Common Questions
How does one log in to the Postini Message Center?
What is the interface like?
Can the password be changed?
What if an end user can't log in to their Postini Message Center?
What if users don't want Postini services?
Will Postini still work if users change email service providers?
Do Postini Assistants work when I send mail or only when I receive it?
What browsers does Postini support?
Why do I need to enable cookies when logging in to my Message Center?

Postini Junk Email Assistant
What makes the Postini Junk Email Assistant filters different from the spam filters found in my email application?
How do I know junk email is being filtered and not my regular (legitimate) email?
Does someone read personal emails at Postini?
How does Postini notify users when email is quarantined as suspicious junk email?
What if users prefer to receive junk email?
What happens in the event that Postini email processing servers fail?
How often is email deleted from the Message Center?
What if users never check their Message Center?
What if users receive spam, what should they do with it?
What if Postini directs legitimate email to the Message Center?
Does the Junk Mail Assistant watch for obscene language and other questionable content?
Will Postini automatically block services which might resemble spam, such as mailing lists?

Postini Virus Scan Assistant(Premium Junk Email Filtering upgrade only)
Is Virus Assistant up-to-date on its virus definitions?
Who is McAfee?
Is McAfee desktop software available for my PC as well?
How am I notified that virus-infected email has been detected?

Privacy & Security
How does Postini handle security?
Do Postini services compromise privacy?

Common Questions

How does one log in to the Postini Message Center?
After an email provider activates Postini services, users will receive an "Activation Message" containing login instructions with password details. The password will be the same as a user's existing primary email account, or the same as any email account that has upgraded their filtering to the Premium Junk Email Filtering service. Users will also receive email notifications with login instructions on a weekly basis if suspicious messages have been directed to their Postini Message Center.

What is the interface like?
To check messages or alter settings, users will first log in. After successfully logging in, their personal Postini Message Center appears, where they can review the messages that Postini identified as suspicious. The Postini Message Center is the web-based application where users find all Postini service settings and messages. Postini settings can be easily adjusted by the end-user to accommodate their needs and habits.

Can the password be changed?
The Postini Message Center password will always be the same as the password for the e-mail address you are logging in as. You cannot have different passwords for your e-mail account and your Postini Message center.

What if I can't log in to my Postini Message Center?
You must login to your Message Center using <YourPrimaryLogin>@hickorytech.net, regardless of the HickoryTech-assigned email address you are using. All quarantined messages for all additional e-mail accounts are sent to a single Message Center under your primary account.

For example, you would login using "example@hickorytech.net" if your PRIMARY account is using any of the following addresses:
- example@mctcnet.net
- example@gotocrystal.net
- example@heartlandtel.com
- example@crystalcomm.net
- example@mnic.net
- example@platec.net
- example@ic.CITY.mn.us

If you prefer to have separate message centers for each of your additional email accounts, you may upgrade to the Premium Junk Email Filtering service, which also provides virus protection and wireless email services. For more information on the Premium Junk Email Filtering service, please visit http://www.hickorytech.net/services/spam.html

What if I don't want Postini services?
Postini is completely user-configurable, allowing users to simply turn off one or all Postini email services via the message Center Interface. Initially, HickoryTech determines a default medium-level setting for all customers. If those setting are too intrusive or not effective enough, users are welcome to adjust them at any time via their Message center interface. If a user elects to disable filtering, this will affect all other e-mail accounts that are services by that Message Center.

You may turn your Junk Email Filtering off at any time by simply logging in to your postini Message Center, clicking "Junk Email Settings" and clicking "off" on the Junk Email toggle switch. (Premium Junk Email Filtering applications, such as virus scanning, can also be turned on or off in this manner.)

Will Postini still work if I use e-mail accounts not managed by HickoryTech, or if I have my own domain name?
Your free Basic Junk Email Filtering service will only work with a HickoryTech default domain name such as user@hickorytech.net, user@mnic.net, user@mctcnet.net, etc. If you have your own mail server with your own domain name, or if you have your own domain name hosted by HickoryTech, we can also provide Junk Email Filtering services for mail addressed to your domain name for a small fee. Please contact support@hickorytech.net for details on domain name filtering.

Please note that if you have your own domain name hosted by HickoryTech, you have already been assigned a Message Center for your mailbox that will filter all mail addressed only to your HickoryTech email address The default filtering will NOT filter any mail sent to your mailbox that uses your domain name. upgrading to domain name filtering will allow all mail sent to your domain name mailboxes to be filtered.

Do Postini Assistants work when I send mail or only when I receive it?
The current Postini Assistants only work on incoming email. This may change with new applications being developed on the Postini Message Platform.

