"Mark as SPAM" after "IMPORTANT: Removed Bayesian spam filtering."

Question asked by Webio - 4/29/2018 at 9:17 AM

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Hello,

I see that in latest release notes across all versions bayesian spam filtering has been removed. Does this mean that also mark as spam button has been also removed? If not then what does this button now do? I'm also wondering why this filtering has been removed. Not usable anymore?

Thanks

12 Replies

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Webio Replied

4/30/2018 at 2:03 AM

Also interesting is that in 17.x beta it was described as:

"REMOVED: CRITICAL -- Removed Bayesian spam filtering."

Tina Cline Replied

4/30/2018 at 6:17 AM

Yes! Please advise why this filter is being removed.

kevind Replied

4/30/2018 at 6:30 AM

Webio, good questions that could use an explanation.

I'm guessing 'Mark as spam' still moves a message to the spam folder, but not too useful as you could do that with drag/drop.

Employee Replied

4/30/2018 at 4:59 PM

Employee Post

Hi everyone,

Through recent testing, we've identified a major flaw with the Bayesian filter implementation, and as a result of our investigation, Bayesian filtering has been removed from SmarterMail 17.x (currently in BETA), 16.x and 15.x. We can no longer offer support for the Bayesian filtering spam check since it is fundamentally flawed and cannot be corrected without a complete re-write. For installations running 14.x and older, we strongly advise disabling the Bayesian filter check indefinitely.

Please note that the performance of the Bayesian filtering within SmarterMail has been surpassed by other methods of spam detection, such as MessageSniffer and Cyren. These two platforms leverage hashing functionality along with heuristically-based analytics to more accurately detect and stop spam messages from being delivered. In short, Bayesian filtering is a relic of older days. You could consider it the horse and carriage compared to the automobile that is modern spam protection. That said, those who still wish to implement Bayesian filtering may benefit from reviewing eFa project, a third-party, open-source filter that includes Bayesian and dedicated Spamassassin.

Regarding the Mark as Spam option... This button will be removed in the next releases of 17.x, 16.x and 15.x. Currently, its only function is to move the selected messages to the Junk Email folder.

In future versions, you will have the following options for managing messages in your Inbox:

Block Sender can be used to move all selected messages to the Junk Email folder. It will also add the senders' email addresses to the Internal Blocked Senders content filter, which will send all future messages from those senders to the Junk Email folder. This will allow you to clear out messages from your Inbox and prevent those senders from reaching your Inbox again.
Mark Not Spam will be added back as an option for messages in the Inbox. When this option is selected for Inbox messages, the senders' email addresses will be added to the user's Trusted Senders list. This will be useful for messages that have been indicated as spam by the spam filter action Add Text to Subject. While we can't get rid of the subject text that was added on delivery, this provides a quick way add those senders to your Trusted Senders list, allowing future messages from those senders to skip spam filtering.

In future versions, you will have the following options for managing messages in Junk Email:

Unblock Sender will move the selected messages to the Inbox and remove the senders' email addresses from the Internal Blocked Senders list. (When this option is used on messages in other folders, it will simply remove the entry from the Internal Blocked Senders filter list.)
Mark Not Spam will move the selected messages to Inbox, add the senders' email addresses to the user's Trusted Sender list, and remove the email addresses from Internal Blocked Senders, if applicable.

These changes should be coming soon and will provide users an easy method for managing spam in the Inbox and whitelisting messages from trusted senders. Please let us know your thoughts!

Joe Wolf Replied

4/30/2018 at 6:31 PM

If "Block Sender" only sends messages to Junk E-Mail then it shouldn't be called "Block Sender" since it blocks nothing. You could call it "Mark as SPAM" and then the description would be accurate.

Why would you call it "Block Sender" when it does NOT block the sender? Makes no sense to me. Also this is going to really piss off existing customers that actually use the Block Sender option to block hundreds or thousands of messages a day.

-Joe

John Marx Replied

5/1/2018 at 5:16 AM

Right now Block Sender adds to the internal list. The Mark as Spam all it does is move the message. So Reality is it is better to Block Sender and then just click Delete.

Hemen Shah Replied

5/1/2018 at 8:37 AM

By when block sender and mark as not spam is expected for 15.x ?

Gabriele Maoret Replied

5/2/2018 at 4:29 AM

there's a plan to reintroduce a better Bayesian filter in the future?

We know that there's MessageSniffer and Cyren, but Bayesian Filter was integrated in SmarterMail "free of charge" when and the others aren't...

Otherwise you will have to review (or even delete) the phrase that claims "SmarterMail includes multi-layer, enterprise level spam filtering that achieves 97% protection out of the box", or at least indicate which settings are ideal for reach this performance ...

Otherwise it will be maximum a "SmarterMail includes multi-layer, enterprise level spam filtering that achieves 50-60% protection out of the box"...

David O'Leary Replied

5/2/2018 at 9:25 AM

That's disappointing. The spam in my inbox has gone up 50% since I upgraded to the version that removes Bayesian. I really need a better spam solution but the cost and effort involved makes me wonder if I should just ditch SmarterMail and switch all the accounts to Google Apps or similar.
[update] nevermind on the effort part, it was really simple to start a free trial of Message Sniffer. https://portal.smartertools.com/kb/a2993/activate-a-free-trial-for-the-message-sniffer-add-on.aspx

Owner of Efficion Consulting

Employee Replied

5/3/2018 at 7:41 AM

Employee Post Marked As Answer

Thank you all for your feedback! We have discussed some more changes and are open for modifications to these features. However, because there are so many threads throughout the Community relating to the Block Sender / Mark Spam functionality, we are creating one centralized thread to continue the discussion and ensure we are meeting your needs. This thread and other threads related to the topic will be Locked so we can continue this discussion in one place.

Please review our proposed changes, and participate in the discussion or Subscribe for updates:

DISCUSSION: Block Sender / Mark Spam Functionality

Thank you!!

Employee Replied

5/3/2018 at 7:46 AM

Employee Post

Joe, John, please see my reply below. We will be continuing this discussion on a centralized thread.

Hemen, I'm not sure whether the Block Sender changes will be made in SmarterMail 15.x as well. I'm hoping so, but I'll have to keep you updated on what I hear.

David, sorry to hear you're receiving an influx in spam. However, I'm not sure why that would be. When removing Bayesian filtering, we didn't remove any potential scoring or any other spam designations that had accumulated on previous installs. We removed only the ability to use Mark Spam going forward. That said, I'm glad to see that you were able to start a Message Sniffer trial. This should provide an improvement to spam protection on your installation.

Employee Replied

5/3/2018 at 7:59 AM

Employee Post

Hi Gabriele. At this time, I have not heard any discussions about re-introducing Bayesian filtering. While the Cyren and Message Sniffer antispam add-ons do help achieve great spam protection, please understand that there are a variety of solutions available using the built-in tools as well. If you haven't already, I would encourage you to review the antispam guide from Mail's Best Friend. You can learn more from this Community thread: https://portal.smartertools.com/community/a90223/spam-filtering-bruce-vs_-mails-best-friend.aspx.

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