Mailman 3 August 2004 - SpamBayes

RE: [Spambayes] Important: new feature!
by Tony Meyer Nov. 2, 2004

Nov. 2, 2004

> I understand what you're saying, and I've re-trained > spambayes on equal numbers of HAM and SPAM, 300 each. Yet, it > still has a tendency to classify some HAM as spam. A > significant percentage is like maybe 25% of my regular > announcement mail gets spamflagged... Something is definitely not working here - a 25% false positive rate is extraordinarily high. You shouldn't even get as high as 2.5%. Perhaps you could send the spam clues report for one of these messages (before any training on it) to the list? We could take a look at it and see if there's an obvious reason that it's failing to be classified correctly. > Perhaps I have a better > solution: I have a lot of mailtraffic from the local > university network and a lot of correspondence, announcements > etc arrive from addresses with the "phys.uu.nl" suffix. > Surely it must be possible to exclude messages whose > returnaddress contain that string (or other certified > addresses) from further processing by spambayes? This is called "whitelisting", and SpamBayes does not do it. For a lengthy explanation, please see FAQ 6.6: <http://spambayes.org/faq.html#why-don-t-you-add-whitelisting-blacklisting-t o-spambayes> You ought to be able to implement some sort of whitelisting with Outlook's rule system, however. =Tony Meyer --- Please always include the list (spambayes(a)python.org) in your replies (reply-all), and please don't send me personal mail about SpamBayes. This way, you get everyone's help, and avoid a lack of replies when I'm busy.

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this might seem fickle...
by Nathan Sudds Sept. 25, 2004

Sept. 25, 2004

But I can't seem to get the icons back for my spambayes toolbar... I installed a toolbar for putting paypal payment buttons into my emails... it's another outlook addon.. ever since then the icons for Spambayes show up as the paypal icons... it's a minor thing but it's pretty annoying for a visual person like myself... any advice? I'm using the Windows version of the Outlook Addon of spambayes and I am running windows XP Pro with Outlook 2000. SpamBayes version .81 to start with but now I'm running the new .9 version.. and I'm glad it's much faster on my machine than .81 was... but I wouldn't mind having those icons back... Thanks, Nathan Sudds | CreativeDirector nsudds(a)arkitekture.com ::: ARKITEKTURE:::::::::::::: focusing our sites on building yours -------------------------------------------------------------------- [launch] // www.arkitekture.com

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RE: [Spambayes] Setting the Spambayes timers
by Tony Meyer Sept. 10, 2004

Sept. 10, 2004

> Today I checked one of the 'spammy' messages which Spambayes > gave a zero spam rating to. The body was a string of random > non-spammy sentences, plus a large graphic which contained > the spammer's sales pitch. The title was "Ch_eap 0_E_M s.oft > shi~pp~ing worl_dwide teakettle", which I guess didn't give > Spambayes enough clues. Yes, these 'mini-spams' or 'micro-spams' will be the toughest for SpamBayes to work with, because there isn't much information - for the most part, just the headers. We are looking into ways to better deal with these (although for many the headers and whatever body there is does provide enough clues). The 'use-bigrams' option might help somewhat (it considers pairs of words as well as individual words), as might some of the other options that are off by default. (Turning on these options in Outlook is a somewhat difficult process. You have to open up the 'default_bayes_customize.ini' file in the SpamBayes data directory (or create it if there isn't one) and add the appropriate options. For example, you'd add [Classifier] x-use_bigrams:True for the bigrams option. The tricky bit is that there isn't any way for Outlook users to see what options are available - some sort of documentation about that might be a good idea when someone has time. You can look at the Options.py file in CVS from http://sf.net/projects/spambayes, but that's a bit tricky, really). At the moment, I'm looking at using query expansion (like, e.g., search engines do with search terms) to try and help with classifying these short spams. Other people are trying some other things, too, I think. =Tony Meyer --- Please always include the list (spambayes(a)python.org) in your replies (reply-all), and please don't send me personal mail about SpamBayes. This way, you get everyone's help, and avoid a lack of replies when I'm busy.

