1.1 What does SpamAI do?

For example, if your Internet Service Provider uses a mail server called mail.myisp.com, SpamAI contacts mail.myisp.com to get your e-mail and filters it. SpamAI then holds the filtered mail for your e-mail client, such as Outlook to request the held email. After reading from SpamAI, Outlook then displays the e-mail as either spam or acceptable e-mail. Spam mail appears in Outlook with the prefix [Spam] in the subject line of the e-mail. Outlook is used only as an example; SpamAI works with all email clients.

• 200 MHz or faster Intel or AMD compatible CPU
• 64 Megabytes of memory, 256 recommended
• 100 meg of free disk space on install disk, 500 meg recommended
  • Received email messages above 1 Megabytes in size run best on more than minimum system
  • Disk space needed a function of monthly saved emails
• Windows 2000, 2003, XP, or Vista.
• one or more E-mail accounts (POP3 - the most common kind)
• any email client (Outlook, Outlook Express, Eudora, The Bat!, Netscape, Courier, Opera, etc.)
• Version 4 or later browser (Internet Explorer, Netscape, Firefox, Opera, etc. all OK)
• Dialup or always on connection to internet. Note that while SpamAI works with a dialup line once installed (especially useful when travelling), the professional installation itself requires a high speed internet connection and a separate voice line for you to converse with our installer.

An Internet address of the form imap.example.com or a web browser based e-mail system is not compatible. An Internet address of form mail.example.com may be compatible if the POP3 protocol is used.

You can contact your Internet service provider or network administrator if you are not sure your e-mail client is using a POP3 system. Another approach is just download and try the program since there is no obligation to try it out.

2.1 My firewall says SpamAI is connecting to the internet?

• SpamAI reads your e-mail from your mail server every 5 minutes for each account. This interval may shorten to a retry every 30 seconds if there is an error encountered on this server. If there is complete loss of internet connectivity (not just one server), a retry interval of every 2 seconds is invoked. Once error conditions are cleared, the e-mail retrieval returns to every 5 minutes.
• SpamAI also reads the SpamAI.com web site to determine if there are any rule or program updates every 30 minutes.

Additionally, SpamAI communicates between its two internal components (spamai.exe and python.exe) several times per second on port 5028.

You can return to the user interface at any time using one of these three methods:

• Click Windows Start >> Programs >> DAIR SpamAI >> Home
• Click the taskbar (tray) icon then click user interface
• Save a link to the browser window and then clock on that shortcut

The solution is close all the open browser windows before shutting down Windows 98.

3.1 How do I edit a global rule?

You may enter a NULLIFY rule in your local user rule file to "erase" a global rule or group of rules. For example, to nullify the global bulk:bang rule:

Click User >> User spam rules.  

Click "new".  

For fields enter

	diag code   NULLIFYbulk_bang
	scope       rules-to-apply
	definition  bulkbang

Click "add new"

New e-mail attacks require training regardless of technology. With Bayesian filters, you either have to receive a new spam and train the filter or hope that the new attack is similar enough to ones seen in the past that the system both learns *and* protects you. With SpamAI, your protection is based on the work of DAIR Computer Systems and SpamAI updating the rules before you see new spam or a potential virus.

Both systems have strengths. If ongoing protection is important to you with no outages for training or re-training, then SpamAI is superior.

• Your email client is setup for "keep-on-server". SpamAI does not support this client option. Once SpamAI has safely read the message, it is deleted on the upstream server (default setting -- see User >> Depot for keep on server options). If you want to save messages indefinitely, you must save them in your e-mail software.
• If SpamAI is refreshed or restarted while a download from upstream server is in progress, all the messages in that batch are re-read. This is a data integrity feature. Normal operation is to keep SpamAI running all the time.

Use Windows explorer to search for the email(s). Once you have located the emails you want, copy them to the ./mail/acct/mbox directory where acct is the account name and mbox is the individual mailbox directory. Use your email client to reread the email message.

Upgrading SpamAI program files

4.1 I cannot register online. Can you take my credit card over the phone?

Uninstalling SpamAI program files
To remove SpamAI program files:

• Disconnect from the internet
• Start SpamAI, if it is not already running
• Uninstall each user:
  • Read all e-mail in your e-mail software for the user
  • Change your email program to retrieve messages from the internet.
  • repeat for each user
• Exit SpamAI
• On the Windows taskbar, click Start > Control Panel.
• Double-click the Add or Remove Programs icon.
• Uninstall SpamAI. This removes the installed program, registry settings, and start menu entries. The archives, user configurations, and unprocessed email are not deleted.
• Re-connect to the internet
• (later) Once you are sure you do not need the data, delete the SpamAI directory and contents using Windows Explorer.