Spam Blocker Technical Specifications
Spam Blocker is an intelligent email filter that identifies Spam—unsolicited bulk email. Spam Blocker can scan any email that is transported by the following protocols:
Each protocol has a set of controls to customize how Spam Blocker:
- Scans for spam
- Notifies users of spam
- Manages spam
Through the user interface, you can define the threshold that instructs Spam Blocker to be strict, lenient, or somewhere in between. To handle the spam, simply use the properties that VistaWiz Server provides to instruct Spam Blocker to take any of the following actions:
- In the subject of the email, insert the phrase [Spam], and allow users to filter spam to a special folder.
- Send the message to the recipient without labeling the email as spam
- Block the message without notifying the recipient that the message was blocked, and record this action in the Event Log
- Quarantine the message so that you or your users can investigate spam and take further action
- Notify the sender that the email was blocked
- Withhold notifications
Under the Hood
Spam Blocker implements a rule-based architecture that leverages the open-source project SpamAssasin. No one rule can flag email as spam. It's the collection of rules that identifies email as spam. Each rule outputs a confidence level. The combination of each rule's confidence level produces a spam score. This score identifies the likelihood that the email is spam. The user-defined threshold you use to customize Spam Blocker's scanning sensitivity is based on this score.
What It Does
Transparently scans SMTP, POP and IMAP traffic and blocks, quarantines or marks spam
How It Does It
Uses SpamAssassin, Razor, Bayesian filters, DNSBL/RBLs, optical character recognition (OCR), tar pitting, custom tuning and updates
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Controls
- SMTP: Can quarantine, mark, pass or block incoming and outgoing with or without sender notification
- POP and IMAP: mark or pass incoming and outgoing (the nature of POP and IMAP protocols prevents messages from being blocked or quarantined, but they can be scanned and marked)
- Global and per-user safe lists and quarantines
- Browser-based user tools for managing individual quarantines and safe-lists
- Scan strength adjustable per protocol per direction
