Spam: how WebOké stops it, and how to train and test the spam filter

Spam we don't accept

Our mail servers refuse mail from servers known as a source of spam, for example because they are on the lists of Spamhaus or SpamCop. This already stops a large part of the spam.

Very occasionally someone tries to email you via a server that is on such a list. We don't accept that mail. The sender gets it back, with the reason. We can't change that: that server was recently used to send spam. The best thing the sender can do is send via another mail server for the time being and ask their administrator to get the server removed from the list.

If the filter isn't sure about a message, we sometimes have the sending server try again after a few minutes. That way a normal email arrives a little later and a lot of spam stays out. Read more in Greylisting: why an email sometimes arrives a few minutes late.

Where the spam folder is and what it is called in your email program is explained in Folders in your mailbox: Inbox, Sent, Drafts, Trash, Junk and Archive.

The spam filter and the spam folder

Next, the spam filter checks the mail that does come in. In DirectAdmin, under E-mail Manager, SpamAssassin Setup, you set how strict it is and whether spam goes to the spam folder or is deleted straight away. On the server this folder is called Junk; in your mail program it is called Junk, Junk Email or Spam. Where the spam folder is and what it is called in each program is explained in Folders in your mailbox: Inbox, Sent, Drafts, Trash, Junk and Archive. Senders or words you always want to block go under SPAM Filters.

Training the spam filter

If spam lands in your inbox, drag the message to the spam folder Junk. If a good message ends up in the spam folder, drag it back to your inbox. Only this folder counts: dragging to any other folder teaches the filter nothing.

This works via IMAP. So you can do it in any mail program (computer, tablet, phone) and in our webmail at webmail.weboke.nl. There, the Report spam button also moves the message to the spam folder. The filter learns from what you do, so it gets better and better at recognising spam and good mail.

Testing whether your spam filter works

With the spam test you send a test message to your email address at WebOké. Our spam filter deliberately treats that message as spam. If it then lands in your spam folder, your spam filter works. If it lands in your inbox, the filter is off or doesn't put spam in the spam folder. Change that under SpamAssassin Setup and run the test again.

Don't drag the test message to your inbox; delete it instead. Otherwise the filter learns that this is good mail.

The spam test only works for email addresses hosted at WebOké. We don't send anything to an address with another provider.

See also in the DirectAdmin manual: SPAM Filters: blocking senders, domains and words.

Detailed explanation with screenshots: SpamAssassin Setup in the DirectAdmin manual.