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Allow / Deny List (Managed Senders)

 

Managed Senders contains a list for each end user of those email addresses and domains which have been manually added to their personal block and permit lists, or automatically added to their auto allow list. An administrator can view, add, modify or even remove these personal entries by using the Managed Senders menu option in the Administration console.

 

It is possible to import a spreadsheet of existing personal entries from third-party systems (e.g. Postini) when migrating to Mimecast. This method of creating a managed senders list allows you to block or permit entire domains. If the import option can't be used, create a blocked senders or permitted senders policy.

An auto allow entry is removed automatically after 120 days from when it was created, if no more emails are sent to the external address. A manually created permit entry does not expire.

 

 

Administrators may need to manage the user's personal entries in the event that the user wants certain senders blocked from sending inbound emails (which have previously been permitted), or to prevent future legitimate emails being blocked. These corrections may be necessary when a user has incorrectly created a entry in one of four ways:

  • Using a Digest, to Block or Permit a specific external email address. A common example is an end user permitting their own sending address after receiving a spoofed email. All future spoof emails to them will then be accepted.
  • Using Mimecast Personal Portal to Block or Permit individual addresses and/or domain names.
  • Using Mimecast for Outlook to Block or Permit individual addresses and/or domain names.
  • By sending an email to an external recipient, which adds the external address to the Auto Allow list.

 

Entries can be added individually or in bulk using a spreadsheet.

Creating / Changing a Permitted Senders Policy or Creating / Changing a Blocked Senders Policy overrides a user personal entry. For example, if a user blocks one address in a domain, but the administrator blocks the entire domain name, no emails from the domain will be accepted. Similarly, if a user creates blocks for one address in a domain, but the administrator permits the entire domain name, all mail from this domain will be permitted.

Administrators can view, modify, remove or add policies from the Gateway | Managed Senders view. The default view displays a list of existing entries, with action buttons in the grey toolbar and a Search field to easily locate items in the list:

 

Viewing Policies

 

Locate an item in the list by using the Search field. Enter email address or name of the internal user, and click the magnifying glass icon to run the search. The view displays all the personal policies that this user has in place within Mimecast. The Sender and Recipient addresses are specified, along with the Policy Type column, and colored indicators on the right:

 

Policy TypeIconDescription

Auto Reskin_-_allowed_sender.png

Indicates that an Auto Allow entry has been created. This is automatically configured when the user sends an email to an external recipient, who is then deemed to be a trusted sender

An Auto Allow entry is removed automatically after 120 days from when it was created, if no more emails are sent to the external address.

Manual Reskin_-_allowed_sender.png Shows a manual Permit entry.
Manual Reskin_-_Blocked_sender.png Shows a manual Block entry.
Disabled - A small sample of Auto Allow address will be scanned for spam on a random basis. Mimecast may disable the Auto Allow entry and place the email on Hold, if the message is suspected to be spam. This will not apply to manually created Auto Allow entries, and the Auto Allow rule is re-enabled when the internal user sends an email to the external recipient

The View menu can be used to apply filters to the list which will help to filter the displayed entries.

You can use the Export button to export the list to a spreadsheet for further analysis.

 

Modifying or Removing Entries

 

To modify any one of the entries, right-click the line item, and choose from the contextual menu:

  • Block Sender:  Adds the sender to the user’s personal Block list
  • Permit Sender: Adds the sender to the user’s personal Permit list
  • Delete: Removes the entry completely

 

Multiple entries can be selected using the checkboxes on the left, and the action buttons in the above toolbar can be applied simultaneously to several items.

 

Adding Policies

 

Click the Add button in the grey toolbar to display the following options, which are detailed below:

  • Add Managed Senders
  • Import Managed Senders
  • Postini Approved and Blocked Senders
  • Add Managed Senders

 

Used to add individual entries for a specific sender or recipient, with the relevant Permit or Block action.

 

Import Managed Senders

 

Used to bulk upload multiple entries from a spreadsheet.  The spreadsheet must include the columns as specified below:

 

Column Heading
Title
Description
Example

sender Sender Address The address of the external sender. baduser@domain.com
to Recipient Address The address of the internal recipient. myuser@mydomain.com
action Action to apply Choose to either Permit (to bypass spam checks) or Block (to reject the email).

Either one of the following:

  • permit
  • block

Mimecast only accepts spreadsheets in .XLS format, and the layout of the import is critical for data to import correctly.

To import managed senders:

  1. Click the Browse button to select the spreadsheet.
  2. Click the Preview Changes button to check the spreadsheet structure. A report is generated to show if the appropriate fields have been identified correctly.
  3. If successful, click the Accept Import button to start the import process.

 

Postini Permitted and Blocked Senders

 

The spreadsheet can be used to import user personal permit and block policies. The spreadsheet must include the columns as specified below:

 

Import_Spreadsheet_Personal_Policies.png

The examples in the table below apply to the sender address only.

Column HeadingDescription

# address The email addresses of the internal users, for which the personal entries should be created.

If the email address in the # address column does not exist in the Internal Domains, the spreadsheet preview generates error notifications for the address in question. The address must be removed from the import.
approved_senders A list of email addresses to be added to the personal Permitted Senders entries for the user address listed in the # address column. Multiple addressed must be separated by commas with no spaces.
blocked_senders A list of email addresses to be added to the personal Blocked Senders entries for the user address listed in the # address column. Multiple addressed must be separated by commas with no spaces.

 

To import the addresses:

  1. Click on the Browse button to select the prepared spreadsheet file (as described above).
  2. Click on the Preview Changes button to check the spreadsheet structure. A report is generated to show if the appropriate fields have been identified correctly.
  3. If successful, click the Accept Import button to start the import process.

 

The table below provides a number of examples of valid and invalid entries for approved / blocked senders:

 

ExamplesAddress TypeReason for Rejection

@domain.com, *@domain.com Valid Domain -
name@domain.com, _@domain.com, ?@domain.com Valid Email Address -
domain.com, *@ Invalid Domain

Invalid Email Address

name@, name Invalid Email Address Invalid Email Address
 
 
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  1. Carlos Rios

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