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E-Mail - Junk E-Mail Filtering Overview
pair Networks' Web hosting accounts include the ability to flag and filter out junk e-mail. Our junk e-mail filtering system now uses a separate server configuration to handle junk e-mail filtering and includes filtering features such as greylisting, the popular open-source software package SpamAssassin, and an open-source e-mail virus scanner, ClamAntiVirus. We currently use a customized version of SpamAssassin 3.2.
Two steps are required to use junk e-mail filtering with your account. First, filtering must be turned on for each mailbox or recipe and settings modified through the Account Control Center (ACC). Second, your e-mail reader (such as Outlook, Eudora, etc.) must be configured to recognize junk e-mail flagged by our system.
If you have already enabled junk e-mail filtering and just need to configure your e-mail reader, please read the article Junk E-Mail Filtering and Your E-Mail Reader.
Below are the most common questions regarding our junk e-mail filtering system:
When you create a mailbox or processing recipe in the Account Control Center, you will see a check box labeled "Enable Junk E-Mail Filtering." Checking this box enables filtering for that mailbox or processing recipe. However, e-mail messages labeled as junk will still reach your mailbox when you check this box. When you create new mailboxes, you have the option of creating a junk e-mail message file on your home directory on your pair Networks server. In the Save Junk E-Mail to a File field, enter a path to a filename or just a filename that you wish to send all junk e-mail messages to. If you do not specify a filename, then e-mail messages labeled as junk will continue to be sent to your mailbox(es).
If you want junk e-mail messages to be stored in a file in your e-mail reader (such as Outlook, Eudora, etc.), please see our knowledge base page Junk E-Mail Filtering and Your E-Mail Reader. If you want junk e-mail messages to be stored in a file on your pair Networks server using webmail.pair.com, please see our knowledge base page Saving Junk E-Mail Messages to a File.
Please note that if you create a file using your e-mail reader, then e-mail messages labeled as junk will be stored in a file located on your computer. If you create a junk e-mail message file using webmail.pair.com, these e-mail messages will be stored on your pair Networks server and will impact your monthly disk space allotment. To avoid overusage charges, keep junk e-mail messages in your junk e-mail file to a minimum.
To turn on junk e-mail filtering for an existing recipe, follow these steps:
- Log into the Account Control Center (https://my.pair.com).
- Click E-Mail Management (located in the middle of the page).
- Click the Delivery Instructions link of the domain that contains the recipe you wish to modify (located under the Mail Delivery Settings by Domain heading).
- Click on the recipe link of the recipient address that contains the recipe you wish to modify (located under the Delivery Instructions heading).
- Click the Junk E-Mail Filtering checkbox.
- Click Commit Changes.
If you have created multiple recipes for one recipient address, turning on junk e-mail filtering for a single recipe will turn on junk e-mail filtering for all recipes on that recipient address.
Please note that junk e-mail filtering is handled separately for each mailbox. Mailboxes will not receive junk filtered e-mail messages unless their own junk e-mail filtering setting is turned on. This is the case even if the mailbox's recipes have junk e-mail filtering turned on.
To turn on e-mail filtering for an existing mailbox, follow these steps:
- Log into the Account Control Center (https://my.pair.com).
- Click E-Mail Management (located in the middle of the page).
- Click the Delivery Instructions link of the domain that contains the recipe you wish to modify (located under the Mail Delivery Settings by Domain heading).
- Click on the mailbox link of the mailbox you wish to modify (located under the Delivery Instructions heading).
- Click the Junk E-Mail Filtering checkbox.
- Click Commit Changes.
- Log into the Account Control Center (https://my.pair.com).
- Click E-Mail Management (located in the middle of the page).
- Click the username@pair.com Delivery Settings link (under the General E-Mail Settings heading).
- Click the Enable Junk E-Mail Filtering Checkbox (under the Junk E-Mail Filtering heading).
- Enter a path or a filename into the Save Junk E-Mail in this File field.
- Click Commit Changes.
In Step #5, if you enter a filename into the Save Junk E-Mail in this File field, all e-mail messages labeled as junk will be sent to a file with the filename you specified in your home directory on your pair Networks' server.
If you want junk e-mail messages to be stored in a file in your e-mail reader (such as Outlook, Eudora, etc.), please see our knowledge base page Junk E-Mail Filtering and Your E-Mail Reader. If you want junk e-mail messages to be stored in a file on your pair Networks server using webmail.pair.com, please see our knowledge base page Saving Junk E-Mail Messages to a File.
Greylisting is the name of a method that is used to reduce the delivery of junk e-mail but allow legitimate e-mail messages to be delivered.
Greylisting looks at the IP address of the sender and the recipient address. If the system does not recognize this information, then it will temporarily reject the e-mail. All legitimate e-mail systems will attempt to resend the e-mail at a later time, and the e-mail will go through.