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RE: [Spambayes] More ham than spam?
by Ferino Mardo Aug. 31, 2004

Aug. 31, 2004

Replies below: > -----Original Message----- > From: Kenny Pitt [mailto:kennypitt@hotmail.com] > Sent: Monday, August 30, 2004 07:40 PM > To: Ferino Mardo; spambayes(a)python.org > Subject: RE: [Spambayes] More ham than spam? > > > Ferino Mardo wrote: > > The SPAMbayes manager complains that I have much more ham > than spam. > > What should one do? Delete his good emails to make things even? > > We hear this question a lot, but most people find that they > have too much > *spam* and not enough ham. Ham messages typically have a > more consistent set of senders, receivers, and topics, and > therefore usually require less training to identify correctly > than spam messages. > > Did you have SpamBayes train itself on some of your existing > messages when you first configured? If so, you probably had > a lot more ham messages in your initial training set. > Yes I did. I have lots of emails I consider good and only a few SPAM. Just curious if the message mean anything other than what is the obvious. > If you are getting acceptable accuracy from SpamBayes then > don't worry too much about the warning. It's only a > guideline, and how much affect the imbalance has will depend > on how severe the imbalance is as well as on your specific > mixture of e-mails. > I'm getting more than acceptable accuracy from SPAMbayes. I like the product! > On the other hand, if your accuracy is poor then I would > recommend deleting your training data and retraining > SpamBayes from scratch with no initial training data. > Instead, just train manually on any Unsure messages as well > as messages that SpamBayes identifies incorrectly (ham > classified as spam or vice versa). We usually refer to this > training strategy as "Train on Errors and Unsures", and you > can read more about it on the SpamBayes wiki: > http://entrian.com/sbwiki/TrainOnErrorsAndUnsures You can also get more information about alternative training strategies here: http://entrian.com/sbwiki/TrainingIdeas -- Kenny Pitt

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Spambayest not filtering spam messages
by Mei, Elaine Aug. 31, 2004

Aug. 31, 2004

Hello, The problem I currently experiencing is large amount of spam in my inbox not filtered. I tried a manual filter but nothing happened. The mail client is Outlook 2000. In addition to my inbox, I also manage 4 other mailbox. Elaine ..................................................................... Elaine Mei 250 S. Wacker, Suite 1600 Chicago, IL 60606-5889 USA Toll-free North America: 888-665-ATLA Chicago Area: 312-454-5100 Website: http://www.atla.com

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HELp with spambayes
by Dave Hauss Aug. 31, 2004

Aug. 31, 2004

I'm using the spambayes outlook plug-in and all was working fine until last week.. it is still filtering mail but when I click on any of the buttons in the toolbar such as RECOVER FROM SPAM or DELETE AS SPAM nothing happens. How can I fix this? I tried uninstalling and reinstalling but still the same results.. I am using outlook 2003 Thanks.. <http://www.unlimitedsounds.com> Dave Hauss <mailto:dahauss@unlimitedsounds.com> dahauss(a)unlimitedsounds.com IM: unlsounds <http://www.unlimitedsounds.com> www.unlimitedsounds.com tel: fax: mobile: (856) 435-1168 (856) 873-9294 (609) 685-7489 <http://www.plaxo.com/signature> Signature powered by Plaxo <http://www.plaxo.com/signature> Want a signature like this? <https://www.plaxo.com/add_me?u=12884915178&v0=26356&k0=1518190620> Add me to your address book...

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Where is the Spam Going?
by Ditto, Marilyn E. Aug. 31, 2004

Aug. 31, 2004

When SpamBays deletes a message as spam it totally disappears. It can't be found in the Junk Email folder, the Junk Suspects, not even in my deleted file. When I click on the "delete as spam" button, the message totally disappears and can't be found. Where are the messages going? What did I do wrong now? It's scary because I have no way of knowing what it is deleting. Thanks for your help. Marilyn

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RE: [Spambayes] Not Auto Filtering Messages
by Dolvig Andrew-ra8839 Aug. 31, 2004

