Creating an Anti-Spam filter with WebSieve

Overview:

Oakton's mail server automatically evaluates incoming messages for common aspects of spam and calculates the probability that a particular message is such. While the server does not stop Spam from reaching a user's mail account, it does append each message's header to include a spam status rating.

For example:

X-Spam-Status: Yes, hits=5.7 required=5.0	(A rating higher than 5.0 means the message contains more than the minimum number of typical spam-related features necessary to ID the message as Spam.)
X-Spam-Status: No, hits=0.7 required=5.0	(This lower rating indicates that few spam-related aspects were identified in the message. It may still be Spam but it is more likely to be a normal message that happens to contain some Spam-like elements.)

This information in the header allows users to set up filters by which the likeliest spam can be eliminated. Filters can be created in Netscape Messenger (see: http://www.oakton.edu/resource/it/mailgide/filter.htm) or WebSieve (do not use both). WebSieve acts a little higher upstream so filters set with it will affect whatever email program (Webmail, Messenger, etc.) you are using.

To set up a WebSieve Spam filter:

1. Go to: http://borg.oakton.edu/cgi-bin/websieve.pl

2. Enter your Oakton network ID and password

3. Click Add Rule at the top of the page.
4. In the Field name text field type "X-Spam-Status"
5. In the Contains text field type "Yes"
6. Choose ONE action to be taken with all incoming messages with an X-Spam status equalling yes.
   Options top to bottom include:

• As shown, you can File spam into an existing folder
• You can Forward to another email address
• Reply With replies to the spam sender with whatever text you type here (not recommended)

• Reject returns the spam to the sender (not recommended)
• Discard deletes the spam
• Custom Rule allows you to program an alternative action.

7. Click the Save Rule button at the bottom of the page.

8. Click the Save Changes button at the top of the page.

10. Go to Advanced
11. Choose Yes to activate script
12. Click the Save Changes button near the top of the page.

13. Click Logout at the top of the page.