Date: Sat, 12 Apr 2008 07:09:31 +0100 From: Matthew Seaman <m.seaman@infracaninophile.co.uk> To: Robert Davison <rob_27_preston@yahoo.co.uk> Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Milters or SpamAssassin plugings Message-ID: <4800521B.1080709@infracaninophile.co.uk> In-Reply-To: <501581.61074.qm@web25009.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> References: <501581.61074.qm@web25009.mail.ukl.yahoo.com>
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Robert Davison wrote:
> I'm running the base Sendmail with Mailscanner and SpamAssassin from
> the ports.
>=20
> A simple question....
>=20
> I'm installing SPF to help the fight against spam.
>=20
> Which is the most efficient way of doing it.....Sendmail milter or
> the p5-Mail SpamAssassin plug-in. They both do the same, but is one a
> better way than the other ?
Ah -- actually there is a crucial difference in the way SpamAssassin
and milter-spf work. SpamAssassin uses the SPF status of a message
to add to the spam score it calculates -- typically, a message which
passes all the SPF checks has an approximately zero result on Spam
scoring, as will a message where there is no SPF stuff available at all;
but one which fails the SPF tests will get about 3 spam points. (Which
means that even a message failing SPF checks can be passed as ham)
milter-spf however operates in a binary fashion -- anything that fails
is rejected, anything that passes is accepted.
In general I prefer the SpamAssassin behaviour -- not all the world has
immediately accepted SPF as a good tool against spam; there are any numbe=
r
of edge cases where a legitimate message can contradict what the SPF
settings say (mail forwarding is a particular problem) and one of the
groups that has adopted SPF most wholeheartedly are in fact, the Spammers=
themselves.
SpamAssassin processing is however much heavier on system resources than
milter-spf.
Cheers,
Matthew
--=20
Dr Matthew J Seaman MA, D.Phil. 7 Priory Courtyard
Flat 3
PGP: http://www.infracaninophile.co.uk/pgpkey Ramsgate
Kent, CT11 9PW
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