Aug. 31, 2004

Kenny, I went back and double checked and you are correct!!! I somewhere must have changed the settings from the initial time that I installed the program. I made the change to the correct "Inbox" and came in this morning to zero SPAM messages. Thank you and everyone at spambayes very much for all your help. I have been recommending your program to everyone that I meet (who complaines about SPAM). I appreciate all the help. -Andrew -----Original Message----- From: Kenny Pitt [mailto:kennypitt@hotmail.com] Sent: Monday, August 30, 2004 4:50 PM To: 'Dolvig Andrew-ra8839'; 'Tony Meyer'; spambayes(a)python.org Subject: RE: [Spambayes] Not Auto Filtering Messages Dolvig Andrew-ra8839 wrote: > I had previously had the timers set to non-zero values and was still > having the same issues. I have since reset the timers to 0.5 > and 1 seconds but am still troubled with the same problem. I have > once again included the log file. thanks for any help you can give, Sorry it took a while to get back to you on this. The first time I looked at the updated logfiles I didn't notice anything unusual, so I was a bit stumped. I took another look just now and I did see one thing that seemed a bit odd. It appears that all of the messages you are training on are in the folder 'Mailbox - Dolvig Andrew-ra8839/Inbox', but this isn't listed as one of the folders that is selected for filtering. Filtering is only enabled on two folders with identical names of 'Personal Folders/Inbox' which I assume are in two different PST files. I would suggest going to the Filtering tab in SpamBayes Manager and using the Browse button to make sure that you have selected the correct folders for filtering. -- Kenny Pitt

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Hello
by DE FILLIPIS Franck Aug. 31, 2004

Aug. 31, 2004

Can we install SPAMBAYES on a Windows Server system with the mode « Terminal Server Users » ? Thanks, Cordialement, F. DE FILLIPIS Responsable Pôle Informatique de Structure / Réseaux < <mailto:f.defillipis@akka.fr> mailto:f.defillipis@akka.fr> GROUPE AKKA-TECHNOLOGIES 3 rue François 1er 75008 Paris +33 6 74 79 79 37 (Mobile personnel) +33 4 72 54 97 14 (Centre technique) <http://www.akka.fr/> HTTP://www.akka.fr =========================================================== Cet email, ainsi que toute pièce jointe associée, sont confidentiels et destinés seulement à la personne ou à l'entité auxquels il sont adressés. Cet email est envoyé sous la responsabilité de son émetteur et ne saurait en aucun cas engager la responsabilité de AKKA-TECHNOLOGIES. Si vous recevez cet email par erreur, veuillez s'il vous plait le notifier à l'expéditeur et à votre administrateur système. Ce message a été traité et vérifié par un anti-virus : ScanMail de TrendMicro ===========================================================

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Spam crashing sb_imapfilter.py
by Woo, Christopher Aug. 30, 2004

Aug. 30, 2004

Has anyone come across spam that crashes sb_imapfilter.py? I've been getting one or two a week that will stop sb_imapfilter.py cold, and the only way I can fix it is to go in manually and delete the offending spam. I've several of these emails saved, and I can reproduce the error: c:\spambayes\scripts\sb_imapfilter.py -c -e y SpamBayes IMAP Filter Version 0.3 (April 2004) and engine SpamBayes Engine Version 0.3 (January 2004). Traceback (most recent call last): File "c:\spambayes\scripts\sb_imapfilter.py", line 857, in ? run() File "c:\spambayes\scripts\sb_imapfilter.py", line 847, in run imap_filter.Filter() File "c:\spambayes\scripts\sb_imapfilter.py", line 719, in Filter self.unsure_folder) File "c:\spambayes\scripts\sb_imapfilter.py", line 633, in Filter for msg in self: File "c:\spambayes\scripts\sb_imapfilter.py", line 528, in __iter__ yield self[key] File "c:\spambayes\scripts\sb_imapfilter.py", line 577, in __getitem__ msg.Save() File "c:\spambayes\scripts\sb_imapfilter.py", line 443, in Save self.as_string()) File "C:\Python23\Lib\site-packages\spambayes\message.py", line 277, in as_string return self._force_CRLF(email.Message.Message.as_string(self, unixfrom)) File "C:\Python23\Lib\site-packages\email\Message.py", line 113, in as_string g.flatten(self, unixfrom=unixfrom) File "C:\Python23\Lib\site-packages\email\Generator.py", line 103, in flatten self._write(msg) File "C:\Python23\Lib\site-packages\email\Generator.py", line 131, in _write self._dispatch(msg) File "C:\Python23\Lib\site-packages\email\Generator.py", line 157, in _dispatch meth(msg) File "C:\Python23\Lib\site-packages\email\Generator.py", line 200, in _handle_text raise TypeError, 'string payload expected: %s' % type(payload) TypeError: string payload expected: <type 'list'> ================== Is this something that the spammers are deliberately putting into their emails? I have the email (and several others that cause crashes), just didn't know if the list would take to kindly to have it attached to the message. Chris

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