Slamming Spam: A Guide for System Administrators

Conclusion

Spam is a problem that is not going to be solved by technical means alone. The best that can be done right now is to make the problem “less bad.” Many methods to fight spam are currently in use, of which the most promising to date is the Bayesian statistical analysis approach. Another useful method in wide use is the content analysis approach taken by programs like SpamAssassin. Using a “defense in depth” strategy with a number of anti-spam solutions working together results in the best spam catch rate with the lowest false positive rate.

Designing an anti-spam architecture can be a complex task, given the wide variety of hardware and software in existing mail systems today. The most important step is to analyze the organization’s ...