SpamAssassin is an anti-spam tool which works for all of the emails on your account. It marks spams so it is easy to notice. You can even configure SpamAssassin to automatically delete emails marked as spam. HostGator recommends activating SpamAssassin as soon as you create an email account or log in for the first time.

To enable or disable SpamAssassin:

1. Log into cPanel.
2. In the Mail section, click the SpamAssassin icon.
3. In the gray box, click Enable SpamAssassin to enable; or click Disable SpamAssassin to disable.

Depending on the option you selected, you will receive a confirmation message on the next page stating that SpamAssassin was either enabled or disabled.

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Spam Score Limit

SpamAssassin screens each incoming email and assigns a score to the email based on its spam characteristics. By default, SpamAssassin considers messages with a score of 5 to be spam; however, you can adjust the spam score limit according to your preference. Simply select the desired spam score limit from the Score drop-down menu in the Filters section. The lower the score, the more stringent the filter will be.

• 0 means everything incoming will be marked as spam
• 5 is the default setting
• 10 means nothing incoming will be marked as spam

If you are unable to set a spam score limit in the Filters drop-down menu, you can also change the default score using the following method:

1. Under SpamAssassin Configuration, click Configure SpamAssassin.
2. In the required_score field, enter your preferred value.
3. Click Save at the bottom of the page.

 

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Auto-Delete Spam

The auto-delete function automatically deletes messages which meet or exceed the spam score limit. Auto-delete can be enabled in the Filters section by clicking Auto-Delete Spam; it can be disabled by clicking Disable Auto-Delete Spam.

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Email Filtering with SpamAssassin

You can use Spam Box or email filtering to move spam from your inbox to another folder.

Spam Box

When Spam Box is enabled, a Spam folder is created. Spam is then delivered directly to this folder, allowing you to review all mail marked as spam before it is deleted. To enable Spam Box, simply click Enable Spam Box in the Spam Box section.

User Level Filtering

Although SpamAssassin no longer rewrites the subject line of your emails, email filtering can still be accomplished with the tools provided within cPanel. To filter email with SpamAssassin:

1. Log into your webmail.
2. Create a folder called Spam.
3. Exit webmail.
4. In the Mail section of cPanel, select the User Level Filtering icon.
5. Click Manage Filters next to the appropriate user.
6. Click Create a New Filter. You will be taken to a new page.
7. In the Filter Name field, enter a name for the filter (such as SpamAssassin or whatever desired).
8. Under Rules, select Spam Status from the first drop-down menu.
   Note: If this option is not available, check to make sure that Spam Assassin is enabled.
9. In the adjacent drop-down menu, select begins with.
10. In the large, blank box below the drop down menus, type the word Yes.
11. Under Actions, select Deliver to folder from the drop-down menu.
12. Click Browse and select the Spam folder.
13. When finished, click Create.

Now you can use IMAP and subscribe to the new Spam folder.