book

SpamAssassin

Name: SpamAssassin
Author: Alan Schwartz
ISBN: 9780596007072

by Alan Schwartz

July 2004

Intermediate to advanced

224 pages

6h 13m

English

O'Reilly Media, Inc.

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Copyright
Preface
Scope of This BookVersions Covered in This BookConventions Used in This BookUsing Code ExamplesComments and QuestionsAcknowledgments
1. Introducing SpamAssassin
1.1. How SpamAssassin Works1.2. Organization of SpamAssassin1.3. Mailers and SpamAssassin1.3.1. Scanning at the MTA1.3.2. Scanning at the MDA1.3.3. Scanning with a POP Proxy1.3.4. Scanning at Multiple Places1.4. The Politics of Scanning
2. SpamAssassin Basics
2.1. Prerequisites2.2. Building SpamAssassin2.2.1. What Gets Installed2.2.2. Basic Configuration2.2.3. Testing SpamAssassin2.2.4. SpamAssassin Options2.2.4.1. Locating configuration files2.2.4.2. Scripting and testing options2.2.4.3. Untagging2.2.4.4. Reporting2.3. Invoking SpamAssassin with procmail2.4. Using spamc/spamd2.4.1. Setting up spamd2.4.1.1. Connection type2.4.1.2. Running as a non-root user2.4.1.3. Other security features2.4.1.4. Locating configuration files2.4.2. Testing spamc2.4.3. spamc Options2.4.3.1. Connection type2.4.3.2. Handling problems2.4.4. Invoking spamc with procmail2.4.5. Changing SpamAssassin Configuration Files2.5. Invoking SpamAssassin in a Perl Script2.6. SpamAssassin and the End User2.6.1. True Negatives (ham)2.6.2. True Positives (spam)2.6.3. False Positives2.6.4. False Negatives
3. SpamAssassin Rules
3.1. The Anatomy of a Test3.2. Modifying the Score of a Test3.2.1. Modifying Scores Systemwide3.2.2. Modifying Scores on a Per-User Basis3.2.3. Storing Scores in an SQL Database3.2.4. Storing Scores in an LDAP Database3.3. Writing Your Own Tests3.3.1. Header Tests3.3.1.1. Configurable header tests (SpamAssassin 3.0)3.3.1.2. check_rbl( )3.3.1.3. check_rbl_txt( )3.3.1.4. check_rbl_sub( )3.3.2. Body Tests3.3.3. URI Tests3.3.4. Meta Tests3.4. The Built-in Tests3.4.1. 10_misc.cf3.4.2. 20_fake_helo_tests.cf3.4.3. 20_body_tests.cf3.5. Whitelists and Blacklists3.5.1. Systemwide Whitelists3.5.1.1. Whitelisting senders3.5.1.2. Whitelisting senders by relay3.5.1.3. Whitelisting recipients3.5.2. Systemwide Blacklists3.5.3. Per-User Whitelists and Blacklists
4. SpamAssassin as a Learning System
4.1. Autowhitelisting4.1.1. Principles4.1.2. Configuration4.1.2.1. Configuring per-user autowhitelists4.1.2.2. Configuring a system-wide autowhitelist4.1.3. Using an Autowhitelist4.2. Bayesian Filtering4.2.1. Principles4.2.2. Configuration4.2.3. Training4.2.4. Daily Use4.2.4.1. Ongoing training4.2.4.2. Expiration and importing4.2.5. Storing Bayesian Data in SQL4.2.6. A Sitewide Bayesian Classifier
5. Integrating SpamAssassin with sendmail
5.1. Spam-Checking at Delivery5.2. Spam-Checking During SMTP5.2.1. The Milter Interface5.2.2. MIMEDefang5.2.2.1. Installing MIMEDefang5.2.2.2. Starting the MIMEDefang multiplexor5.2.2.3. Checking multiplexor status5.2.2.4. Starting the MIMEDefang milter5.2.2.5. Verifying the MIMEDefang processes5.2.2.6. Customizing MIMEDefang5.2.3. SpamAssassin Integration5.2.3.1. Adding sitewide Bayesian filtering5.2.3.2. Adding sitewide autowhitelisting5.2.3.3. Adding per-domain or per-user streaming5.3. Building a Spam-Checking Gateway5.3.1. sendmail Configuration5.3.2. SpamAssassin Configuration5.3.3. MIMEDefang Configuration5.3.4. Routing Email5.3.5. Internal Server Configuration5.3.6. Testing
6. Integrating SpamAssassinwith Postfix
6.1. Postfix Architecture6.2. Spam-Checking During Local Delivery6.3. Spam-Checking All Incoming Mail6.3.1. Using a Program as a Content Filter6.3.2. Using a Daemon as a Content Filter6.3.3. Filtering Before Address-Rewriting6.4. Building a Spam-Checking Gateway6.4.1. Installing amavisd-new6.4.2. Configuring amavisd-new6.4.2.1. Essential options6.4.2.2. MTA options6.4.2.3. Daemon process options6.4.2.4. Distinguishing local domains6.4.2.5. Postfix-specific options6.4.2.6. Logging options6.4.2.7. Spam-handling options6.4.2.8. Recipient whitelists6.4.2.9. Sender whitelists and blacklists6.4.2.10. SpamAssassin settings6.4.2.11. Storing recipient preferences in external databases6.4.3. Basic Operations6.4.4. Adding Sitewide Bayesian Filtering6.4.5. Adding Sitewide Autowhitelisting6.4.6. Routing Email Through the Gateway6.4.6.1. Postfix changes6.4.6.2. Routing changes6.4.6.3. Internal server configuration
7. Integrating SpamAssassin with qmail
7.1. qmail Architecture7.2. Spam-Checking During Local Delivery7.3. Spam-Checking All Incoming Mail7.4. Building a Spam-Checking Gateway7.4.1. Installation7.4.2. Initialization7.4.3. Basic Operations7.4.4. Per-User Spam Preferences7.4.5. Sitewide Bayesian Filtering7.4.6. Sitewide Autowhitelisting7.4.7. Routing Email Through the Gateway7.4.7.1. qmail changes7.4.7.2. Routing changes7.4.7.3. Internal server configuration
8. Integrating SpamAssassin with Exim
8.1. Spam-Checking via procmail8.2. Spam-Checking All Incoming Mail8.3. Using Routers and Transports8.3.1. Configuring the Transport8.3.2. Configuring the Router8.3.3. Using Per-User Spam-Checking Preferences8.4. Using exiscan8.4.1. Installing exiscan8.4.2. Writing acl_smtp_data8.4.3. Using Per-User Preferences8.5. Using sa-exim8.5.1. Buiding sa-exim for Static Integration8.5.2. Building sa-exim for Dynamic Integration8.5.3. Configuring SpamAssassin for sa-exim8.5.4. Configuring sa-exim8.5.4.1. Choosing messages on which to run SpamAssassin8.5.4.2. Choosing messages on which to take antispam actions8.5.4.3. Limiting how much of the message is fed to SpamAssassin8.5.4.4. Allowing SpamAssassin to rewrite message bodies8.5.4.5. Archiving messages when actions are taken8.5.4.6. Passing SMTP senders and recipients to SpamAssassin8.5.4.7. Setting a timeout on spamc8.5.4.8. Handling messages that cause sa-exim errors8.5.4.9. Teergrubing8.5.4.10. Accepting and discarding spam8.5.4.11. Rejecting spam8.5.4.12. Temporarily failing spam8.5.4.13. Archiving accepted spam8.5.4.14. Archiving non-spam messages8.5.4.15. Debugging sa-exim8.5.5. Using Per-User Preferences8.6. Building a Spam-Checking Gateway8.6.1. Routing Email Through the Gateway8.6.1.1. Exim domain lists8.6.1.2. Routing changes8.6.1.3. Internal server configuration8.6.2. Adding Sitewide Bayesian Filtering8.6.3. Adding Sitewide Autowhitelisting