Most applications that send junk e-mail just send junk e-mail messages once and do not attempt to resend them. These junk e-mail applications use the "fire-and-forget" method, which means that if the junk e-mailer was unsuccessful at sending junk e-mail to a particular e-mail address, the application will not try to resend that e-mail message.
Greylisting does not delete legitimate e-mail messages. All legitimate e-mails will be successfully delivered using greylisting. The only potential effect greylisting may have for pair Networks customers is a slight delay in the delivery of legitimate e-mail messages.
Greylisting is turned "ON" by default for the mailboxes and recipes for which you have enabled junk e-mail filtering. You can easily disable greylisting via the Account Control Center (see the question below about customizing junk e-mail filter settings).
However, these delays can be avoided by adding e-mail addresses to your "Accepted Addresses" list. Any e-mail address in your "Accepted Addresses" list will not be subjected to greylisting.
pair Networks uses the open-source application ClamAntiVirus to scan e-mail for viruses. This software will reject e-mail messages that it flags as containing viruses. These infected e-mail messages will never be delivered.
We strongly recommend that you use other anti-virus software to protect you from viruses, spyware, and other potentially harmful applications. pair Networks uses the open-source software ClamAntiVirus to scan e-mails for viruses. You can obtain viruses in many different ways and need to use other anti-virus software to protect yourself from viruses.
SpamAssassin scans each e-mail message for phrases and structures that are common to Junk E-Mail and then assigns a numeric score based on what it finds. If a message's score exceeds the limit you've configured, headers are added to mark the message as junk e-mail.
- Log into the Account Control Center (https://my.pair.com).
- Select E-Mail Management.
- Click Junk E-Mail Filter Settings under the General E-Mail Settings section.
- Modify junk e-mail settings.
- Click Commit Changes.
To use these settings, you must first turn on junk e-mail filtering on each mailbox and recipe.
There are three settings which affect junk e-mail filtering: Filter Sensitivity Level and E-Mail Subject.
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The sensitivity level controls how high of a score is required before an e-mail is considered junk. Try the different levels to find out which works best for you.
Very Aggressive (Score required: 3.0)
This setting should flag almost all junk e-mail messages, but it is also more likely than other settings to miscategorize legitimate e-mail messages.
Aggressive (Score required: 3.5)
This setting may fail to recognize a few junk e-mail messages, but it will
flag fewer legitimate messages.
Default (Score required: 4.0)
This is our recommended level. While it may still flag some legitimate messages, it is the most balanced setting.
Forgiving (Score required: 5.0)
This setting is less likely to flag legitimate messages,
but will recognize fewer junk e-mail messages.
Light (Score required: 6.0)
This setting is least likely to flag legitimate messages,
but will fail to recognize many junk e-mail messages.
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This setting will modify flagged messages to include "**JUNK**"
in the Subject line. This allows easier identification of flagged messages
when reviewing Subject lines, and may also be required for your e-mail reader to recognize flagged messages.
Several other headers are added to each message that is scanned. The
two most useful headers are the following:
X-Spam-Flag: NO
X-Spam-Level: *
With most e-mail readers, the header "X-Spam-Flag" will be used
to identify messages flagged as junk. This header will be set to
"YES" on flagged messages, and to "NO" on unflagged
messages.
To learn about configuring your e-mail client to automatically recognize
messages flagged as junk, please read the article
Junk E-Mail Filtering and Your E-Mail Reader.
The "X-Spam-Level" header relates to the score assigned to the
message. It will contain a number of stars equal to the whole number of
the score. For example, a score of 5.2 or 5.5 would result in this header
reading "X-Spam-Level: *****".
You may maintain two lists of specific e-mail addresses which affect the
filtering system. The first list, known as a "whitelist," contains
sender addresses which prevent a message from being flagged as junk. The
second list, known as a "blacklist," contains sender addresses
which automatically cause a message to be flagged as junk.
In the Account Control Center (ACC), you can maintain your whitelists and blacklists from the Junk E-Mail Settings page. You may add individual e-mail addresses or entire domain names to either list. While on the Junk E-Mail Filter Settings page, click Add, Remove, or View Accepted Addresses to always accept, or "whitelist," certain e-mail addresses. Click Add, Remove, or View Addresses to Mark as 'Junk' to "blacklist" certain e-mail addresses.
In addition, e-mail from "envelope senders" on your blacklist will be rejected by the server and not sent to you. An "envelope sender" is the e-mail address that the remote server says an e-mail message is from before pair Networks' system has given them permission to send the e-mail message.
Remember that flagging a message as junk e-mail does not cause it to be deleted. Flagged messages must be handled by your e-mail reader or an additional e-mail processing recipe.
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