Hello List, Good to be back with you. Though not a complete package, I am having good results catching Spam with TheBat! using only a very few filters. I wanted to share the concept. Forgive me if this has all been said before and I doubt this is a "new" discovery.
To effect the broadest net of capture requires some creativity and what I have below may be of value to some. That is not to say I believe myself above average in this, however my filters are catching all Spam--not just some of it. Yes, occasionally an innocent bystander gets caught in the harvest too but those are presented with an avenue of correction. A work-in-progress, these are my Incoming Mail filters in order of processing: //Bounce// This filter is first on my list to arrest bounced mail and prevent an auto-reply round-robin. It looks for the word "returned" in Kluges and the following Alternatives (also Kluges): bounce, undeliverable, un-deliverable, nobody, unknown. Hits go to a "bounce" folder and are reviewed to make certain the bounce is spam-related. That same folder, if re-filtered, will trash the contents in a click or two. It is a very easy filter to refine as needed. The "Action" is to delete the message from the server. //Spam// Looks for the word "undisclosed" in Kluges, and as alternatives, my personal list of Mailers the sophomoric spammer may have been dumb enough not to hack out. Other filters (below) will catch Spam in different ways, but I keep this one high on the list just for personal recreation, entertainment, and spam-trap practice. //HTML// Here's a fairly wide-reaching net. It looks first for "HTML" in kluges, or in Alternatives for "multipart/alternative" which is how most unwanted commercial spam is content-formatted so as to be readable in either HTML or plain text. Also included, is "multipart/related" which fetches graphics or (??) from elsewhere, and the seldom-used "multipart/parallel". "multipart/mixed" is excluded and allowed to pass this filter because it is the format of attached photos and other often desirable in-line exchanges from legitimate friendly correspondents. If caught by this filter, the following and immediate auto-response is triggered: ---------------------------------------------------------- This is an auto-reply to your recent e-mail to Mike Apsey. Your message was automatically deleted without being read because HTML formatting was detected as: %OATTACHMENTS. Please remove your HTML formatting and try again using plain text. ---------------------------------------------------------- IMPORTANT: This filter will indeed snatch each and every HTML formatted bit of e-mail entering your inbox, including those from customers, legitimate companies, family, friends, and associates. It is therefore important to move it beneath your personal sorting/filtering list if you're worried that certain of your regular pen-pals will take offense. Personally, either they can remove the HTML, or take me off their list AFAIC. Still, it's wise not to be indignant in the auto-reply. Notice I am neither indignant nor apologetic above, citing the "automatic" nature of the response and reply. NOTE: If you do not wish to encourage family and friends to stop using HTML when corresponding with you, you may move this filter beneath your personal sort/filter list. WARNING: Before deciding where to place this filter, you may want to review your accounts payable for incoming bills formatted in HTML. Of the uncounted many I have received past 3-years, only one, Verizon (formerly GTE), has sent an HTML bill and they were singly moved above the filter for now. They may offer an opt-out of HTML, I just haven't checked but will. //All personal sorting/office filters go here// My suggested filters are far-reaching, very broad, and painfully effective. That's especially true of those which follow. May I remind you it's advisable and important to see my suggested filters here do not interfere with your personal settings, existing filters, and possibly blossoming love relationships. //Bulk Mail// This is the last stop. The black hole. E-mail purgatory. This filter essentially unplugs my mailbox from unknown senders once and for all. Irrevocably and better than an unlisted telephone number. It catches *all* spam missed elsewhere and yes, even some personal correspondence from new friends. ================================================================= WARNING: This filter is very dangerous because it essentially invokes an auto-reply e-mail screening. ================================================================= If not re-directed by the hundred or more filters above it, all e-mail arrives here, and triggers the following immediate auto response: -------------------------------------------------------------- ***************************************** MAIL AUTO-DELETED UNREAD - SENDER UNKNOWN ***************************************** Mail from unknown originating addresses is no longer accepted. If you believe you received this message in error, you may re-send it appending the word "pass" to the subject line. ----Original Message Info---- TO: %OTOADDR From: %OFROMNAME <%OFROMADDR> Your Reply To: %OREPLYNAME Your Organization: %OORGANISATION Date of Origin: %ODATE Time of Origin: %OTIMELONG Subject: %OSUBJ -------------------------------------------------------------- My experience shows although spammers will receive this message in addition to those perhaps friendly inquirers, most spam auto-replies will bounce, and those which don't are seldom read. If a "reply" of any sort sets me up for more spam, no worries--I won't see it. If someone trying to reach me via e-mail is serious about it, they can pass through--I offer an avenue. And what if the "pass" leaks or is abused? Again, no worries, for it's wonderfully easy to change. Once a person identifies him/herself, they will be added to my list and will no longer need to pass through the lock. //SUMMARY// These filters represent some drastic measures and will not fit many e-mail environments. Nonetheless, they work for me and I share them here with the best intentions. Clearly, I am, thanks to The Bat!, virtually free of Spam--it's long overdue. I was irked to this action by the scheming dishonesty and abuse of my mailbox as if I were some powerless and hapless computer moron. Phrases such as "You are receiving this mail because you . . ." the spelling of "mortgage "m()rtgage," Bogus subject lines i.e., "Your package has been shipped," "Your loan is approved." and countless others, many including the words "P*nis" or Viagra within. Well, it's over and I did it with only four (4) filters beyond the ordinary. I regret my method increases net traffic with my auto-replies, which may be offset by discouraging people on my personal list (at least) to re-think this blossoming cutsie HTML email-with-the-pink-background foolishness. As always, if I've made some error in either syntax or judgement here, I welcome comments/course-corrections. And now that we've talked about blocking spam without extra software, perhaps you'd be interested in doing the same for those pesky www adverts. Good SOT reading here: http://ssmedia.com/utilities/hosts/ <wink> -- Cheers, List! Mike Using The Bat! v1.62q on Windows XP 5.1 Build 2600 Service Pack 1 ________________________________________________ Current version is 1.62r | "Using TBUDL" information: http://www.silverstones.com/thebat/TBUDLInfo.html
