One of the most powerful features of the OWT Mail Filter is the exception list. The exception list can be configured to:

• Allow messages recognized as spam that otherwise would have been dropped or stored in your spam box to pass through to your mail account.
• Drop messages that might otherwise have passed through the filter.
• Route messages that may or may not have passed through the filter to your spambox. Note: For the filter to evaluate the exceptions list the message first must be scored as spam by our system. This exception list will not be a way of dropping certain addresses from your Email unless the message is scored as spam.

To add an exception you may enter it any blank box in your list or click to the + button to create one. To delete an exception click the - button to the right of the exception. To save your list click on the Update button at the bottom of your list. When you click the + or - buttons your list will be saved as well so you do not need to click the Update button until you are done make changes. Exception List Actions Each exception is set with one of 3 actions:

• Allow - allow this exception to be delivered even if scored as spam
• Drop - drop this exception altogether
• Spambox - put this in my spambox even if it scored above my drop score

Matching Options Each exception address that you enter must be given a matching option from the following:

• Exactly Match - the entire address must match - exactly
• Begin With - the address must start with this exception
• Contain - somewhere in the address this string must exist
• End With - the address must end with this exception
• Do Not Contain - the address must not contain this string anywhere

This matching concept is really quite simple but often overlooked. If you wish to drop any message from users at mail.com (for example) you would enter the following:

Allow Ends With @mail.com

It is important to include the @ in this address so you do not also block email.com or even hotmail.com as well. To spambox any Email that is from friend@ any domain (you probably don't know anyone with that address and it is a common spam address) you would enter the following:

Spambox Begins With friend@

The Order Of Things The mail filter will read your exception list until it finds a match for the Email it is evaluating. It will then act on that match and then quit. For this reason you must put the more general exceptions at the bottom. The + button is there so that you can insert a new entry right AFTER the exception line with the + button. If you wanted to drop all mail from mail.com except from joe@mail.com you would then need to enter the following two exceptions:

Allow Exactly Match joe@mail.com Drop Ends With @mail.com

These must be in that order to work properly. Wildcards (Advanced Feature) The exception list supports some wildcard chacters for more advanced filtering. These wildcards should ONLY be used with the Contain or Do Not Contain match options!

• * - anthing up to or after this point - *public.com would match with public.com, mypublic.com and republic.com, public.* would match with public.mail.com, public.com, public.net, public.org etc.
• ? - match ANY SINGLE character here. To match any address with a two letter top level domain (like all foreign countries as well as .cc and .tv and others) you would enter *.??

Examples Action Addresses That Address Notes Drop Begin With @public.com Delete any mail from public.com Allow Exactly Match myfriend@hotmail.com Allow this person @hotmail.com to be delivered - NOTE: this must come BEFORE the global spambox rule below Spambox Begin With @hotmail.com Route all mail from hotmail.com to your spambox Drop End With @public.com Delete any mail from public.com Drop Begin With friend@ Delete any mail from friend at ANY domain Allow Exactly Match mylist@biglists.com Allow this mailing list address to be delivered even if scored as spam. Allow Contain disney Allow any address with disney in the address to be delivered. Careful - this is less useful than it looks Spambox Exactly Match *@mail.?? Route to your spambox any mail from any of the two-letter top level domain mail domains such as mail.ru or mail.cc