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Spam Filters in DirectAdmin

DirectAdmin uses SpamAssassin to score and filter incoming emails. You can adjust the sensitivity, choose what happens to spam, and manage blocked senders.

Accessing Spam Settings

  1. Log in to your DirectAdmin control panel.
  2. Go to E-Mail Manager > Spam Filters.
  3. Select the email account you want to configure from the dropdown.

Spam Score Threshold

SpamAssassin assigns a score to each incoming email. Higher scores indicate a greater likelihood of spam. You can set the threshold at which an email is treated as spam:

  • A lower score (e.g. 3) is more aggressive and catches more spam, but may flag some legitimate emails.
  • A higher score (e.g. 7-10) is more relaxed and reduces false positives, but may let some spam through.
  • The default score of 5 is a reasonable starting point for most users.

What Happens to Spam

You can choose what SpamAssassin does when an email exceeds the threshold:

  • Tag subject - adds a label like [SPAM] to the subject line so you can filter it in your email client.
  • Move to spam folder - automatically places flagged emails in your spam or junk folder.
  • Delete - permanently discards emails that exceed the score. Use with caution.
Avoid setting the spam action to Delete unless you are confident in your threshold setting. Deleted spam cannot be recovered.

Blocking Senders

You can block specific email addresses or entire domains from sending you email:

  • Go to E-Mail Manager > Spam Filters and look for the blocklist or blacklist section.
  • Add the sender address (e.g. spammer@example.com) or domain (e.g. @spammy.domain).
  • Emails from blocked senders will be discarded before reaching your inbox.
You can also whitelist trusted senders to ensure their emails are never marked as spam. Look for the whitelist or allowlist section in the same area.