Notification Settings

If you have ever wondered whether Hermes is going to email you every time it blocks a suspicious message, this is the page that controls that.

The short version

Quarantine is the holding area where the system puts messages it thinks might be spam, scams, or viruses. Instead of letting those messages into your inbox, Hermes sets them aside so you can decide what to do with them.

This page has one setting: Quarantine Notifications. When it is Enabled, Hermes sends you a short email each time a new message is put into quarantine for you. That email includes a one-click Release Message button — if the message is actually something you wanted (a real order confirmation, a real invoice, a real newsletter), you click the button and Hermes delivers it to your inbox. You do not need to log in.

When it is Disabled, Hermes still quarantines suspicious messages, but it does not email you about them. You would only find them by going to the Message History page in this user portal and looking yourself.

Most people leave it Enabled. That way nothing important sits in quarantine without you knowing about it.

Why this setting matters

The whole point of a mail gateway is that it makes a judgement call for you about which messages look risky. Most of the time it is right. Occasionally it sets aside something you actually wanted — a receipt from a store you do not buy from often, a one-time password from a service you rarely use, an email from a new contact.

You have two ways to catch those mistakes:

Quarantine Notifications turned on. Hermes emails you about each quarantined message as it happens. You see them in your inbox the same way you see any other email. If one of them is legitimate, you click the Release Message button right from the notification, and the message arrives in your inbox a minute later.
Quarantine Notifications turned off. Nothing arrives. You have to remember to visit the Message History page on this site every so often to look for messages you might have missed.

The first option is easier and that is why it is the default. The second option means a quieter inbox, but you have to be disciplined about checking Message History.

The setting on this page

Quarantine Notifications

Enabled (the default) — Hermes emails you once for every message it quarantines for you. Each email has a Release Message button you can click without logging in.
Disabled — Hermes does not email you about quarantined messages at all. You can still see them by visiting the Message History page in this user portal.

To change it, pick the option you want from the dropdown and click Save Settings. The change takes effect right away — the next message that gets quarantined will follow your new preference.

If you do not change anything on this page, it stays Enabled.

Common scenarios

You want to know about every quarantined message as it arrives. Set Quarantine Notifications to Enabled. This is the default. You will get one email per quarantined message, with a Release Message button.

You are tired of getting emails about spam. Set Quarantine Notifications to Disabled. You will not hear from Hermes about quarantined messages anymore. Plan to visit Message History every few days so legitimate mail does not sit in quarantine indefinitely.

You are going on vacation and do not want a pile of notification emails waiting for you. You can leave Notifications Enabled — the notifications themselves are short and easy to delete in a batch — or set it to Disabled before you leave and back to Enabled when you return. Either is fine.

You missed an important email and you are not sure if Hermes quarantined it. The setting on this page does not change what is in quarantine — it only changes whether you are notified. Go to Message History to look for the message regardless of what this setting is on.

Frequently asked questions

If I turn notifications off, will Hermes stop quarantining messages? No. Hermes always decides what to quarantine the same way. This setting only controls whether you get an email about it.

Will I get one giant email at the end of the day, or one email per message? One email per message, as each one is quarantined. There is no daily summary option on this page.

The notification email has a Release Message button. Is it safe to click? Yes. The button is a one-time link tied to that specific message and your specific mailbox. Clicking it tells Hermes "this message was fine, please deliver it." It does not require you to log in, and it does not affect any other messages.

I clicked Release Message by mistake. What happens? The message gets delivered to your inbox. You can simply delete it from there if it was not something you wanted. There is no way to "un-release" a message, but releasing a real spam message does no real harm — it just lands in your inbox like any other email, and you delete it.

I am not getting any notification emails even though this is set to Enabled. What is wrong? First, check your inbox's own spam folder — sometimes the notification emails themselves get filtered. If they are not there either, contact your administrator: it may be that Hermes is not configured to send notifications at all, or there may be a delivery problem to your mailbox.

Can I get notifications for other people's quarantined messages, like a shared mailbox? This setting only controls notifications for messages addressed to you. Shared mailbox notifications, if available, are managed separately by your administrator.

Does turning notifications off delete the messages in quarantine? No. The messages stay in quarantine and you can still find them on the Message History page. The setting only controls whether you get an email about them.

How long do quarantined messages stay around? That is set by your administrator, not by you. It is typically a few weeks. Once a quarantined message expires, it is deleted and cannot be recovered, so do not rely on quarantine as long-term storage.

Where to next

Releasing a quarantined message from the portal — see Message History
Stopping mail from a specific sender from being quarantined at all — see Sender Filters
Changing your password or other account preferences — see Account Settings