That sounds right on the money to me. My problem isn't false positives but building up the personal blacklist at all becasue the names are rarely used more than once.

Blacklisting domains, is another matter. Certianly worthwhile to blackilist the oddball domains.

I don't get a lot of false positives form the databases -- jsut lucky I guess. I just don't seem to get anything form FirstAlertt that I don't get form the others.

sh

Gary produced a starter blacklist some time ago at;

http://www.w5hq.com/MailWasher/MailWasherFilters.txt

Only thing to beware of is that the number that follows the blacklist entries is a date code, this number should be changed to 38502 (todays date) otherwise they will all immediately time out.

I think FirstAlert and probably other databases should be driven by "consensus", so if >100 people report the address, then it gets added to the list. Otherwise if someone blacklists castlecops.com for instance, then I guess that address ends up in the database and everyones messages from castlecops will be marked as spam. For all I know maybe FirstAlert already does that, but I have found a lot of legitimate mail order companies and shops were being marked as spam.

Hi All,

I've been a little quiet for a while but Ive been working hard and Im delighted to say that I have completed a new "Pro" version of BLScanPlus

This doesnt replace the current version, it is a parallel or alternative version that features a full windows based GUI instead of a console. The current version (what I now call the Classic version) is still available and will continue to be available for free.

You can install the Classic and Pro version separately (by installing into different install folders), but dont run both at the same time!

The Pro version is for all of you users who prefer windows GUI's and dialog boxes , it looks totally different to the Classic console version, but existing users will quickly recognize all of the familiar functions and options.

This is a Beta release, to read all about it and check it out go to the ProZone at www.dogsbyte.com/prozone.html

Feedback on this Beta version is always appreciated, so let me know if it flies like a dream or crashes and burns on first execution

The Pro version is donationware and you will be reminded of that frequently! The Beta is fully functional (i.e. not crippled in any way). I havent fully documented it yet, but give me time...

See screenshots at www.dogsbyte.com/proscreenshots.html


Note: BLScanPlus Pro requires Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0, which is currently available from microsoft.com as a Beta 2 version. If you dont like using windows Beta releases then probably best to wait until this becomes a full 2.0 release (it will then show up on windows update).

Thank you for such good idea, I was wondering if there was ever a solution to having such large list of black email. I will let cha know how it goes. I've used now Mailwasher for a few months and find it to be very effective and easy to use.

I tried the first part of the project, I believe assigning wild cards to what's already there in the "black list" and, even though I finished the project with flying colors, I found it very cumbersome to follow and perform the directions, I know that it has nothing to do with what the software or program was designed to do, it is more that for an average user like me, the instructions and or software capabilities might be a little over my head.
I will give it a go with the rest of the instructions at some point, but like I say, dabbing into DOS like instructions really are not my cup of tea...
Thank you though for having developed such great aid to MW.

Justed,

This software originally started out as some command line utilities, I later wrapped these in a shell. But the next version (3.0) has a full windows GUI, so I hope you'll find that a lot easier to use.

Pat

I continue to get the same BLConv Error:
Input File Cannot Be Called The Same Name as the output File.

Any help on this one?

Assuming you have Mailwasher or MailwasherPro selected on the Settings tab, the input file should be shown as being the Mailwasher blacklist file, this is typically something like;

C:\Documents and Settings\YourName\Application Data\MailwasherPro\Blacklist.txt

the output files will be called BLConvF.txt (filters) and BLConvL.txt (log).

I checked the code and that error is written if the blacklist file box is set as either of these names. An easy way to avoid any naming conflicts is to set "Timestamp Output Files" on the Settings tab. You can also select "Always read Blacklist/Trash files from this location" to ensure you pick up the right input file.

PM me if you still have problems.

Pat

I have a question please.
I belong to a geneology group that I receive mail from numerous times a day. They first go through a moderator and are then posted to us. The only thing that is the same on every email is the TO: line. THere is also 1 line of text in the body. Other then that they are all different. Mailwasher alway Blacklists them and I have to uncheck them. can this program help me with this? I can forward one of them to you if neccessary.
Thanks for your time,
Irv

irvdk, kind of off topic for this discussion that is about blacklist management tools.

Rather than confusing things here why don't you start a new topic in mailwasher troubleshooting/general and you'll get some help.

Ok, Thanks.
Now I have a question that is on topic!
I just installed BL Scan. I can't figure out how to manually add a domain to the blacklist?
Irv

To manually add it you can do it two ways;

In Mailwasher, click on Spam Tools -> My Blacklist, then click Add and either put the exact address or specify a wildcard.

The alternative is to edit your blacklist file directly and add the entry into the file, (without disturbing the format of the file). The path to your blacklist file is shown a the bottom of the Help-About dialog box, but make sure that Mailwasher is not running when you edit the file.