Customizing InBoxer Anti-Spam Filter
Customizing InBoxer
What if I have more than one user on this PC?
What do the message statistics (score) mean?
How does InBoxer score a message?
How do I get spam to be marked as ‘Read’ in the spam folder?
How do I decide how to make my system more or less aggressive about blocking messages?
Why don’t short words or long words show up in the statistics?
How can I tell InBoxer not to block messages from a mailing list or newsletter I subscribe to?
Do mail messages from trusted or blocked addresses impact the statistics?
Can I save statistics and delete my messages?
When should I use the Message Statistics?
How do I ban a spammer?
How do I add an entire company to my trust list?
When/How should I use the Trust/Block menu?
What if I have more than one user on this PC?
InBoxer will work with multiple users. Message statistics are placed in each user’s profile. Therefore, as long as each user has their own profile, the statistics are independent of each other.
What do the message statistics (score) mean?
The numbers in the message statistics score indicate the likelihood, according to InBoxer’s analysis, that a given message is either a good piece of email or a piece of spam mail. The score is calculated using Bayesian statistics that look at both the language in the email as well as other information (such as the sender). The higher the score that an email receives, the more likely that it is spam.
How does InBoxer score a message?
InBoxer matches the language of the message to the statistical model that it has about language of other messages. The analysis is based on Bayesian statistics and other calculations.
How do I get spam to be marked as ‘Read’ in the spam folder?
In InBoxer 1.2 and later, check the box found in INBOXER -> PREFERENCES.
In version 1.1, the option is located in the INBOXER -> CONTROL PANEL, click on the second change button and you will see the check box.
How do I decide how to make my system more or less aggressive about blocking messages?
Initially, we recommend letting the system run with the default values. If you feel that too much or not enough email is getting blocked, you can change the sensitivity of the system. Several recommendations are made in the InBoxer User’s Guide, which installed when you installed InBoxer. Just look at INBOXER -> HELP -> USER’S GUIDE. There are two sensitivity adjustments available from within InBoxer, Control Panel, Apply Filters (Change):
The Block adjustment automatically moves messages with a certain message statistics score or higher to the InBoxer-Blocked folder. By default, a message that scores 90 or above is blocked. If the number is higher, fewer messages will be blocked. If you find that InBoxer classifies too much obvious spam for review, you can adjust the Block slider. Some users report using numbers as low as 60. However, a low number increases the risk of a good message being classified as spam.
The Review adjustment determines when messages are moved to the InBoxer-Review folder. Messages with statistics less than the Review score are considered good. By default, a message statistics score of 15 or above, but less than the Block threshold, results in a message being identified for review. If the number is higher, more messages will be defined as good. If you find that too many messages that are questionable or obviously good are classified for review, you can adjust the Review slider. Some users report using numbers as high as 25. However, a low number increases the risk of a spam message being classified as good.
Why don’t short words or long words show up in the statistics?
Words less than 3 characters long are skipped, and words greater than 12 characters long are converted into a special ‘long-word’ token. These numbers (3 and 12) were determined by testing to produce the best overall results (including compared to no upper or lower limits).
How can I tell InBoxer not to block messages from a mailing list or newsletter I subscribe to?
First, select the message, then select INBOXER -> TRUST … -> TRUST SENDER. Once an address is on the Trust Sender list, InBoxer will always deliver mail from this exact email address directly to your Inbox.
It is generally not a good idea to TRUST all senders of good mail. InBoxer learns from the good messages that it receives. However, TRUSTing a sender bypasses the filters and InBoxer will not learn about the content of those messages.
The capability to Trust or Distrust selected senders is sometimes known as whitelisting (white list) or blacklisting (black list).
Do mail messages from trusted or blocked addresses impact the statistics?
Not directly. Messages are moved without an analysis being performed. However, any message that is blocked will be included in the calculation to determine what is spam or unwanted email.
Can I save statistics and delete my messages?
Yes, you can save, import and export your statistics. The system will remember the statistics, even after you delete the message. However, if you run setup again, the original statistics may be lost.
When should I use the Message Statistics?
The Message Statistics option creates a detailed report related to how the message was scored. Not only does it show the final resulting score, it informs you about the most significant words and tokens used in the evaluation. The statistics are useful for troubleshooting. If you have a message that you think has been classified incorrectly, you can look at the statistics for the message and see how it was scored by the system. As the report is formatted as an email message, you can easily send those statistics to customer support and they can use them for troubleshooting.
The Export Statistics and Import Statistics options provide a way to transfer already trained data to another system. For example, you can move the statistics to your laptop before a trip and then move them back when you return. Or, if you prefer, you may move the statistics from your office system to your home system as often as you wish. Enterprises can also create an enterprise-wide set of statistics and then import them into each PC.
To move the InBoxer information, select InBoxer -> Advanced -> Statistics tools. Move them to whatever machine that you desire by using Import Statistics. It is simple and you probably won’t need to do that more than once. You would want to remember to manually Trust or Block any senders on a per machine basis, as that is not controlled in the database.
How do I ban a spammer?
Select the message, select Trust… from the InBoxer menu, and then select Block Sender. All future messages from this address will be automatically placed in the InBoxer-Blocked folder. In addition, as the message is blocked, all future messages that are similar to the blocked messages are likely to be identified as spam or unwanted. Note that the Block Sender function blocks only the exact email address.
How do I add an entire company to my trust list?
You may add an entire domain, which is often the same as an entire company, to your trust list. First choose any message from someone at the company, select Trust/Block from the InBoxer menu, and then select Trust Domain
Keep in mind that a common spammer trick is to spoof your own domain. They will create a message with a FROM address that looks like it will come from your company. If you trust your own domain and a spammer uses this trick, InBoxer will not be able to protect you.
Also, be careful which domains you trust. It is possible to trust all messages from Hotmail or AOL or other large ISP with a single click. If you do, all mail from these domains will bypass the InBoxer filters.
InBoxer 1.2 and later lets you import and export senders from Excel or text files.
When/How should I use the Trust/Block menu?
The Trust… menu enables you to trust (so-called “white list” or “whitelist”) or not trust (so-called “black list” or “blacklist”) specific email address or entire domains. The benefit is that “trusting” a person or domain gives you complete confidence that messages will get through no matter what the content of that message might be. For example, if you have a friend who sends you a risqué joke via email, the message will still be delivered. It can also be used to prevent certain people from reaching you. To trust or not trust, simply select the message and then click Trust… on the InBoxer menu. Your choices are to trust or not trust the address or the domain from which the message was sent.
You may also automatically trust every name in your Contacts list with just one click.
Keep in mind that a common spammer trick is to spoof your own domain. They will create a message with a FROM address that looks like it will come from your company. If you trust your own domain and a spammer uses this trick, InBoxer will not be able to protect you.
Also, be careful which domains you trust. It is possible to trust all messages from Hotmail or AOL or other large ISP with a single click. If you do, all mail from these domains will bypass the InBoxer filters.
