Email filters for the Mac OS X Mail application

1. Open the Mail application.
2. From the Mail menu, select Preferences.
3. Click on the Rules icon.
4. Select Add Rule.
5. Give the rule a name, e.g., spamflag.
6. From the first pull-down menu, select Any.
7. From the second pull-down menu, select Edit Header List.
8. As the name of a new header, type: X-Spam-Flag
9. Select OK.
10. From the second pull-down menu, select X-Spam-Flag.
11. From the third pull-down menu, select Contains.
12. In the text box, type: YES.
13. Under Perform the following actions, select Transfer Message.
14. Choose your spam folder.
15. Select OK.

X-Spam-Level filter
An X-Spam-Level filter can be used to catch messages whose hits percentage is less than the 50% threshhold. You might want to create one if you feel that 50% is too high (doesn't catch enough spam). If you choose a threshhold that is not a multiple of 10 (e.g., 45%), you will need to create two of these filters instead of one. Before you construct a spam filter, be sure to set up a spam folder in the Inbox of your email client so that you can retrieve any legitimate messages caught by the filter.
WARNING: Be very careful if you create an X-Spam-Level filter. The lower the hits percentage you choose for filtering, the more likely you will mistakenly catch legitimate mail and send it to your spam folder.

To construct a spam filter based on the PureMessage X-Spam-Level header:

1. Open the Mail application.
2. From the Mail menu, select Preferences.
3. Click on the Rules icon.
4. Select Add Rule.
5. Give the rule a name, e.g., spamlevel.
6. From the first pull-down menu, select Any.
7. From the second pull-down menu, select Edit Header List..
8. As the name of a new header, type: X-Spam-Level.
9. Select OK.
10. From the second pull-down menu, select X-Spam-Level.
11. From the third pull-down menu, select Contains.
12. Type in your chosen hits percentage using the letters X and/or I:
    • If your percentage is a multiple of ten, type a number of X's equal to the tens digit of the percentage.
      For example, for 60%, you would type 6 X's (upper case):
      XXXXXX
    • If your percentage is not a multiple of ten, type in a number of X's equal to the tens digit followed by a number of I's equal to the ones digit.
      For example, for 65%, you would type 6 X's and 5 I's (upper case):
      XXXXXXIIIII
      NOTE: In this case, you will need to create a secondary filter (see below).
13. Under Perform the following actions, select Transfer Message.
14. Choose your spam folder.
15. Select OK.

If your hits percentage is not a multiple of 10, you will need to create a secondary filter:

1. From the Mail menu, select Preferences.
2. Click on the Rules icon.
3. Select Add Rule.
4. Give the rule a name different from the one above, e.g., spamlevel2.
5. From the first pull-down menu, select Any.
6. From the second pull-down menu, select Edit Header List..
7. As the name of a new header, type: X-Spam-Level.
8. Select OK.
9. From the second pull-down menu, select X-Spam-Level.
10. From the third pull-down menu, select Contains.
11. Type in a number of X's equal to one more than the tens digit of your chosen hits percentage.
    For example, for 65%, you would type 7 X's (upper case):
    XXXXXXX
12. Under Perform the following actions, select Transfer Message.
13. Choose your spam folder.
14. Select OK.

X-Virus-Detected filter
By using an X-Virus-Detected filter and creating a virus folder in the Inbox of your email client, you can retrieve legitimate messages that arrived with virus-laden attachments that were later removed by PureMessage. Be sure to set up your virus folder before you construct a virus filter.

To construct a virus filter based on the PureMessage X-Virus-Detected header:

1. Open the Mail application.
2. From the Mail menu, select Preferences.
3. Click on the Rules icon.
4. Select Add Rule.
5. Give the rule a name, e.g., virus.
6. From the first pull-down menu, select Any.
7. From the second pull-down menu, select Edit Header List..
8. As the name of a new header, type: X-Virus-Detected
9. Select OK.
10. From the second pull-down menu, select X-Virus-Detected.
11. From the third pull-down menu, select Contains.
12. In the text box, type: YES.
13. Under Perform the following actions, select Transfer Message.
14. Choose your virus folder.
15. Select OK.

Go to the PureMessage main page.

Content last updated September 2, 2004 by chk
Page last modified September 21, 2004 by cawalker