SpamVault is our new and more powerful tool to help you block incoming spam - "unsolicited commercial email." Although SpamVault is very easy to use, it's also very powerful and if not used properly can delete email you may have wanted to receive. Please read these instructions before using SpamVault as we cannot retrieve lost email. We suggest that you take a few weeks of testing to get a better handle on how to use it effectively.

Begin by Adding an Entry:

SpamVault works a lot like Outlook Filters - you create "rules" to catch spam, and it does the rest.  The first step is to add an entry in the text box appropriately named, "Add an entry". An example of an entry would be a spammer's email address. SpamVault is not case sensitive, so you can use ALL CAPS or lower case - makes no difference. There are radio buttons called Block-triggers to the right of this box with the letters F,T,R,S & B next to them. These represent the area of the email that is used to trigger the blocking of the email. For instance, the "F" stands for email "From" someone. In the example here, we want to block any email coming "From" the email address spammer@spam.com, so we would make sure the radio button next to the "F" is checked.

The following are the areas of the email that can be blocked:

F = From (block email 'From' someone or some network)
T = To (block email sent 'To' someone at my domain)
H = Header (block email with special text in the 'Header' section of an email)
S = Subject (block email with this word or phrase in the 'Subject' of the email)
B = Body (block email with this word or phrase in the 'Body' of the email

Caution: We thought this would be a good time to warn you. As a beginner, we recommend that you only use the following characters in your entries as other characters will cause very predictable results (all bad). You can use the following characters: A - Z, a - z, 0 - 9, period (.), dash (-), Underscore (_), and the At symbol (@).

Here is what your entry should look like:

Type new entry here then click the Add Entry button
New Entry:	Trigger:
	From To Header Subject Body

Entries are sorted by the block triggers so that all your "From" entries will be together, etc. Once entered, your entry will show up on the list and looks as follows:

#	Blocked Entry	From	To	Head	Subj.	Body
01		F	T	H	S	B	BLOCK	ALLOW	DELETE

Editing an Existing Entry:

Once an entry is listed, you can change it in real time just by editing the information. For instance, if you wanted to test this entry to see if you were still getting email from this particular address, you might change the status from 'Block' to 'Allow'. You can edit as many entries as you wish but be sure to press the 'Update Entries' button after you're finished editing.

Configuration Section:

You can show or hide the configuration data of SpamVault by checking or clearing the box appropriately called "Show Configuration Data" located below the 'Update Entries' button.

Sample Configuration Data Section

Let's review the configuration section.

Where do you want your spam to go. You can delete your spam (AKA Never Never Land) or send it to a special file by placing a check in the box labeled, "Save my spam to a repository file". As this file grows it uses disk space, so it is always a good idea to 'Clear this file' regularly. You must press the 'Update Entries' button for these changes to take place. The quickest way to view your spam repository is to click on the link. See below on your spam email box which may help you recover any spam that should not have gotten blocked. We suggest you use this "save" option to start with so you can see what is being blocked and make sure nothing "good" is being filtered.

Log Blocked Spam. SpamVault can keep a log of all the emails that have gone through your account. As the log file grows, it also uses disk space, so it is always a good idea to 'Clear this file' regularly or uncheck "Keep an email log" which turns off the logging feature. You must press the 'Update Entries' button for these changes to take place.

When logging is on, SpamVault keeps a tab on how many spams it has blocked and is guaranteed to provide a personal sense of satisfaction.

Note: there is a limit to the size (set by your host) that SpamVault will be allowed to use for the repository and log files. If you reach this limit, the next time you open SpamVault you will see a warning notifying you of this that directs you to clear your log and repository files. Until the logs are cleared, SpamVault will then stop blocking spam and logging.

Blocking Executable Attachments:
Many viruses are delivered via executable email attachments. When checked, SpamVault will block email with executable attachments. This does not guarantee that you will not catch a virus or that SpamVault will catch every possible executable attachment, however, this is just another safeguard in your toolbox to prevent damage to your computer. This is not a replacement for virus protection software which we recommend you have installed on your own computer. Because different people have the need to block or allow different types of files, you can use the text boxs to designate which types of files you wish to block. Enter the file extension. Separate entries with a pipe symbol.- for example:
Note, do not put pipe symbols at the beginning or the end. Just use it to separate the entries.

Block Base64 Encoded Email: Spammers use special encoding called Base64 to bypass text based email filters. Virtually all base64 encoded email is spam. This option stops all Base64 email from getting into your email box. Note: Email attachments such as Word files are encoded with the email as Base64 but SpamVault will allow these to pass through.

Break Web-Bugs and Web Based Images: When a spammer sends HTML based email, they can include images that are pulled in from the internet when you open the email. Using special code these images can alert the spammer that you have opened the email and they have hit a live target. Unfortunately, these images can also be legitimate images such as logos in a letter from a business. SpamVault does NOT block these type of emails, it simply attempts to break the code referring to the image, leaving everything else intact. This option also does NOT block images sent as attachments.

Width of Text Boxes. Depending on the screen resolution you use and the length of your entries, you may wish to change the width of the text boxes used in the lis of blocked entries. Changing this number merely changes the width of these boxes. You must press the 'Update Entries' button for these changes to take place.

Spam Email Box

When you installed SpamVault on your account there was a new email box added to your account called spam (assuming that there wasn't one by that name there already). This new box is not like other email boxes in that you should not use it as an address for people to send email to. Instead, it is an easy way to review and manage the spam that has found it's way into your spam repository. For instance, let's say you blocked a piece of email that you wish to recover. You can go to your domain name/up ( for example: mydomain.com/up) in your browser to open webmail which will allow you to manage this new email box. The user name to type in is "spam" and the password is "spam". You can and should change the password via the mail manager in your control panel on your account.

Duplicates will be eliminated:

SpamVault will eliminate any duplicate entries. If the entry is the same but the block triggers are different, then they are not considered duplicates.

Hidden Benefit of SpamVault:

Your account uses bandwidth twice when you receive an email. When the email arrives at the server and when you retrieve it from the server. SpamVault completely eliminates the spam at the server so you will avoid using the extra bandwidth when you check your email. The less email traffic there is, the faster your web site is served up when people visit it.

Advanced SpamVault Features, and more Spam tips:

SpamVault is a very powerful tool, and has capabilities far beyond the basics listed here.  For more information, see Advanced SpamVault Features.  Also don't forget - the best way to avoid spam is to dodge it in the first place - use our Email Address Encoder to hide your mail addresses from the spammers.