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UTORmail: Junk Email (spam) Client-Side Filtering

For Technical Support Staff or Technically Advanced Customers

Customers with special filtering needs (e.g. someone who wants all spam with the word "mortgage" to nevertheless go to their Inbox, but doesn't want to see other spam), can turn off server-side filtering, and create their own filter rules for the "X-PMX-Spam" header in the email client software (e.g. Netscape Messenger, Netscape Mail, Pine, etc.) This is called "client-side filtering". Doing this is more complex and less efficient. We expect that only support staff or technically advanced customers will be interested in doing this.

To do client side filtering, you need to create a rule that looks for X-PMX-Spam: Gauge=XXXXXX. We recommend you use six "X", which will match a probability of 60% or more. More spam will be caught if you use five "X" (matching 50% or higher), but the rate of "false positives" is then higher.

Supported Email Clients
Please contact the Information Commons Help Desk for assistance if required.

Unsupported Email Clients
We discourage the use of unsupported email client software with UTORmail. The use of unsupported software is only tolerated where it doesn't cause system problems or problems for other customers. For the following unsupported email client software, we have not tested the client-side filter instructions.

Supported Email Clients

Netscape Messenger 4.79 Spam Filter Instructions:

  1. From within Netscape Messenger, select "Message Filters" from the Edit menu.
  2. Select "New..." and name the filter SPAM. Then click the "Advanced" button in the upper right hand corner. In the Advanced Options window type "X-PMX-Spam" then select "Add". Once it appears in the large box below, then click OK.
  3. Then click the Subject button and choose X-PMX-SPAM from the list. The last step is to put "Gauge=XXXXXX in the box to the right.
  4. With this done, you can choose a folder to store messages caught by the spam filter. To do this, simply select a folder from the menu at the bottom.
  5. Once this is done, click "OK" and your filter is set.

Netscape 7.x Mail Spam Filter Instructions:

Note: first please turn off the built-in Bayesian anti-spam filtering as it is less effective, and consumes large amounts of post office resources.
  1. From within Netscape messenger, select "Message Filters" from the Tools menu.
  2. Select "New..." and name the filter SPAM. Click the "Match all of the following" button. Then select "Customize" from the pull down menu.
  3. On the Customize Header window type "X-PMX-Spam" then select add. Once it appears in the large box below, then click OK.
  4. Then click the Subject button and choose X-PMX-Spam from the list.
  5. The last step is to put "Gauge=XXXXXX in the box to the right.
  6. With this done, you can choose a folder to store messages caught by the spam filter. To do this, simply select a folder from the menu at the bottom.

Outlook Express

There is no client side filtering when using OE with IMAP.

Unsupported Email Clients

Eudora Spam Filter Instructions:

  1. Log into Eudora
  2. Right click on "Inbox"
  3. Select "New"
  4. Type "Spam" under "Name the new mailbox"
  5. Click "OK"
  6. Double click on the newly created Spam folder to open it.
  7. Go to "Tools/Filters"
  8. In the "Filters" screen click "New"
  9. Select "Any Header" from the drop down box
  10. In the header box, replace "Any Header" with X-PMX-Spam
  11. Type Gauge=XXXXXX in the box next to "Contains"
  12. Under Action select the first drop down box and choose "Transfer To"
  13. Click on the "In" button
  14. Choose "Dominant"
  15. Choose "Inbox"
  16. Choose "Spam"
  17. Under Action choose the second drop down box and select "Skip Rest"
  18. Click the "X" in the right hand corner of the filters window
  19. Click "Yes" to "Save changes to filter

Mulberry Spam Filter Instructions:

  1. Log into Mulberry
  2. Open your INBOX
  3. Select "Mailboxes/Create"
  4. Select "Create a Mailbox to Contain Messages"
  5. In the "Name" space type "Spam" and click "OK"
  6. Open "Spam" Mailbox.
  7. Select "Mailboxes/Make Rule"
  8. In the "Name" space type "Spam"
  9. In "Find Messages Whose" box, select "Header Field" from the drop down
  10. Type "X-PMX-Spam" in blank box next to "Header Field" Type "Gauge=XXXXXX" in blank box next to "X-PMX-Spam" Under "Actions" select "Move Message To"
  11. Select "Inbox.Spam" from the drop down box next to "Move Message To"
  12. Click "More Actions"
  13. Click the "Set Flag" drop down box and choose "Expunge Message"
  14. Check the "Stop if Matched" box
  15. Click "OK"
  16. In the " Rules" box click the "Show Triggers" button
  17. Click in the white space below "Triggers"
  18. Click the "Trigger" icon
  19. Type "All incoming mail" in the "Name" space.
  20. Click "More Targets"
  21. Select "Mailbox" from the drop down box
  22. Select "Inbox" from the drop down box
  23. Click "OK"
  24. In the "Rules" box unclick "Show Triggers"
  25. Click on "Spam"
  26. Click "Edit" icon
  27. Click on "Triggered By" drop down box
  28. Click on "All incoming mail"
  29. Click "OK"
Outlook XP Spam Filter Instructions:
  1. Open Outlook.
  2. Click Tools.
  3. Click Rules Wizard.
  4. Under "Apply changes to this folder" choose the Oak folder then click New.
  5. Choose "Start from a blank rule" and "Check messages when they arrive."
  6. Click Next.
  7. Put a check next to "with specific words in the message header."
  8. Click "specific words" listed in the Rule description box.
  9. In the first box type in "X-PMX-Spam: Gauge=XXXXX" without the quotes.
  10. Click Add. "X-PMX-Spam: Gauge=XXXXXX" should show up below (with quotes).
  11. Click Ok.
  12. Click Next.
  13. Put a check next to "move it to the specified folder".
  14. Click "specified" in the Rule description box.
  15. Choose "Personal Folder" then click New.
  16. For Name type "Spam" then click OK.
  17. Click Yes to add a shortcut.
  18. Choose Spam in the list and click OK.
  19. Click Finish.
  20. Click OK.
  21. Spam will be moved automatically to the Spam box. You will need to clean out the box once in a while. To check the Spam box click "Inbox" and choose "Spam."  

Acknowledgements
We wish to thank the the University of Ohio for sharing their anti-spam documentation.

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