What is SpamFoo
SpamFoo is a newer kind of spam filter built into our SmarterMail email system. Traditional spam filters look for warning signs such as suspicious words, known spam senders, unusual links, and patterns found in previously identified junk mail. SpamFoo adds another layer of protection by using artificial intelligence to consider the message as a whole—what it says, why it appears to have been sent, and whether its overall purpose seems legitimate. This can help it identify convincing spam and phishing messages that may look normal at first glance. It can also learn from users when they move unwanted messages to Junk Email or return legitimate messages to the Inbox.
Help Make Your Spam Filter Smarter: How to Train SpamFoo
No spam filter is perfect. Sometimes an unwanted message reaches your Inbox, while a legitimate email is mistakenly placed in your Junk Email folder.
Our email system now uses SpamFoo, an AI-assisted spam filter that can learn from the way you handle your messages. Unlike older filters that rely mainly on keywords and lists of known spammers, SpamFoo also examines the context and apparent purpose of a message. It works alongside the other security checks built into SmarterMail.
The good news is that you do not need to understand how any of this technology works. You can help train the filter with two simple actions.
The Two Moves That Train SpamFoo
Unwanted email in your Inbox?
Move it to your Junk Email folder.
Legitimate email in your Junk Email folder?
Move it back to your Inbox.
That is the most important thing to remember.
Moving messages into and out of the Junk Email folder gives SpamFoo feedback about what you consider spam. The correction begins affecting your mailbox immediately and helps SpamFoo recognize similar messages in the future.
Don’t Just Delete Spam
Deleting a spam message removes it, but it does not teach the filter as effectively as moving it to Junk Email.
When spam appears in your Inbox:
- Select the message.
- Move it to the Junk Email folder.
- Do not open attachments or click links in the message.
You can delete the message from Junk Email later. The important step is putting it into Junk first.
SmarterMail specifically uses the Move to Junk action to help its spam-filtering systems recognize the sender and message content as possible spam.
Training SpamFoo in Microsoft Outlook
You do not have to log in to SmarterMail webmail to train SpamFoo. Moving messages between your Inbox and Junk Email folders from Outlook also provides the necessary feedback.
To report spam in Outlook
Use whichever method is easiest:
- Drag the message from your Inbox into the Junk Email folder.
- Right-click the message and choose an available Junk or Report Junk option.
- Select the message and use Outlook’s Junk command.
Afterward, make sure the message appears in the Junk Email folder belonging to the same email account.
To rescue a good message from Junk
- Open your Junk Email folder.
- Find the legitimate message.
- Drag it to your Inbox or choose Not Junk.
- Confirm that it has returned to your Inbox.
SmarterTools has confirmed that moving messages between Inbox and Junk can train SpamFoo when the move is made through an email client such as Outlook, not only through SmarterMail webmail.
Training SpamFoo in SmarterMail Webmail
When using SmarterMail in a web browser:
To mark a message as spam
- Select or open the message.
- Click Move to Junk.
- The message will be placed in your Junk Email folder.
To mark a message as legitimate
- Open the Junk Email folder.
- Select or open the legitimate message.
- Click Move to Inbox.
SmarterMail changes the Move to Junk button to Move to Inbox when you are viewing a message that is already in the Junk Email folder.
Check Your Junk Email Folder Regularly
We recommend checking your Junk Email folder periodically, especially when you are expecting something important, such as:
- An invoice or payment confirmation
- A password reset or verification code
- An appointment reminder
- A message from a government agency
- An order or shipping update
- A newsletter you requested
- A message from a new customer, vendor, or business contact
If you find a legitimate message there, move it to your Inbox. Do not simply read it and leave it in Junk. Moving it out is what tells SpamFoo that the message was incorrectly classified.
One Correction May Not Be Enough
SpamFoo learns patterns over time. Correcting one message helps, but you may need to correct several similar messages before the filter consistently recognizes your preference.
For example, if a legitimate weekly notification repeatedly lands in Junk, continue moving it back to your Inbox. Repeated corrections help SpamFoo build a stronger understanding of that sender and type of message. SpamFoo’s documentation notes that a single correction may have limited influence, while several similar corrections can create a noticeable improvement.
Spam or Just an Unwanted Newsletter?
Not every unwanted email is necessarily fraudulent spam.
If you recognize the company and remember requesting its messages, using its legitimate Unsubscribe link may be the best solution. This tells the company to stop sending the email rather than relying on the spam filter.
However, never click an unsubscribe link in a suspicious message. Fake unsubscribe links can be used in phishing attempts. If you do not recognize or trust the sender, move the message to Junk without clicking anything inside it. CISA recommends avoiding links and attachments—including unsubscribe links—in suspicious messages.
What About Blocked or Trusted Senders?
Most users do not need to manage blocked-sender or trusted-sender lists to train SpamFoo.
Start with the simpler approach:
- Move unwanted mail to Junk.
- Move legitimate mail from Junk to your Inbox.
Blocking a sender creates a more permanent instruction. Adding a trusted sender can also cause future messages to bypass many spam checks. Those tools can be useful, but they should be used more carefully than ordinary SpamFoo training.
If an important sender continues to be filtered after you have corrected several messages, contact us so we can investigate before you create broader exceptions.
When Should You Contact Chroma Studios?
Please make a support ticket us when:
- An expected message cannot be found in either Inbox or Junk Email.
- Messages from an important business or organization repeatedly go to Junk.
- Several people at your company are having the same problem.
- A normally trusted sender suddenly sends a suspicious message.
- You believe an important message may have been rejected before reaching your mailbox.
- Moving messages between Inbox and Junk does not appear to improve the results.
When reporting a problem, please provide as much of the following as possible:
- Your email address
- The sender’s email address
- The date and approximate time of the message
- The message subject
- Whether the message was found in Inbox, Junk Email, or nowhere
- A screenshot, when available
Please do not click suspicious links or open questionable attachments while investigating the message.
The Simple Rule to Remember
Bad email in your Inbox: move it to Junk.
Good email in Junk: move it to your Inbox.
Do not merely delete spam from your Inbox.
These small corrections help SpamFoo learn what matters to you. The more consistently you use the Junk Email folder, the better the filter can become at separating useful mail from unwanted messages.
