using spamassassin within Horde
Boston University uses SpamAssassin to automatically filter suspected spam e-mail messages on the incoming mail servers. Most people find that BU's default filter setting is highly effective and do not need to take any additional steps to manage spam on their own.
However, if you are still experiencing an unusually high volume of unwanted e-mail, the following suggestions will be helpful.
Modify BU's default setting
By default, BU e-mail accounts do not receive spam that is tagged at a SpamAssassin level 7.5 or higher. You can choose to modify your 7.5 setting to make it more restrictive. However, you should keep in mind that you will always get some unwanted mail and you need to be careful not to set such a low threshold that you block mail you actually do want to get.
Can I get a new e-mail address? It's very unlikely that getting a new e-mail address from BU will solve the problem. Everyone with a BU e-mail address is a target for the same kind of auto-generated spam.
Filter any remaining spam into a separate folder
Most people simply delete any remaining unwanted messages that make it through the SpamAssassin block. However, some of these messages will have looked suspicious to SpamAssassin and will have been tagged with an X-Score-High=YES in the message header. You can choose to filter those messages into a separate folder based on that score. If you choose to do that, please make sure to check and purge that folder periodically. Here's how to set it up:
- After you log into Horde,
click on the Filters menu item on the left
of your screen.
- Now click on the New Rule button.
Name and define your rule
- Next to Rule Name, type in a name for your new rule.
- Click next to All of the following and set the first drop down menu to say: X-Score-High
- Tab to the next field and make sure it says Contains.
- Tab to the third field and type the word YES.
Your window should now look like this:
Specify what will happen to mail that meets these conditions
- In the Do this section, select Deliver
to mailbox.
- Tab to the next field to select where your spam should go.
You can select an existing mailbox, or you can create a new
one.
- To create a new mailbox, pull down to Create New
Folder.
-
When prompted, type a name for your folder (for example, Spam) and click OK .
- Important: once you create the new folder,
it will not be automatically selected as your spam
destination; you must now go back to the pull-down menu and
select the new folder (for example, "Spam") as your
"Deliver To" location.
- Click Save.
Apply and Save your filter
- Click on Apply Filters to apply your new rule to any existing mail.
- Make sure that the option for "Display detailed notification when each filter is applied?" is unchecked. Then click on Save Settings.
What happens next
- To run your filters: The filter icon is located next to the Inbox (#) heading,
where "#" is the number of new messages in your
Inbox. It is the second icon from the left and looks a little
like a funnel. If you place your mouse over the icon for a
moment it should display a descriptive message, "Apply
filters on Inbox (#)" .
- You should check your spam folder
every few days and delete the spam. To look
in your spam folder, use the Folders button
at the top of your Horde screen and then select your "Spam"
folder, or use the drop-down menu in the upper right corner.
- If you notice that any mail in this folder is not
spam, you can rescue it. Select the message and use the
Messages To drop-down menu to select a
destination folder. Now click Move to restore
it.
- When you are sure that everything in the Spam folder is really spam, first make sure you are looking at the correct folder, then use the Select drop-down menu and choose Select: All. Finally, use the Mark As drop down menu to choose Mark As: Deleted. Finally, click the Purge Deleted link on the right hand side of your mailbox window. Goodbye, spam!
- If you notice that any mail in this folder is not
spam, you can rescue it. Select the message and use the
Messages To drop-down menu to select a
destination folder. Now click Move to restore
it.
If you'd like more information about SpamAssassin and spam filtering, please visit the IT Help Center's spam page at www.bu.edu/pcsc/email/spam.