Frequently Asked Questions

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Q Do the Anti-Spam features slow down mail processing?
Under normal circumstances the anti-spam features will not impact mail delivery. However, the validation tests may slow down the server, as they are resource intensive.
Q How do the anti-spam features interact with IMail Anti-Virus?
If you have IMail Anti-Virus installed, it works seamlessly with the anti-spam features of IMail Server. Connection filtering and validation tests for anti-spam are completed first, followed by the Anti-Virus scan. Then, IMail Server initiates content filtering.
Q What can I do if IMail Server catches legitimate mail?

First, check the X-Header that is inserted into the message header to see why it was identified as spam. You can then take the appropriate action to correct it.

• You can place the e-mail address or domain name in the white list to always allow messages from them to be delivered.
• If a small number of messages is being misidentified, you can use the antispamseeder.exe utility to add the messages to the antispam-table.txt file. This will increase the likelihood that similar messages will be correctly identified in the future.
• If mail is being identified as spam by the statistical filter, you need to modify the Statistical Filtering Advanced Settings. Begin by increasing the Spam e-mail probability benchmark option to 95%. If that has no effect, decrease the Probability a new word is spam option to 10%.

Q How do I know if the black lists are accurate?
The black lists are not maintained by Ipswitch, therefore we cannot verify their accuracy. Some black lists are updated more frequently than others. You should be aware of this, especially if you decide to configure your own black lists.
Q Who has access to the anti-spam features?
Only system administrators and host administrators can access the anti-spam settings. System administrators have access to the server level DNS black lists and Logging tabs. Host administrators have access to the host level DNS black lists, connection filtering, content filtering, trusted IP Addresses tabs, and the white list.
Q Where does spam go?
By default, messages that are identified as spam are forwarded to a mailbox called "bulk" within the root account. If you have changed the "Forward To" setting, on the Content Filtering tab, then spam goes to the address you entered in this field.
Q How do I access the anti-spam features?
The anti-spam features can be accessed from two places: the server level and the host level. To access the server DNS black list configuration options, expand the localhost folder in the left panel, and select the Antispam folder. The anti-spam server options are displayed in the right panel.
To access host level settings, expand a host (with an IP address) in the left panel and select the Antispam folder. The host level anti-spam options are displayed in the right panel.
You can also access anti-spam settings from Web Messaging by selecting Anti-Spam Administration from Administrative Account Options.
Q Will the anti-spam features affect mailing lists subscriptions?
Most mailing list subscriptions will not be identified as spam. However, to ensure that mailing list messages are not mistakenly identified as spam, place the domain name from which the mailing list is sent in the White list. If you do not trust the domain, you can create a domain rule to send the message to a folder for the user (i.e. spam), and the user can create a user rule that puts the message in their Inbox. See "Using Delivery Rules to Filter Spam".
Q Do the anti-spam features work with Web Messaging?
Yes. The anti-spam engine process mail from Web Messaging the same way it processes all other mail.
Q Can the anti-spam features prevent my users from spamming?
IMail Server filters mail from all users who are not authenticated. If you are concerned about your authenticated users sending spam, you can select Content Filtering for Authenticated Users on the Content Filtering tab. By doing this, outgoing mail from authenticated users is always checked to determine if it is spam.
Q Should I place a domain name in the phrase list, or the URL Domain Black List?
Each location serves a different purpose. The phrase list filters the domain name as it appears in normal text in the body of messages. The URL Domain Black List filters the domain name if it appears as a link in HTML code within a message, specifically within HREF and IMG SRC tags.

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