Spam
Boston University uses SpamAssassin to automatically filter suspected spam e-mail on the incoming mail servers. Most people find that BU’s default filter setting is highly effective. You may not need to take any additional steps to manage spam on your own, other than to delete the occasional unwanted message.
However, if you are experiencing an unusually high volume of unwanted e-mail, you can do even more with SpamAssassin to address the problem.
Related information
How did spammers get my address?
Spammers have many techniques for harvesting e-mail addresses. But it’s not necessary to harvest addresses — computers make it easy to generate addresses by trying combinations of letters and numbers, much like an odometer. Since there’s virtually no effort or cost to the sender, the fact that many of these addresses don’t exist doesn’t matter. In addition, a number of viruses use infected machines, even simple desktop PCs, to send spam. In many cases you receive the spam simply because you appear in the address book of the person who owns an infected computer.
Can I get a new e-mail address?
It’s very unlikely that getting a new e-mail address from BU will solve the problem. Everyone with a BU e-mail address is a target for the same kind of auto-generated spam. If you want to take filtering measures beyond those that are provided by default, you should review the suggestions outlined below.