[mdlug] how did you learn Spam Assassin? (and sendmail?)

[Rich Clark <rrclark@rrclark.net>]

On Wed, 17 Oct 2007, Adam Tauno Williams wrote:

> > Hello, if you are fluent with writing rules, blocking spam, and keeping
> > the email coming through without many false positives, how did you get
> > to that point?   Just online resources, and tinkering?   Are there any
> > books?
> 
> Ditch all the complex wizardly stuff is my advice. 
> 
> I've got a network with ~200 users and we get very little SPAM.  I
> publish my address EVERYWHERE on the internet, I don't hide it at all.
> And if I get a dozen SPAM messages it is a really bad day.
> 
> Edge device, a nothing computer with 256Mb of RAM, runs greylist +
> noattach + SPAMCop, and relays surviving messages into the real SMTP
> server.  The real SMTP server runs anti-virus and only quarantines 2 to
> 4 messages a day.
> 
> Occasionally I've had to add a domain to the greylist because their SMTP
> servers are broken, but beyond that there is no fiddling or maintenance.
> 
> > The system we have at work is always completely bogged down. 
> 
> Isn't that the purpose of SpamAssasin?
>

SpamAssassin has its place, but in my opinion, it should be the last check 
performed before delivery. I reject a ton of spam simply checking for 
invalid helo addresses, local access lists, greylisting, and filtering 
with Spamhaus' Zen. SpamAssassin mops up the stragglers that make it 
through.