Watching for false positives (example)
"Jem" <[email protected]> Thu, 11 Jan 2007 23:25:42 -0500
| Newsgroups | gmane.mail.spam.spamprobe.general |
|---|---|
| Message-ID | <[email protected]> |
Hi all again, I've been playing a lot with spam today. Using the SpamTestBuddy posted earlier, here is how I'm watching SpamProbe for potential false positives. I grew tired of checking the huge spam folder for FPs, probably a common result of getting used to SpamProbe. This method will flag a small subset of the emails that are normally SPAM, so it's easier to examine visually. And it's largely independent of SP score. (I left SpamProbe alone for scoring and filtering my mailbox.) SpamThreshold 1.5 +TestDnsProblems DNSPROBLEM +TestHeaderFloat SPAMPROBE X-SpamProbe: +TestDNSBL SORBSDUL dul.dnsbl.sorbs.net +TestDNSBL ZEN zen.spamhaus.org +TestDNSBL WPBL db.wpbl.info -TestDNSBL DNSWL list.dnswl.org Since each Test adds a score of 0-1, this means that SpamProbe alone is not enough to push the score over 1.5. So the above requires at least one more test to trigger; if SpamProbe is alone, I have a potential false positive. The other tests query external IP databases. SORBSDUL is pretty good at eliminating dynamic/dialup IPs which are almost always zombies. ZEN is the new SpamHaus list which combines known spam companies, infected hosts, and IP addresses designated by ISPs as not valid senders. WPBL is the list which is fed by many SpamProbe users, and DNSWL is a whitelist which subtracts from the score if the IP is a known good mail server. >From the mail that SpamProbe catches as SPAM, I'm observing approx 4% that the rules above flag as UNDER the threshold. No SpamProbe mistakes found so far, but my theory is that any false positives would show up there. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Take Surveys. Earn Cash. Influence the Future of IT Join SourceForge.net's Techsay panel and you'll get the chance to share your opinions on IT & business topics through brief surveys - and earn cash http://www.techsay.com/default.php?page=join.php&p=sourceforge&CID=DEVDEV