• message headers - most junk email messages employ one of many possible techniques to mask their identities and to fool recipients into thinking that a message is valid; SpamStopper FM recognizes these techniques, and responds accordingly
• body text - while the millions of commercial spam messages are constantly changing, they often have a characteristic style. SpamStopper FM can recognize these elements as well as messages that have previously been identified as spam.
• message signature - SpamStopper FM builds upon leading collaborative spam-tracking databases, which assign digital signatures to common messages and which are continuously updated via the contribution of many thousands of users.
• blacklists - SpamStopper FM incorporates many existing "blacklists" of known spammers or spam relays, including the databases at mail-abuse.org, ordb.org and others.
• URI lists - SpamStopper FM incorporates third-party and its own lists of web addresses, phone numbers, and other unique identifying elements advertised by spammers.

Together, these elements provide a proven, effective process by which SpamStopper FM is able to identify a very high percentage of junk email messages, with a very low incidence of false positives.

Keep in mind that with a very aggressive posture – in which a very high percentage of spam is detected – there is a greater likelihood of “false positives”, i.e. legitimate messages that are considered spam. Conversely, with a less aggressive posture, a higher number of spam messages may not be detected as such, but there is a lower chance of any false positives.SpamStopper FM offers six settings for how aggressive it is in determining whether a message is spam:

1. Very High - an extremely aggressive setting in which almost all spam (in most cases well over 99%) is detected; however, false positives are likely to result unless whitelists are used widely.

2. High - a common setting by which a high percentage of spam (typically upwards of 98%) is detected. False positives can occur on occasion with certain types of emails - messages sent via compromised (open relay) mail servers, marketing communications that are very aggressive in tone, and other mail that includes "spam-like" elements. However, most of these false positives are non-critical and are sent by the same sources repeatedly (e.g., periodic marketing announcements from an existing vendor). Given the ease of whitelisting these sources, this relatively aggressive posture can allow for a very low number of false positives while continuing to detect a very high percentage of spam.

3. Medium -- typically between 95% and 98% of spam is detected. False positives are very rare.

4. Low - a non-aggressive setting in which typically between 90% and 95% of spam is detected, with almost no chance of any false positives.

5. Very Low - this setting is typically used only by individuals who receive a significant number of emails from sources such as foreign countries known for a high percentage of spam, organizations or mail servers that are known spammers, etc. This setting is generally not recommended.

6. Unfiltered - messages will not be detected or handled as spam.

• The first option is for SpamStopper FM to simply drop the message. This reduces the bandwidth requirementsfor your network, reduces the load on your mail server, and reduces the time that would otherwise bespent by staff or administrators dealing with junk mail.
• The second option is for SpamStopper FM to modify the subject line of messages that are detected as spam,and forward them to the end-user. This is a common approach for many companies. SpamStopper FM addsthe phrase "**SPAM**" to the beginning of the subject line for detected spam messages. Email usersset up a simple filter in their email program (see below) that automatically forwards detected spammessages to a specific 'Spam' folder for periodic review. In the rare case that a message tagged as spam is a "false positive" (i.e. is not spam), the user can click on an embedded link to add the sender to awhitelist.
• The third option is for SpamStopper FM to redirect all the junk mail to a single e-mail address at your domain,i.e. spam@yourcompany.com. This allows for administrator-level review.
• The fourth option is for SpamStopper FM to redirect junk mail to individual, password-protected junk mailquarantine areas that can be reviewed at any time by end users. This reduces the bandwidthrequirements for an organization's network as well as the load on its mail server(s). Note thatorganizations must provide SpamStopper FM with the valid email addresses and passwords for the domain(s)to enable end users to log in to the quarantine.

Note that the handling of spam can be configured on a domain-wide basis, or for individual users.

In order for users to access the Webadmin, they will need a username (their email address) and password. A username and password can be set up for each user in one of several ways; please see the section below on User Management.

Note that whitelisting a domain will also whitelist all subdomains for that domain. For example, if a customer whitelists example.com that will include emails from subdomains like news@newsletters.example.com.

Whitelists and blacklists can be applied to an individual SpamStopper FM user, or to an entire domain. Individual users can only apply whitelists and blacklists to their individual email addresses; system administrators and authorized SpamStopper FM Partners have the ability to establish whitelists and blacklists for individual users and/or for domain-wide use.

1) A system administrator or authorized SpamStopper FM Partner can add or remove user accounts, via the Junk Mail Control Center.

2) SpamStopper FM can mirror the usernames and passwords already established on the customer’s mail server. This is typically handled via LDAP integration, but can be customized to meet the needs of a customer’s infrastructure; please contact SpamStopper FM or your authorized SpamStopper FM Partner for details.

3) SpamStopper FM can provide the customer with a web services application by which the customer can programmatically control usernames and preferences within SpamStopper FM. Please contact SpamStopper FM or your authorized SpamStopper FM Partner for documentation or assistance with this.

4) SpamStopper FM can automatically establish a username and password for an end user, the first time that the user adds a sender to a whitelist via the “Rewrite spam to include whitelist option” described above.