The spam filter provides you with an extensive range of settings options for effectively blocking email with undesirable content or from undesirable senders (e.g. mass email senders). The program checks for numerous email characteristics that are typical of spam. These characteristics are used to calculate a value reflecting the likelihood of it being spam. You can use the Use spam filter button to enable or disable the spam filter. In order to switch the different filter types of the spam filter on or off, simply set or remove the checkmark in front of the respective entry. To make changes to the various filters, simply click on the respective entry. A dialogue window then opens in which you can vary corresponding settings. The following settings options are available:

•Spam OutbreakShield: OutbreakShield detects and neutralises threats from malware in mass mailings before updated virus signatures become available. OutbreakShield uses the Internet to monitor increased volumes of suspicious email, enabling it to close the window between the mass mail outbreak and its containment with specially adapted virus signatures, practically in real time.

If you use a computer downstream from a proxy server, click on the Internet settings button to configure and carry out the relevant changes. You should change these settings only if your OutbreakShield doesn't function.

•Whitelist: Certain sender addresses or domains can be explicitly excluded from spam testing via the Whitelist. Simply enter the email address (e.g. newsletter@infosite.com) or domain (e.g. infosite.com) that you want to exclude from suspected spam in the Addresses/Domains field and the G Data software will process messages from that sender or sender domain as not spam. You can use the Import button to insert predefined lists of email addresses or domains into the whitelist. Each address or domain must be listed on a separate line. A plain txt file format is used for storing this list; you can create this list using Windows Notepad for example. You can also use the Export button to export whitelists as text files.

•Blacklist: Certain sender addresses or domains can be explicitly flagged as suspected spam via the blacklist. Simply enter the email address (e.g. newsletter@megaspam.de.vu) or domain (e.g. megaspam.de.vu) that you want to check for spam in the Addresses/Domains field and the G Data software will generally process emails from that sender or sender domain as email with a very high spam probability. You can use the Import button to insert predefined lists of email addresses or domains into the blacklist. Each address or domain must be listed on a separate line. A plain txt file format is used for storing this list; you can create this list using Windows Notepad for example. With the Export button you can export blacklists as text files.

•Use real-time blacklists: You can find lists on the Internet that contain the IP addresses of servers known to send spam. The G Data software uses queries to the real-time blacklists to determine whether the sending server is listed. If it is, this increases the probability that it is spam. In general you should use the default settings here, although you can add your own Internet addresses to blacklists 1, 2, and 3.

•Use keywords (email text): You can also identify suspected spam messages through the words in the email text by defining a list of keywords. If at least one of these terms is included in the email text, the spam probability increases.

You can change this list how you want by using the Add, Change and Delete buttons. You can add predefined lists of keywords to your list using the Import button. Entries in such a list must be listed one below the other in separate lines. A plain txt file format is used for storing this list; you can create this list using Windows Notepad for example. You can also use the Export button to export such a list of keywords as a text file. By checking Match whole words only, you can specify that the G Data software will only search for complete words in the subject line of an email. Thus, for example, a term such as cash would fall under suspicion as spam whereas the general cashew nuts would be allowed to pass.

•Use keywords (subject): You can also identify suspected spam messages through the text in the subject line by defining a list of keywords. An occurrence of at least one of the listed terms in the subject line increases the spam probability.

•Use content filter: The content filter is a self-learning filter that calculates spam probability on the basis of words used in the email text. This filter not only works on the basis of predefined word lists but also learns from each new email received. You can view the word lists that are used by the content filter for identifying email as spam via the Query table contents button. You can delete all words in this table by using the Reset tables button, after which the content filter will restart its learning process again from the beginning.