Re: redhat-list digest, Vol 1 #8429 - 37 msgs

[Bill Diamond <bill@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Geoffrey,
There are several steps to setting up SpamAssassin - but they're really worthwhile and the results are very impressive when you do this.

You can install SpamAssassin as has been suggested by downloading the RPMs from their web site.  If you're comfortable with perl, you can use "perl -MCPAN -e shell" and then use i /SpamAssassin/ to find all the modules to install them this way.

SpamAssassin has a number of dependent modules, and this can be very frustrating if it's your first time to do this.   SpamAssassin does need a pretty full set of Perl libraries.  You'll also need to have your mail server configured.  It can be Sendmail, Qmail or several of the others that are supported.  The biggest deal with sendmail is just making sure you have your host name declared in the sendmail.mc file. You'll also need to defined procmail 

Once you have sendmail configured, you'll need to configure procmail.  Procmail is an autonomous mail processor.  It sounds scarier than it really is.  You just need to add one rule that has procmail pass every inbound message off to spamassassin's client for evaluation.  This is how inbound messages get filtered to spamassassin.  That rule is placed in the /etc/procmailrc file.  Users can expand on the rule set with their own .procmailrc file in their home directories.

Once you've got that done, make sure to create a .forward file in the home directories of users.  Mine has one instruction:
"| /usr/bin/spamc > /var/spool/mail/<user id>"

That forces all the inbound email through the spamassassin filter.

I don't know if you're like me, but my goal was to have spamassassin work with an email client, not a server.  I use Evolution.  I set up fetchmail with a .fetchmailrc file that pulls email down from my pop accounts.  Fetchmail passes the inbound messages from my pop accounts to procmail, through spamassassin, and then into my mbox for Evolution to present.

I've created some simple rules, mostly which look for the X-Spam-Status header and colors email based on the BAYES_nn value.  If the value is BAYES_9, I automatically delete it.

This has cut my spam down from around 500 pieces per day to 2 or 3.

Bill






Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 13:16:24 -0400 (EDT)
From: Gerry Doris <gdoris@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: redhat-list@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: newbie: getting rid of spam with spamassasin
Reply-To: redhat-list@xxxxxxxxxx

On Thu, 23 Oct 2003, Geoffrey Lane wrote:

> I have installed spamassasin rpm off the redhat cd and looked at the 
> documentation at spamassasin's official site but I'm not getting it.
> I'm looking to use spamassasin with kmail if possible but I'm not sure where 
> to start now. I've looked at online documentation and getting a little 
> fustrated. Can someone give me an newbie friendly guide to setting this up? 
> I'd like to get rid of the countless junk I seem to be getting the past month 
> or so.
> 
> Thanks
> Geoff

The version of SpamAssassin on the RH CD is ancient and full of bugs.  You 
should go to the SpamAssassin site and download an rpm of the latest 
version.

Also, SpamAssassin is intended to work with your MTA.  You are probably 
using either sendmail or postfix if you installed RH 9.  It will apply a 
header to suspected spam that you then filter on using procmail or your 
mail client.

You should read the documentation on how to do this.  If you can't find 
where the rpm put the documentation (probably in 
/usr/share/docs/spamassassin*) you can always look at it on the 
SpamAssassin site.