The Filters tab is at the heart of PostArmor functions
PostArmor uses for its evaluations a list of Rule sets, each with its specific weight (the importance for considering
a message as spam), and a list of Rules that can be applied, typically related to each other when grouped in a single rule set:
the upper part of the dialog handles the creation, removal and modification of Rule sets
- New and Remove buttons add or delete a rule set from the list
- Name is a descriptive name for the set: it helps the user to remember what that particular rule set checks
- Relation describes the type of relation that is applied between the rules internal to a specific set:
- Or means that the weight assigned to this set is applied if any of the rules is true
- And means that the weight assigned to this set is applied only if all the rules are true
- Sum means that the final weight assigned to this set is the sum of all the rules that are true
- Enabled when checked, the rule set is enabled, otherwise it is skipped during evaluation
The final score assigned to a message is the sum of all the weights collected through the evaluation: that is, if two or more sets
are found true, the final score will be their sum.
The lower part of the window relates to the Rules contained in the set selected in the upper part
- New and Remove buttons add or delete a rule from the list
- Header is the part of the message where the check is done (typically the subject): a value of "Any" will
check all the available parts (but not the contents! PostArmor tries to avoid downloading the content as much as possible)
- Match describes the type of match that is applied between the header and the given data:
- Contains means that the rule evaluates as true if the specified header contains the data
- Doesn't contain means that the rule evaluates as true if the specified header doesn't contain the data
- Is my address means that the rule evaluates as true if the specified header contains the address of the user:
no data is needed
- Isn't my address means that the rule evaluates as true if the specified header doesn't contain the
address of the user: again, no data is needed
- Data is the data against which the test of the rule is done: it could be a simple string (evaluated as it is,
ignoring the case) or a more sophisticated regular expression (see below)
- RE if checked, means that the data have to be considered a regular expression and not as a simple string:
regular expressions (also known as patterns) are well known to programmers (languages as Perl make them a primary tool), as they represent a powerful
way to condense complex searches without the need to specify them one by one. See the documentation for links that explain more
on regular expressions
Copyright © 2002 P.Manna