9. Using SpamAssassin as a Proxy
9.1. Using Pop3proxy9.1.1. Installing Pop3proxy9.1.2. Starting Pop3proxy9.1.3. Configuring the POP Client9.2. Using SAproxy Pro9.2.1. Installing SAproxy Pro9.2.2. Starting SAproxy Pro9.2.3. Configuring the POP Client9.2.4. Configuring SAproxy Pro
A. Resources
A.1. General Spam ResourcesA.2. Spam-FilteringA.3. SpamAssassinA.4. Mail Transport AgentsA.4.1. SendmailA.4.2. PostfixA.4.3. qmailA.4.4. EximA.5. Related Mail ToolsA.5.1. procmailA.5.2. MIMEDefangA.5.3. amavisd-newA.5.4. sa-eximA.5.5. exiscan-aclA.5.6. qmail-scanner
About the Author
Colophon
Copyright

Content preview from SpamAssassin

Appendix A. Resources

This appendix lists useful online resources for further information about spam, spam-filtering, SpamAssassin, each of the mail transport agents discussed in this book, and several other SpamAssassin-related software packages.

General Spam Resources

“Help! I’ve been spammed! What do I do?”—originally written by Chris Lewis and maintained by Greg Byshenk—is an helpful (if dated) guide to spam and spam-prevention for the beginner. Find it at http://www.byshenk.net/ive.been.spammed.html.

Internet Request For Comments (RFC) documents describe proposed standards for the Internet. You can get RFCs from http://www.rfc-editor.org. Some notable RFCs related to spam and spam filtering include

RFC 2822: Internet Message Format: The basic document that describes the formatting of email messages.
RFC 2821: Simple Mail Transfer Protocol: Explains SMTP, the protocol used to transfer email from system to system.
RFC 2505: Anti-spam Recommendations for Internet MTAs: Describes a set of best practices for mail servers.

The SPAM-L FAQ, maintained by Doug Muth at http://www.claws-and-paws.com/spam-l/, provides information about the SPAM-L mailing list, one of the oldest discussion forums for spam fighters.

http://spam.abuse.net is a long-standing site with information for antispam advocates and system adminstrators.

The Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial Email (CAUCE) has a web site at http://www.cauce.org. CAUCE focuses primarily on advocacy and legislation.

The groups in ...

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SpamAssassin

by Alan Schwartz

Appendix A. Resources

General Spam Resources

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