What browsers does Postini support?
Postini supports version 4 (v4) and above of Netscape and Internet Explorer. Cookies should be enabled to provide the best experience.

Why do I need to enable cookies when logging into my Message Center?
The main purpose of cookies is to identify you as a unique Postini services user and prepare Web pages that reflect your personalized Postini applications. When you enter the Message Center using cookies, Postini is generating a customized experience—your application settings, your quarantined email. Some information, such as your login email address, is packaged into a cookie and sent to your Web browser which stores it for later use; for example, the next time you log in, your browser will send the cookie to Postini so that only your password is required—saving you time. Postini does not track any personal information in its cookies or request any personal information through the Message Center—cookies are simply used to ensure you are in control of your email.

Postini Junk Email Assistant

What makes the Postini Junk Email Assistant filters different from the spam filters found in my email application?
The mail filters found in email products have a number of limitations and often assume a "one size fits all" solution. Users are often expected to develop their own filter rules from the limited tools provided. Further, users must still download email before the mail client can filter it-possibly wasting time and bandwidth while waiting to read mail, such as spam, that you would not want anyway.

With Postini Junk Email Assistant filters, all email processing is done behind the scenes before it ever gets downloaded to your mail program's inbox. This saves time and bandwidth by not forcing you to download superfluous email, such as unsolicited offers. If you have purchased Premium Junk Email Filtering with virus protection service, any detected viruses never enter your computer. Moreover, Postini improvements are done without modifications to an end user's email services or email client. The Postini Junk Email Assistant performance is superior, identifying up to 95% of users' junk email.

How do I know junk email is being filtered and not my regular (legitimate) email?
Postini uses an advanced filtering technique built on heuristic rules, lists of approved and blocked senders, and databases of known junk email to maintain the effectiveness of the rules system. Despite these advanced measures, some good email may get caught since the concept of junk email is subjective (one man's trash is another man's treasure). A legitimate message being quarantined may have been caught because it originated from an ISP that willingly hosts known spammers, not because the message sender is thought to be the spammer.

To remedy this, Postini enables end users the ability 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 email from getting mistakenly directed to the Message Center; conversely, aggressive filtering catches more suspicious email at the risk of mistakenly diverting normal email to the Message Center. Users may also easily "white-list" senders addresses, to bypass filtering for messages frrom any sender. you will receive weekly notifications if any suspicious mail was quarantined since your last visit to your Message Center. With the right configuration, Postini can be set so that less than 1% of valid email is falsely identified as suspicious.

Approving mail from a sender is simple. From the Message Center, click "deliver" for any legitimate email and Postini will ask if all messages from this sender should be delivered--that sender is then added to the "Approved Sender" list. Next time, messages from that sender will not be detained unless the Premium Junk Email Filtering Virus Assistant is active and detects a virus from that sender. You may also manually build your approved senders list by visiting your junk email settings.

Does someone read personal emails at Postini?
No. All email processing is done through automated filters that analyze the source of the mail, check for forged sender information, and compare the message body against a database of known spam messages . Further, since Postini is capable of processing millions of messages each day, it is unlikely that a particular email stay around long enough since Postini processes a single message within milliseconds and does not write valid messages to disk. In the event a "suspicious" email is discovered, it will be directed to your private Postini Message Center pending your review. If you would like to pass on a suspicious email to Postini for further reference, you may do so by forwarding the message to spam@postini.com.

How does Postini notify users when email is quarantined as suspicious junk email?
Postini will send a weekly report via email of the activity in the user's Postini Message Center. However, users can log in to the Postini Message Center at any time to monitor and review quarantined messages.

What if users prefer to receive junk email?
You may turn your Junk Email Filtering off at any time by simply logging in to your postini Message Center, clicking "Junk Email Settings" and clicking "off" on the Junk Email toggle switch. (Premium Junk Email Filtering applications, such as virus scanning, can also be turned on or off in this manner.)

However, if Postini is detaining too much legitimate email, first try setting "Filter Sensitivity" to moderate or lenient and/or uncheck any "Filter Categories" that are unwanted. It also helps to explicitly list certain email addresses to allow their messages through the filters, regardless of content. You may do this by entering valid addresses in the Approved Senders field.

What happens in the event that Postini email processing servers fail?
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 email 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.

How often is quarantined email deleted from the Message Center?
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 have been moved to a user's "Trash Folder" in the Message Center. After 14 days from first receipt, any message will be deleted. If you have not visited your Message Center recently, you will be sent an email activity report on a regular basis as a reminder to check your Message Center. Users can also access their Message Center at any time.

