Frequently Asked Questions
See also FixingErrors.
Really frequently asked questions
SpamAssassin is killing my server, and I use downloaded rulesets: FasterPerformance, OutOfMemoryProblems
Spam is getting through. How can I get new rules to improve the hit-rate? RunningSaUpdate
I'm getting a lot of "backscatter" / bounce messages / undeliverable email notices / etc. regarding mail I didn't send. How can I block them? VBounceRuleset
What's new?
When is the next version going to be out? NextRelease
SpamAssassin publicity: InTheNews
I'm not a spammer!
How can I avoid our newsletters being marked as spam?: AvoidingFpsForSenders
How does it work?
How are the scores assigned?: HowScoresAreAssigned
Does SpamAssassin filter email-borne viruses as well as spam?: FilteringViruses
What is the history of SpamAssassin?: SpamAssassinHistory
Why are the number of stars rounded down yet the score is rounded normally?: RoundingIssues
Why use rules? Statistical filters are the future!: WhyUseRules
Shouldn't the rules be kept secret?: PublicRules
Using SpamAssassin...
How do I report spam? ReportingSpam
How do I report spam that matched a particular accreditation rule? ReportingSpam
How to filter spam mail in Outlook Express: OeFilter
How can I mark as spam all messages that contain a Windows executable?: MarkingAllWindowsExecutables
I'm seeing error messages! How do I fix them?: FixingErrors
What debug channels are available?: DebugChannels
Installation and configuration...
I sent myself spam and it didn't work / How do I test SpamAssassin?: TestingInstallation
How do I get SpamAssassin to delete spam and is it a good idea?: DeletingAllMailsMarkedSpam
Where should I put local-system-specific rules or configuration options?: WhereDoLocalSettingsGo
How can I change the way SpamAssassin marks up messages it considers to be spam??: ChangingMarkup
I want to run SpamAssassin for my large site. What specification of mail server do I need?: SitewideServerSpec
How can I get SpamAssassin to run faster?: FasterPerformance
How do I tell whether rules in my user_prefs file are active?: UserPrefRuleTest
I upgraded to SpamAssassin 3.0.x and suddenly subject rewriting stopped working!: SubjectRewrite
How can I install SpamAssassin on Windows? InstallingOnWindows
How do I use SpamAssassin with SQL? UsingSQL
How do I send data to a SeparateLogFile ?
What tools are available to help me see which rules are hitting and how efficient those rules are? StatsAndAnalyzers
How do I setup Mutt to use procmail and SpamAssassin?: UsingMutt
Want to contribute?
I've got some wonderful new rules that would help classify mail messages! How do I contribute them?: ContributingNewRules
I have a great idea for an anti-phishing rule, detecting links that claim to be linking to a different URL than their real target!: AntiPhishFakeUrlRule
I get lots of spam from a program called "The Bat!", so I want to write a rule to block it. Is this a good idea?: DontBlockTheBat
A spam message got through! Can I send it to you so you can update the filters?: DoYouWantMySpam
A non-spam message got flagged as spam. Should I send it to you?: DoYouWantMyHam
Something more direct / "tangible"? The CREDITS file has some more information per-developer, and/or also consider contributing directly to the ASF. (thanks, it's much appreciated!)
More questions?
Where should I ask questions that aren't answered here?: AskingQuestions
How do I report a bug?: ReportingBugs