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Configure email alerts

You can manage how admins receive email alerts.

Note

You must be a Super Admin to manage email alerts.

You can:

  • Manage which administrators get email alerts.
  • Add distribution lists or email addresses that you want to receive email alerts.
  • Manage the frequency of email alerts.
  • Set custom rules to specify which alerts an administrator gets.
  • Edit the exceptions that have been set up for individual alert types.

You can change these settings. Go to My Products > General Settings > Configure email alerts.

Administrators

The Administrators list shows who receives email alerts by default.

The list shows the name, email address and admin role for each administrator.

You can choose which administrators you want to receive alerts. Click Yes or No in the administrator's details to do this.

Distribution lists

You can manage the distribution lists or email addresses that you want to receive email alerts.

Use this option to add the email addresses of your distribution lists, ticketing system or people you want to notify about alerts, but do not have access to Sophos Central Admin.

If you want to provide access to Sophos Central Admin, add the person as an administrator.

  • Click Add email address. Enter the email address and give a description and click Save.
  • To remove an email address, select the address and click Delete.

Note

If you have a Sophos Central trial account, you cannot use distribution lists.

Frequency

You can manage the frequency with which admins receive email alerts.

You can set the frequency depending on one of the following:

  • The severity of the alert.
  • The product.
  • The category the alert is in.

Note

You can only use one of these attributes to set frequency.

You can choose between Immediately, Hourly, Daily, or Never.

For the Hourly and Daily options, emails are sent immediately but with a maximum of one email for each alert per device per hour or per day. For example, if you set the frequency to Hourly and five devices have an alert at 11 am, five emails are sent at 11 am. If the same alert occurs again at 11.24 am, no further emails are sent. If the same alert occurs again at 12.01 pm on all five devices, five more emails are sent at 12.01 pm.

Custom rules

By default, admins see all alerts.

Custom rules make it easy to specify that some admins will only get alerts for certain products or events, or alerts of a certain severity.

Warning

Using a custom rule stops any email alerts going to existing recipients. When you turn on your first custom rule, all existing recipient settings are turned off in Administrators & Distribution lists. If you want to continue using your administrator and distribution lists, set up a separate custom rule to do this.

Set up a custom rule as follows:

  1. Click + Create rule.
  2. In Role, choose an administrator role that this rule will apply to. Click Next.
  3. In Administrators & Distribution lists, choose administrators that this rule will apply to.

    You can also add distribution lists. Use this option to add the email address of your distribution lists, ticketing system, or people you want to notify about alerts, but do not have access to Sophos Central Admin.

    Click Next.

  4. In Alert Types, choose the types of alert to send. You can select the type by severity, product or alert category. Click Next.

    Note

    You must choose at least one option for each attribute.

  5. Give your rule a Name and Description. Click Save.

The rule is now shown in the Custom rules list.

To see details of a rule, click the fold-out arrow next to it in the list.

To pause a rule, edit it or delete it, click the appropriate icon beside it in the list. Hover over icons to see what they do.

Exceptions

The Exceptions list shows the exceptions you have set up. These change the frequency of email alerts for certain alert types.

You set them in individual alert details on the Alerts page. You can also edit them here.