Knowledgebase

This article describes how to use the Spam Filters tool in cPanel to reduce the amount of unwanted e-mail (spam) in your e-mail accounts. Spam Filters (powered by Apache SpamAssassin™) is an automated filtering system that uses a variety of techniques to identify and filter spam messages.

Spam Filters

Spam can be a major annoyance, with messages filling up user inboxes. Additionally, spam messages can contain virus attachments or malicious links.

When you enable Spam Filters, powered by Apache SpamAssassin™, it uses scores to rate the likelihood that a message is spam. You can manage messages that Spam Filters marks as spam in a number of ways. For example, you can route messages marked as spam to specific folders, or you can automatically delete them.

Although you can configure Spam Filters to automatically delete messages marked as spam, A2 Hosting does not recommend enabling this feature. Instead, you should use a filtering rule that redirects suspected spam messages to a spam folder. 

Enabling Spam Filters

To enable Spam Filters in cPanel, follow these steps:

1. Log in to cPanel.
   If you do not know how to log in to your cPanel account, please see this article.
2. Open the Spam Filters tool:
   • If you are using the Jupiter theme, on the Tools page, in the Email section, click Spam Filters:

   • If you are using the Paper Lantern theme, in the EMAIL section of the cPanel home page, click Spam Filters:

3. On the Spam Filters page, click Process New Emails and Mark them as Spam.

4. To enable auto-deletion of spam messages, click Automatically Delete New Spam (Auto-Delete).

   • To change the deletion trigger level, click Configure Auto-Delete Settings. In the Auto-Delete Threshold Score text box, type the score number, and then click Update Auto-Delete Score.
     A lower score is more restrictive. For example, an auto-deletion score of 1 is very aggressive and deletes many messages. An auto-deletion score of 10 is more permissive and allows more messages through without deleting them.