Spam Blackout - Spam Filtering like you've never know it before

Spam Blackout FAQ
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Q. How do I configure Spam Blackout to download and scan my emails?

STEP 1: SET UP YOUR EMAIL CLIENT e.g. MS OUTLOOK

Note: The following instructions will vary depending on the type and version of Email Client program you are using. However, they act as a rough guide:

1. Open your Email Client program e.g. Ms Outlook.

2. On the Tools menu Click Accounts.

3. Double-Click on your Email Account so that you can edit it.
You will only need to edit the Incoming Mail field. Make a note of what is presently in this field, as you will need it later. It should read something like mail.yourisp.com.

4. Replace this Incoming Mail field information with the word Localhost.

5. Under the Advanced tab change POP3 port to 111 and click OK.

STEP 2: SET UP SPAM BLACKOUT

1. Open Spam Blackout and click on the Email Accounts tab.

2. Click to add your Email Account information and complete the fields.
e.g. Email Account Name e.g. yourname@yourisp.com

3. Click on the Email Account Options tab and enter e.g. mail.yourisp.com (taken from Ms Outlook earlier) into the Server Name field.

4. Click OK when done.

Q. How do I configure Spam Blackout to download and scan my HOTMAIL emails?

Step 1: Spam Blackout Configuration
1. Open Spam Blackout and click on the Email Accounts Tab.
2. Click + to add a new account or double-click on the account to edit an existing it.
3. Enter all your email account information into the Email Account Information tab.
4. Click on the Email Account Options tab and click on the down arrow beside the field Email Protocol and select Hotmail.
5. Leave Server Name blank and Server Port blank.

Step 2: Microsoft Outlook/Express Configuration
1. Create a new email account and make it a POP3 account
2. Enter Localhost as the Incoming POP3 Server name.
3. Set the Server Port 111.

Q. How do I register my copy of Spam Blackout?

1. After purchase, you will receive a Registration Key by Email, highlight this key.
IMPORTANT: When highlighting ensure you include the dashed lines at beginning and end.
2. Press Ctrl-C on your keyboard to Copy it.
3. Open Spam Blackout, click on the Help/Register Tab and select Register my copy of Spam Blackout.
4. The Spam Blackout About screen appears, click Register.
5. Now click on Load Registration Key from Clipboard.

Q. How does Spam Blackout really work?

Spam Blackout filters Spam out of your email box before you see it. Spam Blackout checks your Inbox before your email client program does.

Q. Does Spam Blackout work on all Email Client Programs?

Yes, absolutely every email client program e.g. Ms Outlook, Ms Express and so on.

Q. Can my email client still check for mail, because in Spam Blackout you've to set the time for checking?

Your mail client can check any time for mail. Since the connection is local you can set it to check every few seconds if you want. The time period for checking the external servers is only set to 10 mins to prevent overload of the external systems.

Q. What is Localhost?

Localhost is your local machine'e IP address i.e. 127.0.0.1

Q. Can I run Spam Blackout on any POP3 Server Port?

Yes.

Q. A 'good' email has been classified as Spam. How do I how do I get it into my Inbox?

In Spam Blackout, click on the email the Spam queue and drag it into the Non-Spam folder, so that it is received into your Inbox.

Q. The CPU usage on my PC has suddenly risen even tough Spam Blackout is idle. What's wrong?

If Spam Blackout is hogging the PC while idle, then you most likely have another application intercepting port 110 for POP3 mail.

Solution:
1. Change your Local POP3 server port in Spam Blackout to say 111. You can change the POP3 Server Port under the General Options tab.

2. Restart Spam Blackout.

Q. How do I add email addresses to my Friends list?

1. Click on the Spam Blackout Plugin Filters Tab.
2. Double-click on the Friends/Enemies List.
3. Click + to add a Friend's email address and choose the Status Friend.

Q. How do I add email addresses to my Enemies list?

1. Click on the Spam Blackout Plugin Filters Tab.
2. Double-click on the Friends/Enemies List.
3. Click + to add an Enemy's email address and choose the Status Enemy.

Q. How do I stop certain Email Attachments coming through to my Inbox?

Under Email Attachments Filter you can place a tick in the Delete/Quarantine column against that File Type.
If you cannot find the File Type, then simply add it and then place a tick in the Delete column.

Q. How do I stop ALL Email Attachments coming through to my Inbox?

1. Click on the General Options tab.
2. Tick the field Strip All Attachments from Emails.

Q. How do I strip All HTML from Emails coming through?

1. Click on the General Options tab.
2. Tick the field Strip All HTML from Emails.

Q. If I choose to strip my emails of HTML, will normal text come through correctly?

Yes.

Q. If I choose to strip my emails of HTML, will HTML Attachments come through?

Yes.

Q. How do I Strip only Dangerous HTML from Emails coming through?

1. Click on the General Options tab.
2. Tick the field Strip All Dangerous HTML from Emails.

Q. How often should I poll the External Server for Emails?

Typically every 10 minutes or so. The default is 10 minutes. You can set this option under the General Options tab.

Q. How do I activate/deactivate the Anti-Virus scanning interface that comes with Spam Blackout?

1. Click on the General Options tab.
2. Tick the field Activate Anti-Virus Scanning Interface (VSAPI).

Q. What is Spam?

Spam is the term used to describe unsolicited email.
It covers:
-Unsolicited Commercial Email (UCE)
-Unsolicited Bulk Email (UBE)
-Usenet Newsgroup abuse where they submit advertisements to the group and submit mail that is not appropriate to the newsgroup.
However, it is important to remember that we are exposed to Spam everyday as we collect our Postal Mail from our letterboxes at home or indeed at our company premises; Flyers, Free Newspapers..the list goes on.
For some companies up to 50% (and sometime even more) of their received email messages are Spam. This imposes a huge burden on human resource time, Internet connection time etc.
When you pay for your connection time to the Internet and have limited bandwidth, Spam becomes your worst enemy. So you see, unlike Postal Spam, the most annoying thing about Internet Spam is that you are paying for information you don't even want to receive.

Q. What is Bayesian Filtering?

Have a look in the Help.