SpamFilter - Custom Rules
Overview
Custom Rules allow the administrator to create keyword or regular expression SpamFilter rules. As the message goes through the scanning process, the SpamFilter will search for the rules and assign a score if a match is found. The administrator can add rules for Spam (positive values) and for Non-Spam (negative values) to help improve the accuracy of the SpamFilter.
Configuration
To create a custom rule, select Custom Rules from the SpamFilter menu. On the Custom Rules page you will have the check box option to enable and disable Spam and Non-Spam rules. The default and recommended scores for each category is assigned at 17 for Spam and -17 for Non-Spam. Next, enter the Keywords to match on for this rule. Each line in this field will be considered a unique keyword used to match. You may use standard words or regular expressions to create your patterns.
Troubleshooting
Be sure to use positive values to identify Spam rules and negative values to identify Non-Spam. Using opposite values could cause messages to be improperly marked.
To verify Custom Rules are working you can enable detailed reporting on email messages. Go to the SpamFilter menu option in the user interface and click on Settings and then Advanced button. Check the box Add Detailed Report to Message Headers. You can then view the headers of the message and look for Custom Rule scoring.
When using Custom Rules in conjunction with Historical Averaging or Bayesian Filtering, be sure not to set the scores to extremes. This can create a Historical Averaging or Bayesian Filtering database that will cause messages to be scored incorrectly. The recommended values are 17/-17. eSoft does not recommend increasing these to values beyond this value.
