Getting started with spam filtering

[lightbeing]

I've got a new install on cPanel/WHM and at the moment it doesn't look like SpamAssassin is turned on.

I've read on here that the defaults for SpamAssassin aren't particularly good but can't see anything that suggested what the best options are.

Can anyone point me in the right direction to either get going with SpamAssassin or a better alternative?

[cPanelJared]

To make sure SpamAssassin is enabled, in Main >> Server Configuration >> Tweak Settings, check SpamAssassin Spam Filter. Next, in Main >> Packages >> Feature Manager, make sure that SpamAssassin is checked (it is checked by default in the "default" feature list).

You can edit some SpamAssassin options, and even force it to be enabled on all accounts without giving the users to disable it, under the SpamAssassin™ Options heading in Main >> Service Configuration >> Exim Configuration Editor.

Finally, you may also want to enable the spamdconf plugin in Main >> cPanel >> Manage Plugins. This will add a plugin to the WebHost Manager that allows you to set some options for SpamAssassin, such as the maximum children and maximum requests per child.

Our documentation for the cPanel implementation of SpamAssassin is available here:

SpamAssassin

[lightbeing]

Thanks for the reply Jared.

Are there any best practice guidelines available, or recommended configs for different scenarios?

[cPanelJared]

Only a few SpamAssassin configuration options are exposed in the WebHost Manager and cPanel interfaces. Most of the exposed options concern limited resource usage by SpamAssassin, and the options can be left at the defaults in many situations.

Do you have any specific questions about configuring SpamAssassin? If there is anything specific you would like to know, I should be able to give you a more complete answer.

[lightbeing]

Ok thanks. I'll follow the steps you indicated and go from there. Nothing specific yet as I'm about to turn it on.

[lightbeing]

Actually I do have a further question.

Now I've turned SpamAssassin on, is it possible to configure some defaults that will roll out for all domains, such as turning SPamAssassin and SpamBox on by default and turning off auto-delete?

[cPanelJared]

By editing the feature list, you can enable or disable SpamAssassin and the Spam Box, but there is no way to automatically enable or disable auto-deletion of messages.

Feature lists are assigned to packages, which are in turn assigned to accounts. What you would need to do is create a package, then create a feature list and enable or disable the desired options, assign the feature list to the package you created, then select that package when you create an account. The account will be created with all the settings in the package and its associated feature list.

The following section of our documentation provides a complete explanation of packages and feature lists:

Packages

By default, accounts are created with no package, and with the "default" feature list.