Inside a SpamAssassin Report



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Inside a SpamAssassin Report
By Janet Roberts

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Here's your inside look at how a legitimate newsletter can trip a spam filter, thanks once again to Dave Balch, who publishes Big Bucks in a Bathrobe.

Dave's sister receives his newsletter at her work address, where the SpamAssassin mail filter scans each incoming email, scores it according to its list of likely spam ploys and sends high-scoring emails to the recipient's junk-mail folder, along with a report listing each problem.

Being a good sister, she sent him the report, which we have reproduced here, although with some reformatting to make it work in our template. We also included part of Dave's newsletters, so you can see which elements triggered the spam filter.

How does your newsletter match up? (My FoodWords newsletter would be right on the edge. I might have to get rid of my gappy text and add a personalization line and a copyright notice, but I'm keeping the unsubscribe line.)

This report appears at the top of the email with the newsletter:

SPAM: -------------------- Start SpamAssassin results -------------
SPAM: This mail is probably spam. The original message has been
altered
SPAM: so you can recognise or block similar unwanted mail in future.
SPAM: See http://spamassassin.org/tag/ for more details.
SPAM:
SPAM: Content analysis details: (18.8 hits, 7.5 required)
SPAM: X_EM2.31PRESENT (1.3 points) Found a X-EM-Version header
SPAM: X_EM_REGISTRATION (1.2 points) Found a X-EM-Registration
header
SPAM: FROM_ENDS_IN_NUMS (0.4 points) From: ends in numbers
SPAM: HOME_EMPLOYMENT (2.9 points) BODY: Information on how to
work at home (2)
SPAM: GAPPY_TEXT (0.4 points) BODY: Contains
'G.a.p.p.y-T.e.x.t'
SPAM: REMOVAL_INSTRUCTIONS (4.2 points) BODY: Gives instructions
for removal from list
SPAM: DOUBLE_CAPSWORD (1.1 points) BODY: A word in all caps
repeated on the line
SPAM: FREE_MONEY (0.2 points) BODY: Free money!
SPAM: CLICK_BELOW (1.5 points) BODY: Asks you to click
below
SPAM: COPYRIGHT_CLAIMED (-1.3 points) BODY: Contains a claim of
copyright
SPAM: DEAR_SOMEBODY (-0.7 points) BODY: Contains 'Dear
Somebody'
SPAM: NO_EXPERIENCE (4.2 points) BODY: No experience needed!
SPAM: EXCUSE_14 (0.4 points) BODY: Tells you how to stop
further
SPAM: REMOVE_PAGE (2.2 points) URI: URL of page called
"remove"
SPAM: CLICK_HERE_LINK (0.8 points) BODY: Tells you to click on
a URL
SPAM: -------------------- End of SpamAssassin results ------------

Here's the top of Dave's newsletter:

A FREE electronic magazine... July 17, 2002
=============================================
B I G B U C K S I N A B A T H R O B E
Make More Money & Have More Fun With Your Small Business!
=============================================
Publisher: Dave Balch, 'The Stay-at-Home CEO'(tm)

Check out this endorsement!!!

'David made over $5 million at home and wants to help you do
the same or more' Mark Victor Hanson, co-creator of the #1
best selling 'Chicken Soup for the Soul' series

(Scroll to end for subscribe / unsubscribe instructions)
============================================
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT! SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT!

The 'Big Bucks Boutique' is now open! Resources and materials
that will help you 'Make More Money and Have More Fun' with your
business are now available online with secure ordering. Take a
look now! Limited time... FREE T-SHIRT WITH ANY ORDER OVER
$30!

http://www.TheStayAtHomeCEO.com/boutique.htm

============================================
I n T h i s I s s u e . . .
============================================

1. A 'Quickie' - Personal Observation
2. Feature: Article
'Your Secret Weapon'
3. Feature: 'Ask Dave' - Can I help with a business problem?
MLM Liability Issue
4. Feature: 'Meanwhile, back at the ranch...'
Lily in prime form
5. About 'Big Bucks in a Bathrobe' Newsletter
6. Who the Heck am I, Anyway?
7. How to Subscribe / Unsubscribe

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
PLEASE FORWARD THIS to each of your friends who have small or
home-based businesses; they'll LOVE you for it! (Be sure they
know it's from you, or they'll think I spammed 'em!) Thanks!
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Did you spot the gappy text, copyright, double-caps word and click-here instructions? Some of the other "problems" were in the body copy we trimmed for length.

Still, you get the idea.

In the previous Ezine-Tip, I gave you SpamAssassin's complete list of "rules" and their point values. If you missed it, here's that column again.

Ezine-Tips for August 13, 2002

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Inside a SpamAssassin ReportBy Janet Roberts

Inside a SpamAssassin Report
By Janet Roberts