG or .GIF) embedded in HTML messages. No anti-spam service can be 100% effective against unwanted mail at this point in time.
Q:	What if Postini directs legitimate email to my online Message Center?
A:	Unfortunately, some legitimate email may be erroneously directed to the user's Message Center. This is due to the subjective nature of email messages and what could possibly be considered junk email. If a significant amount of valid e-mail is being misdirected to the Message Center, Postini can be used to build a list of approved senders, thereby minimizing the possibility of detaining a valid email in the future.
Q:	How do I deliver legitimate mail from Postini to my mail account?
A:	From the Message Center, select the checkbox next to the legitimate message. Then click deliver. Postini also offers the option of adding the sender to the Approved Sender list. Next time, messages from that sender will not be detained. You may also manually build your approved senders list by visiting your junk email settings. However, this is not required.
Q:	Does the Junk Mail Assistant watch for obscene language and other questionable content?
A:	The Junk Email Assistant is tuned for identifying unsolicited commercial email (UCE), otherwise known as spam or junk email. This is somewhat different than filtering specifically for content, like most e-mail filtering. For example, a friend sends a joke containing obscenities. This originates from a known source, whereas a message of unknown origin containing obscenities that refers to a pornography site WOULD likely be blocked. Of course, Postini does have the capability to explicitly block any address--in case you want to restrict e-mail from a known source, also.The Junk Email Assistant is tuned for identifying unsolicited commercial email (UCE), otherwise known as spam or junk email. This is somewhat different than filtering specifically for content, like most e-mail filtering. For example, a friend sends a joke containing obscenities. This originates from a known source, whereas a message of unknown origin containing obscenities that refers to a pornography site WOULD likely be blocked. Of course, Postini does have the capability to explicitly block any address--in case you want to restrict e-mail from a known source, also.
Q:	Will Postini automatically block services that might resemble spam, such as mailing lists?
A:	Most likely not. If it does trigger Postini filters based on content, we recommend that you add the sender to the Approve Senders list
Q:	Can I use Postini to protect my other e-mail addresses from junk mail?
A:	Unfortunately, no. ASME licensed Postini to protect only addresses in the ASME.ORG domain. If your destination e-mail account is a personal one, you may wish to check with the provider to see what anti-spam services they offer. Companies like Earthlink provide their own layer of junk mail filtering.
Q:	Once I receive my activation e-mail, where do I go to check for blocked messages?
A:	Once your account is activated, you'll receive an automatic welcome e-mail from the service provider. This will include a link to a Web site where you can review any e-mail that has been blocked as spam (http://login.postini.com) You will be able to login only after receiving the activation e-mail message.
Q:	Is it safe to open and read a message within the Postini online Message Center?
A:	Yes. While Postini is not providing anti-virus services, a message opened within the Message Center is text only. However, it is important to understand that any mail delivered to your computer from any source could have a virus-infected file as an attachment. A personal or corporate computer is only protected if it contains an anti-virus software program. Antivirus software is only effective if it has the signature files updated on a very regular basis. Antivirus companies identify new viruses daily and include antidotes in signature files that can generally be downloaded to update your software. (Companies do this as a matter of routine to protect employee workstations.) Antivirus software also helps protect your computer from malicious scripts that can be picked up when browsing Web sites or potentially using an infected floppy disc.
Q:	Can I contact ASME about the Postini service?
A:	Certainly. While ASME does not maintain the Postini servers, we can answer questions or contact the company on your behalf in the event you have a concern or question. Please feel free to contact ASME Member Services about the Postini service at junkmail@asme.org.
Q:	Will I be notified if I have received a virus-infected email?
A:	Yes, if Postini/McAfee intercepts one or more messages with infected file attachments, a notice will be sent once per day to your email address. Otherwise, no notice is sent. If you receive a notice about quarantined email, you can log into the Postini message center and safely read the text message portion of any email. Such items will be flagged ahead of blocked spam content. Any message quarantined by Postini/McAfee can either be deleted or ignored.
Q:	Will Postini send a notification email to the originator of the infected email?
A:	No, Postini/McAfee will only send notification to you, the recipient. Most infected files are attached to unwanted or unsolicited messages. On occasion, you may see notifications regarding virus-infected email that seems to have come from a trusted source. This is generally because most virus/worm writers create programs that steal legitimate email addresses from an infected computer's address book, and then spoof the from line in messages that the virus propagates.
Q:	Will Postini/McAfee catch every virus-infected email?
A:	On occasion, a message with a virus-infected attachment might get through Postini/McAfee's service. Many email worms spread so fast via the Internet that there can sometimes be a lapse of a few hours between the times the threats first begin spreading and the release of antidote update files by anti-virus companies. If you receive a message that seems odd or questionable, it's always a good practice to make sure your own computer's anti-virus software is installed an up to date before opening any file attachment.
Q:	Is email the only way my computer can be infected with a virus?
A:	Email is only one of many ways that viruses or worms can infect your system. Virus infections can also occur through files on floppy disks, malicious scripts embedded in web pages, newsgroup messages with file attachments, and other sources. While this valuable service is free to you as an ASME member, it is not intended as a substitute for having regularly updated anti-virus software on your home or corporate computer.
Q:	Can I register more than one email address for this service?
A:	No, only the forwarding email address for your @asme.org email alias is eligible for this service.
Q:	Can I disable the virus scanning service?
A:	We do not advise that you disable virus scanning, but you have the ability to disable this service at any time. After logging in to the message center at www.postini.com, click on the Virus Settings option at the top of the page.