Mail Alias Service Spam Tagging

Summary

The AMSAT mail alias service has implemented a spam-tagging program called SpamAssassin. SpamAssassin uses a wide range of heuristic tests on mail headers and body text to identify "spam," also known as unsolicited commercial e-mail. It marks mail with a "spam score" of how "spam-like" the messages appear to be. You can configure your mail program to filter mail marked as "spam-like" into a separate folder so that you can look at it all at once and make a faster decision about whether or not to throw it out.

Because no spam management program can make a flawless assessment about spam, we do not recommend that you filter directly into the trash. You may lose important mail.

Basic and Advanced strategies

The instructions offer a basic, "quick and dirty" method to start filtering spam, as well as more advanced instruction to allow you to customize your filtering.

Use the "basic" instructions to use the basic "spam or not spam" assessment that has been made by the central AMSAT SpamAssassin program to filter probable spam into a separate folder.

Use the "advanced" instructions:

• to change the level of "spam score" that you consider spam
• to make exception rules for messages that the central program thinks are spam, but which are important to you.

Select either the basic or advanced strategy; it is not necessary nor useful to employ both. The exception rule found in the advanced instructions can also be use in the basic instructions.

Frequently asked questions about spam filtering

Instructions on how to set up your mail program