1. What is FOPE?

FOPE, or Forefront Online Protection for Exchange, is a service offered by Microsoft to protect e-mail systems from spam and viruses. SCSU has subscribed to this service.

2. My e-mail account is hosted on OWLS (owls.southernct.edu). Is my e-mail protected by FOPE?

The OWLS e-mail is hosted by Microsoft Live@edu. That service has its own anti-spam and anti-virus system. It is not part of FOPE.

3. What happened to Sonicwall?

Previous to FOPE, Sonicwall eMS was used to protect our e-mail systems from spam and viruses. FOPE replaced Sonicwall eMS as of March 22, 2010.

4. What web address do I use to log into FOPE?

The web address is: http://antispam.southernct.edu/

5. What is my FOPE username?

Your FOPE username is your primary e-mail address, which is: username@southernct.edu.

6. I never logged in before, what is my default password?

There is no default password for FOPE. To log into FOPE for the first time, click the "Need your password?" link on the FOPE login page.

7. I forgot my password, how do I reset it?

If you forget your FOPE password, click the "Need your password?" link on the FOPE login page to recover your password.

8. Where is the "Allow" list in FOPE?

FOPE does not offer an "Allow" or "Deny" list like Sonicwall. Because we filter our outbound e-mail through FOPE, the rate of false positives (or false negatives) will be much less.

9. Can FOPE be configured to send me quarantine summary messages?

Yes, FOPE can be configured to send quarantine summary messages. You can enable (or disable) the messages by logging into the FOPE website, clicking on options, then clicking on the "Send notification" checkbox. The period that the quarantine summary messages is not configurable. The messages are sent once-per-day at about 7:00pm (EST) or 8:00pm (EDT).

10. Why do I see multiple e-mail addresses in my quarantine area?

The system is configured to accept e-mail for southernct.edu, owl.southernct.edu, myscsu.southernct.edu, and mail.southernct.edu. The Sonicwall system also accepted e-mail for the other addresses but consolidatd the quarantine for each address into one list. FOPE does not consolidate the quarantined e-mail into one list. It separates the quarantine e-mail for each address.

11. I see that I have multiple e-mail address, which ones should I use?

OIT recommends that you use your @southernct.edu address. If you are using the other e-mail domains (i.e. @owl.southernct.edu, @mail.southernct.edu), then OIT recommends that you start using @southernct.edu for your e-mail.

12. How long are quarantined e-mail messages retained in FOPE?

Quarantined e-mail messages are retained for 15 days.

13. When I try to access the FOPE website with Safari on Apple OSX, I receive a certificate error. Why does this happen?

Safari on OSX (including 10.6) does not handle intermediate SSL certificates properly. Before you can use the FOPE website, you will need to accept the certificate error. This will hopefully be resolved in later versions of Safari. This problem does not effect MS Internet Explorer (versions 6, 7, and 8) and Firefox (version 3.x).

14. Why do I have fewer e-mail messages in my quarantine as compared to my Sonicwall quarantine?

FOPE uses a reputation database for servers that try to send us e-mail. If a server is a known source of SPAM, then the FOPE servers reject the connection before any message is sent. Because of this, you will see less SPAM in your quarantine since the system is scanning less messages.