While our spam filtering systems are effective, they occasionally produce false negatives—spam messages that reach the inbox undetected—or false positives, where valid emails are routed to junk. Reporting these errors is straightforward and directly improves detection for future messages. Forward false negatives in full to spam@aspnix.com; the engine scans them and tunes itself automatically. For false positives, open a support ticket with the department tied to your service and include the message headers or attach the original email. We coordinate with the filtering vendor for resolution. Whitelisting the sender or domain in SmarterMail prevents scanning altogether.

#Reporting False Negatives

False negatives allow unwanted mail, including potential phishing or malware, to bypass protections and land in inboxes. Prompt reporting supplies the filtering engine with concrete examples, enabling it to strengthen its signature and heuristic models. This feedback loop is essential because spam tactics evolve constantly; each report contributes to better global protection across all hosted domains.

Follow these steps to report effectively:

  • Open the spam message that evaded detection in your email client or webmail.
  • Forward the complete original message—including all headers and any attachments—to spam@aspnix.com. Do not copy and paste the body alone.
  • Send the forward without additional commentary in the new message body, as the engine parses the attached original.

The system ingests the message, extracts characteristics such as sender IP, subject patterns, and embedded links, then recalibrates thresholds. Multiple reports of similar campaigns accelerate learning. Common pitfall: stripping headers during forward, which removes the metadata required for accurate analysis.

#Reporting False Positives

False positives disrupt legitimate business or personal communication by hiding important messages in spam folders. Providing full diagnostic data allows our team to identify whether the issue stems from content scoring, DNS reputation, or temporary vendor list problems. We then work with the upstream filtering vendor to adjust rules without weakening overall spam defenses.

Execute the following process:

  • Open a support ticket using the department corresponding to your ASPnix service plan.
  • Include a clear description of why the email is legitimate and paste the full set of original headers.
  • Attach the message saved as an .eml file when possible; this preserves complete metadata for vendor review.

#Retrieving Email Headers

Headers contain delivery path, authentication results (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), and internal spam scores. Access them via client-specific commands: Outlook uses File > Properties; most web interfaces offer a "View headers" or "Show original" link. Copy everything from the first "Received" line down to the message body start.

Received: from mail.example.com (mail.example.com [192.0.2.1])
    by mx.aspnix.com with ESMTP id 9f3e4a; Tue, 16 Apr 2024 09:15:22 -0400
DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; d=example.com;
From: trusted@partner.com
To: user@yourdomain.com
Subject: Quarterly Report
X-Spam-Flag: YES
X-Spam-Score: 6.1

#Whitelisting Senders in SmarterMail

Whitelisting trusted addresses or domains instructs the filter to skip all scanning and deliver directly to the inbox. This is the preferred long-term solution for regular correspondents whose messages consistently trigger false positives due to attachments, HTML formatting, or shared IP pools.

Configure a whitelist entry with these steps:

  • Log into the SmarterMail web interface using your mailbox credentials.
  • Navigate to Settings, then select Spam Filter and locate the Whitelist tab.
  • Add individual email addresses or entire domains; domain entries cover all senders from that organization.
  • Save the changes. The updated list takes effect immediately for new incoming messages.

Avoid over-whitelisting broad domains, which can inadvertently admit future spam from compromised accounts. Review the list periodically.

#Best Practices and Takeaways

Check spam folders daily to catch false positives quickly. Provide precise, complete data in every report to shorten resolution time. Combine reporting with targeted whitelists for optimal results. Consistent user feedback refines the shared filtering engine, reducing both false negatives and positives across the platform. For deeper configuration options, consult the SmarterMail management guides available in your control panel.