Updating "Recommended Antispam" settings with SpamFoo
Question asked by BMark - 8/4/2026 at 12:53 AM
Unanswered
Hello Tim,

In the other SpamFoo section, you said that using it along with the other SM features has eliminated virtually all the spam and phishing emails you received daily, from the 300-400 you used to receive.

Therefore, given that there have been many changes and although every system must be adapted, can I ask if you can give us updated advice on the general configurations you've set?
I see the general guideline is still the same:
Can you tell me which tools you used, the scores for each, and the filter tab (low, medium, high)?

This can be useful to similarly test the anti-spam system and optimize it

Thank you very much

Mark
Tim Uzzanti Replied
Employee Post

Mark,

I suggest implementing SpamFoo in one of two ways:

  1. If you're already using Cyren and MessageSniffer, add SpamFoo with a weight of 5. This gives it an extra push for messages that are already trending toward spam based on your existing antispam scores. Once you're satisfied with the results and decide to remove Cyren and/or MessageSniffer, simply increase SpamFoo's weight accordingly.
  2. If you're not using Cyren or MessageSniffer, assign SpamFoo a weight of 15 and let SmarterMail's built-in antispam features provide the additional scoring needed to classify messages as spam.
A combination of Greylisting, DKIM, SPF, RBLs, and URIBLs is extremely beneficial as part of an overall antispam strategy when used alongside SpamFoo—or any other third-party antispam solution. Assigning many of these a score of 5 helps push messages that SpamFoo already suspects are spam over the threshold for spam.

I'm using our default scoring weights as examples, while recognizing that many of you have heavily customized your scoring or use a completely different scoring model for your environment.

As users move messages between categories—or into and out of Spam—their mailbox becomes increasingly refined, eventually reaching the point where it consistently understands how they want their messages classified. This feedback is also passed upstream to the server and our models, helping further improve how messages are categorized as Spam, Not Spam, Promotions, Transactions, Primary, and more.
Any changes to your antispam configuration—including the features built into SmarterMail—should be made slowly and evaluated over time.

In the near future, some of the traditional antispam features in SmarterMail may no longer be necessary. Internally, we're already beginning to disable some of these settings and rely more heavily on SpamFoo because it's effectively operating as though a human were reviewing every email. 
Tim Uzzanti
CEO
SmarterTools Inc.
BMark Replied
Hello @Tim Uzzanti ,

Thanks You for the very helpful advice. We've also gradually modified the weights of each anti-spam system within SM, but now I wanted to review everything based on your advice and your new Spamfoo feature, which I really like. I think it's the right path.

Thanks you also for your support and the time you dedicate to explaining things to the community and managing SM.

Have a good day

Mark

Reply to Thread

Enter the verification text