What if users never check their Message Center?
Email that has been directed to the Message Center is deleted 14 days after receipt. Postini recommends that users check the Message Center frequently to ensure personal settings are appropriate and check messages. Users may find that some minor adjustments are required to ensure legitimate email is not falsely identified as junk. It is a good habit to bookmark the Log In page and check your message center at least every week. Most users find that after the first couple of months after enabling Junk Email Filtering and adjusting their settings, they only need to check their message center occasionally. We recommend that all usera check their message center at least once a week.

What if users receive spam, what should they do with it?
If junk email reaches a user's desktop and appears in their email inbox, they can simply delete the message or forward it to spam@postini.com, if they wish. This allows Postini to reference it in our junk email database for the future. If you are receiving many undesirable messages, you may also visit your Message Center and either increase the sensitivity of your filtering, or add the sender's address to your "Blocked Senders" list.

What if Postini directs legitimate email to the Message Center?
Postini uses an advanced filtering technique built on heuristic rules, lists of approved and blocked senders, and databases of known junk email to maintain the effectiveness of the rules system. Despite these advanced measures, some good email may get caught since the concept of junk email is subjective (one man's trash is another man's treasure). A legitimate message being quarantined may have been caught because it originated from an ISP that willingly hosts known spammers, not because the message sender is thought to be the spammer.

To remedy this, Postini enables end users the ability 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 email from getting mistakenly directed to the Message Center; conversely, aggressive filtering catches more suspicious email at the risk of mistakenly diverting normal email to the Message Center. Users may also easily "white-list" senders addresses, to bypass filtering for messages frrom any sender. You will receive weekly notifications if any suspicious mail was quarantined since your last visit to your Message Center, giving you full control over accepting it. With the right user configuration, Postini can be set so that less than 1% of valid email is falsely identified as suspicious.

Approving mail from a sender is simple. From the Message Center, click "deliver" for any legitimate email and Postini will ask if all messages from this sender should be delivered--that sender is then added to the "Approved Sender" list. Next time, messages from that sender will not be detained unless the Premium Junk Email Filtering Virus Assistant is active and detects a virus from that sender. You may also manually build your approved senders list by visiting your junk email settings.

Does the Junk Mail Assistant watch for obscene language and other questionable content?
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 email 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 also refers to a website address WOULD likely be directed to the Postini Message Center. Of course, Postini does give you the capability to explicitly block or allow any address--in case you either want to restrict or allow email from a known source.

Will Postini automatically block services which might resemble spam, such as mailing lists?
Most likely not. If it does trigger Postini filters, we recommend that you add the sender to the "Approve Senders" list.

Postini Virus Protection Assistant(Premium Junk Email Filtering Upgrade only)

Is Virus Assistant up-to-date on its virus definitions?
Yes. Virus Assistant updates virus definitions continuously. Not only will virus scanning of malicious email viruses prove extremely valuable to you, but it also saves valuable time by scanning messages behind the scenes. You are only notified when a virus is found in a message. Virus Assistant utilizes McAfee's AVERT (Anti-Virus Emergency Response Team) to stay current with virus definitions. AVERT is a worldwide virus-monitoring network that continuously looks for new viruses and subtle changes in old ones so that virus definitions stay current.

Who is McAfee?
McAfee provides industry-leading protection against today's most dangerous viruses and tomorrow's threats. McAfee and your service provider made this possible by inserting virus-scanning technology into your mail flow. This relieves email providers and you from maintaining individually installed virus detection and the hassle of maintaining current virus definitions.

Is McAfee desktop software available for my PC as well?
Yes, you can purchase desktop virus protection software from McAfee. Visit McAfee at www.mcafee.com for more info.

How am I notified that virus-infected email has been detected?
You are notified immediately via email when an infected virus is detected in an email message. From the Message Center, you can safely review the infected email text.

Privacy & Security

How does Postini handle security?
Postini takes the security and privacy of user data seriously.

• Legitimate email is not written to disk.
• Passwords are not stored and never transmitted in plain text.
• Suspicious email directed to the Message Center is broken up before being written to disk, so only end users can access it.
• Postini resources, apart from the web and email processing machines, are not accessible through the public Internet.

To ensure data integrity, Postini has stringent back-up schedules as well as redundant systems for load balancing. To ensure availability, Postini administrators work with administrators at Exodus Communications, where Postini's physical equipment is located, to ensure 24x7 up time and the integrity of the system.

Do Postini services compromise your privacy?
No. Neither Postini employees nor its business partners ever read an end user's email that is being processed during the course of normal mail delivery. Instead, it is the Postini Assistants software applications that process email behind-the-scenes automatically. Postini's provacy policy states that Postini will not provide your personal information, including your e-mail address, to any third party.

Postini's Privacy policy is available at http://www.postini.com/company/privacy.html