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What is SpamAssassin?
SpamAssassin is a powerful tool for eliminating unsolicited
emails (spam) from your incoming mail. Using a wide range
of rules and filtering methods, it accurately detects spam
emails. SpamAssassin does not require you to install any software
on your computer. Instead, it runs on the server-side, scanning
and filtering email before it is forwarded to your mailbox.
SpamAssassin subjects every incoming email to three levels
of spam tests:
- Header Analysis. Spammers often forge
return addresses, and add bogus entries to the headers of
their emails. This is done both to fool you into thinking
that the email is valid, and to make it harder to determine
the actual source of the email. Spam Assassin knows what
to look for in these headers, and can quickly identify false,
invalid, or misleading information.
- Text Analysis. Spam emails often have
characteristic styles, phrases, and disclaimers in them.
SpamAssassin attempts to spot some of these clues.
- Blacklists. SpamAssassin compares each
email to the lists maintained on major Real Time Blacklist
servers (RBLs). If an email is sent from a domain or server
in one of these blacklists, there is a good possibility
that it is spam
Each test uses hundreds of rules that indicate whether an
email might be spam. Each rule it finds is assigned a "point"
value. When the total points of an email exceeds your acceptable
limit, the email has a "*****SPAM*****" flag placed
in its subject line. These flagged spam emails also have a
full spam report outlining the rules effected and the points
awarded for each. These reports will appear in either the
body or header of the email according to your preference.
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