InBoxer Anti-Spam Filter Basics
InBoxer Basics
How does InBoxer know what email messages are spam?
What happens to blocked messages? What happens when I click Block?
Why did InBoxer put a message that is obviously spam into my InBoxer-Review folder?
How often should I review my InBoxer-Review?
How does InBoxer keep learning?
What happens when I click Keep?
Will InBoxer delete spam from my spam folder?
Should I just have spam moved into my Deleted folder?
What if I change my mind about a message?
How do I check for spam messages already in my Inbox?
How do I temporarily stop filtering or turn off InBoxer?
Will InBoxer filter viruses?
Will InBoxer bounce messages?
How do I uninstall or remove InBoxer?
How does InBoxer know what email messages are spam?
InBoxer analyzes every mail messages as Outlook receives it. The language used in the message (both visible and invisible parts of the message) is compared to the language models created for you. These language models are built into your custom filters.
The decision to block a message is made using a sophisticated implementation of Bayesian statistical mathematics coupled with a sophisticated use of language technologies.
If InBoxer cannot decide whether a message should be blocked, it places the mail in a special folder for your review named InBoxer-Review. Once you have checked the messages in that folder and decided whether or not each message is or is not spam, the information about the message is added to the statistical analysis to make future decisions even more accurate.
InBoxer also allows you to designate e-mail addresses or domains that you trust. Messages from trusted senders are delivered every time. You may also block senders or domains to avoid seeing those messages.
What happens to blocked messages? What happens when I click Block?
By default, when you click Block or when InBoxer determines that a message is unwanted spam or junk, the selected message is moved to the InBoxer-Blocked folder. (This setting can be changed in the Control Panel. See Troubleshooting for details.) Messages are never deleted by InBoxer. To delete messages, move them from the InBoxer-Blocked folder to the Deleted Items folder as you usually would using Outlook.
You can use InBoxer->Delete blocked items to delete blocked messages older than than the number of days set in the InBoxer->Preferences dialog. You can also enable old blocked messages to be automatically deleted.
No matter how a message is moved to the InBoxer-Blocked folder, including manually by dragging and dropping the folder, InBoxer will update its statistics and will learn more about what you consider to be spam.
Why did InBoxer put a message that is obviously spam into my InBoxer-Review folder?
It may be obvious to you that the message is spam, but you have a lifetime of experiences. InBoxer can only analyze messages using the information it has been given. Maybe this message is “new” to your installation of InBoxer (for example, you’ve never seen this particular flavor of spam before). Perhaps the statistics aren’t strong enough in the message to clearly identify it as spam or junk. It is also possible that you have strong statistics that indicate spam and strong statistics that it is related to a topic that may interest you. For example, if you read many email messages about the Nigerian economy, InBoxer may not clearly identify a scam message about investing in that African country for you. It may well identify it as spam for most people.
You may do several things to limit future instances of such junk email. First, if you click Block, the system will learn that you consider that message to be spam or unwanted email. Second, you may use InBoxer -> Trust… to make sure that all messages from that sender are identified as spam or unwanted mail. Third, you may make InBoxer more aggressive by adjusting the filtering in the Control Panel. To do so, follow the instructions on Create Filters in Troubleshooting.
How often should I review my InBoxer-Review?
It is recommended that you review your InBoxer-Review folder often, particularly when you first start to use InBoxer. The sooner you review these messages, the faster InBoxer will learn and the more accurate it will become. If you review the contents of InBoxer-Review often at the beginning, the system will learn faster and there will typically be fewer messages in the folder.
How does InBoxer keep learning?
When you change the classification of your mail, InBoxer learns. Any message that you move into the InBoxer-Blocked folder (by using the Block toolbar icon, or by moving or copying) is identified as spam or junk email, and is used for training. Any message that is moved back into a watched folder, such as the Inbox, is also used for training.
What happens when I click Keep?
When you click Keep, the selected message is moved back to your Outlook Inbox. If you move the document out of the InBoxer-Blocked folder, InBoxer will update its statistics and will learn more about what you consider to be a good message.
Will InBoxer delete spam from my spam folder?
InBoxer will not delete any incoming mail. Version 1.2 and later can be set to delete blocked messages after a minimum of a day’s delay. This avoids irreversible mistakes.
Should I just have spam moved into my Deleted folder?
Do not select your Deleted Items folder as your box for spam.
InBoxer learns which messages to block by the ones that are moved into your spam folder. By default, this is the InBoxer-Blocked folder. If you change the default to Deleted Items or if you place InBoxer-Blocked into your Deleted Items folder, InBoxer will learn to block all the messages similar to all of the messages that you have deleted. This is not the behavior you would want.
What if I change my mind about a message?
InBoxer can un-learn and will immediately adjust. If you change your mind about a particular email message, just select the message and then click the Keep or Block buttons from the toolbar.
How do I check for spam messages already in my Inbox?
View your Inbox, then select INBOXER-> FILTER CURRENT FOLDER NOW.
How do I temporarily stop filtering or turn off InBoxer?
You can disable InBoxer from the INBOXER -> CONTROL PANEL. In the Apply Filters section, remove the check in the box next to Enable Filter. This will turn off the filtering function, although InBoxer will continue to examine each message.
Will InBoxer filter viruses?
InBoxer is not a virus protection program and it will not scan attachments. The program deliberately does not open attachments or check them for offensive content in order to minimize the risk that they contain a virus. InBoxer can be used with virus protection programs. InBoxer 1.2 and later learns the names of attachments.
Will InBoxer bounce messages?
No, and this is intentional because bouncing messages is a bad idea.
The premise behind bouncing a message by a spam filter is that if a spammer is notified that an email address is bad, then that spammer will remove the email address from the database. The idea is that it will reduce the number of future messages. Unfortunately, few spammers actually care about the quality of their database. They may send millions of messages at a time. The cost of cleaning a database is very high and is often more expensive than just letting the bounces go in the trash. The end result is extra internet traffic with no beneficial result.
Even worse is the impact of bounces on unsuspecting PC users. One of the latest spammer tricks is to “spoof” the FROM email address of a legitimate person or company. If you bounce the message, then the legitimate person will get the bounce messages, not the spammer. That poor person could get thousands of bounce messages that will clog his Inbox. If this unfortunate person is using a dial-up line, bouncing can effectively shut down a person’s email address. Or, if the spammer uses a false domain, you might shut down the email system of a legitimate company or ISP that receives these bounces.
In summary, bouncing is not effective and can harm innocent people. Whether or not you use InBoxer, we urge you not to bounce messages.
How do I uninstall or remove InBoxer?
Please close Outlook before uninstalling InBoxer.
To uninstall InBoxer, select START -> PROGRAMS -> INBOXER OUTLOOK ADD-IN -> UNINSTALL. You may also uninstall from the ADD/REMOVE PROGRAMS option in the Windows CONTROL PANEL.
Uninstall optionally uninstalls all data files, allowing you to do a complete uninstall of the program. The default behavior leaves your data files intact, while uninstalling the program files. This allows you to uninstall and install an upgrade of the software without losing your current spam statistics.
