NAME

pmx-intro - Introduction to PureMessage


DESCRIPTION

PureMessage is an email-filtering solution that works in conjunction with a mail transfer agent (Postfix, sendmail, or JSMS). Messages are filtered by a policy script containing tests and actions that are applied to message components. Actions can include message modification, delivery and/or quarantine. Users can be advised of their quarantined messages via digests, or they can use the End User Web Interface to release or discard quarantined messages. PureMessage can be administered via the command-line interface or the web-based Manager.

This document gives a brief overview of PureMessage. It presumes that PureMessage and a supported MTA are installed and functioning. If this is not the case, see the Getting Started Guide for information about installing PureMessage with a mail transfer agent (MTA) and configuring an MTA.


PureMessage Quick Reference

Once PureMessage and the MTA are installed, use the Milter service and the Quarantine Manager (described below) to run filters and manage quarantined messages. Refer to PureMessage Documentation for an overview of other sources of PureMessage information.

PureMessage Services

PureMessage consists of a series of services that are started and stopped using the pmx program. The pmx program supports a command set that applies to all services. The following are examples of pmx sub-commands:

pmx start
Starts all PureMessage services that are not currently running

pmx stop
Stops all PureMessage services

pmx status
Displays the status for all services that are currently running

The programs for starting and stopping individual enabled services are located by default in /opt/pmx/etc/init.d. All of these services can be controlled by running the corresponding script directly (e.g. pmx-milter). Alternatively, all programs can be controlled on local or remote machines using pmx-service. Services are enabled and configured during the interactive PureMessage installation. The following services are available:

PureMessage Milter
Interacts with sendmail and runs the policy filter engine. Use the pmx-milter program to start and stop this service.

Sendmail
Runs the sendmail MTA distributed with PureMessage.

Postfix
Runs the Postfix MTA distributed with PureMessage (an alternative to sendmail).

Java System Messaging Server (JSMS)
Runs the JSMS MTA (an alternative to sendmail).

PureMessage Manager
The web-based administrative interface to PureMessage. Use the pmx-manager program to start and stop this service.

Anti-Virus Engine
The Sophos virus-scanning service. Use the pmx-vscan program to start and stop this service. Note that The ``Daemon'' option in the sophos.conf configuration file must be set to ``On'' for this service to run. By default, the the Sophos anti-virus engine runs within the Milter (Policy) process. For more information, see the sophos.conf manpage.

PostgreSQL
The relational database back end for the PureMessage quarantine.

HTTPD (RPC/UI)
The web server and RPC services that make up the End User Web Interface. Use the pmx-httpd program to start and stop this service.

PureMessage Policy

The default PureMessage Policy is contained in a Sieve script called policy.siv (located in the etc directory beneath the PureMessage installation directory). Sieve is a non-platform-specific language used to create filters for email. Details of Sieve's use in the PureMessage Policy script are found in pmx-policy. The pmx-policy man page also contains a description of the pmx-policy command, which provides an interface to the PureMessage Policy engine.

PureMessage Quarantine

The PureMessage Quarantine Manager is used to review, delete or forward messages that have been intercepted and quarantined by the policy engine. To run the Quarantine Manager, enter pmx-qman. Enter ``?'' at the Quarantine Manager prompt to display a quick reference.

Messages are quarantined according to the configuration of the PureMessage Policy. For example, policy rules can be configured to quarantine messages that contain suspicious attachments.

Lists of quarantined messages can be sent to the user in the form of quarantine digests. Users can then release messages from the quarantine by replying to the digest. Quarantine digests do not run by default. They must be manually configured and enabled. See pmx-qdigest for instructions on configuring and generating Quarantine Digests.

Depending on the PureMessage configuration, end users may also have the option of managing their own quarantined messages with the End User Web Interface (EUWI). Individual users can view and manage quarantined messages via the EUWI. The EUWI provides user-specific whitelists and blacklists, along with other options for viewing and managing email. The EUWI can be enabled during the interactive PureMessage installation.

PureMessage Manager

The PureMessage Manager is a web-based message management system. PureMessage can be configured, controlled and maintained through this graphical interface.


PureMessage Documentation

The complete PureMessage documentation set (including the User Guide and the Manager Reference) is available in HTML format. Documentation for command-line programs is also available in perldoc and man format.

pmx-intro.txt
(This document) PureMessage Quick Reference; a brief overview of the PureMessage Documentation. See the HTML documentation for detailed documentation.

rfc3028.txt
Overview of the Sieve mail-filtering language (located in opt/pmx/doc).

pmx-policy-tutorial
Tutorial on building PureMessage policy scripts with Sieve (located in opt/pmx/doc).

The perldoc utility can be used to look up these documentation files as well as to extract source notes from Perl packages and binaries. For example, perldoc pmx will extract the source notes from the pmx program.

By default, the man pages for the command-line programs are located in:

     /opt/pmx/man/man1/

PureMessage User Guide (HTML)

The PureMessage User Guide, in HTML format, is located in the html directory beneath the PureMessage installation directory. If you are using a graphical browser, open the file index.html. if you are using a text-based browser, open the file toc.html.

The PureMessage User Guide includes the quick-reference documents mentioned above (converted to HTML format). In addition, the User Guide discusses the components of PureMessage in detail. Configuration of the pmx server and configuration of the virus and spam filters are among the topics covered.


Contact Sophos

Technical Support

If you encounter a problem with PureMessage, or if PureMessage does not function as described in the documentation, contact technical support:


http://sophos.com/suppport

Feedback

Please send comments and suggestions to puremessage-feedback@sophos.com

You can help us in our continuous efforts to improve the accuracy of our spam heuristics. Please let us know about any spam messages that are not caught by the filters, as well as legitimate messages that are misclassified as spam. Forward all misidentified items as attachments to:

Missed Spam:
is-spam@labs.sophos.com

Not Spam:
not-spam@labs.sophos.com

Corporate Contact Information

http://sophos.com/companyinfo/contacting/


SEE ALSO

the pmx manpage, PerlMx, perl, sendmail, the pmx-license manpage


COPYRIGHT

Copyright (C) 2000-2008 Sophos Group. All rights reserved. Sophos and PureMessage are trademarks of Sophos Plc and Sophos Group.