What is Proofpoint?
Proofpoint is the University's spam filter and email protection tool. As messages come into the Butler email system, this service scans and blocks both malicious web links (URLs) and email attachments. This service does not require any software to be installed and will work on any device (smartphones, computers, etc.) regardless of owner.
Proofpoint provides near real-time protection by automatically scanning incoming off campus email messages for hyperlinks and rewriting them with special URLs. These new URLs allow Proofpoint to check the original URL before actually sending the reader to that web page. Please note that links to www.butler.edu pages will not be rewritten.
What does this mean to me?
It is simply impossible in today’s world for any spam filter to block 100% of spam messages. The scammers who write spam constantly look for new and innovative ways to get around filters, and it takes the filter companies time to catch their technology up. Of the 90 MILLION email messages Butler receives each quarter, our spam filter prevents 99.8% from ever reaching you. The other 0.2% is comprised of legitimate messages plus the spam messages that evade our filter. All told, our SPAM filter does an extremely good job at preventing us from receiving spam.
When you hover over (place your mouse cursor over a link without clicking on it) a link that has been rewritten by Proofpoint in an email, you will see that the link begins with https://urldefense.proofpoint.com.
If Proofpoint checks the intended web page and discovers that it is malicious, the reader will not be taken to the malicious web page. Instead, the reader will see a message in their web browser saying that the web page was blocked. (If the URL is not known to be malicious, the user will be redirected to the original URL.)
Once a page has been blocked, there is nothing more you need to do. The page will be blocked for all other users as well. It is not necessary to report the blocked page to the IT Help Desk. However, if a page has been blocked and it is not in fact malicious, please submit a case at ask.butler.edu for review.
Note: The spam filter is not perfect and may allow some spam to sneak by, but the majority will be captured. All mail (including Butler to Butler) filters through Proofpoint for threat response.
Why is this important?
Phishing messages contain malicious links that often look legitimate, even to the discerning eye. This technology helps protect both you and Butler by blocking access to malicious URLs.
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