Set Global spamBlocker Parameters

You can use global spamBlocker settings to optimize spamBlocker for your own installation. Because most of these parameters affect the amount of memory that spamBlocker uses on the XTM device, you must balance spamBlocker performance with other XTM device functions.

To configure global spamBlocker settings, you must enable spamBlocker for at least one proxy policy.

From Fireware XTM Web UI, you can configure the global parameters for spamBlocker.

1. Select Subscription Services > spamBlocker.
2. Click Settings.
   The spamBlocker settings page appears.

3. spamBlocker creates a connection for each message it processes. This connection includes information about the message that is used to generate its spam score. spamBlocker sets a default maximum number of connections that can be simultaneously buffered according to your XTM device model. You can use the Maximum number of connections text box to increase or decrease this value. If the amount of traffic handled by your proxy policies is low, you can increase the number of supported connections for spamBlocker without affecting performance. If you have limited available memory on the XTM device, you may want to decrease the value in this field.
4. In the Maximum file size to scan text box, type or select the number of bytes of an email message to be passed to spamBlocker to be scanned. Usually, 20–40K is enough for spamBlocker to correctly detect spam. However, if image-based spam is a problem for your organization, you can increase the maximum file size to block more image-based spam.
   For information about the default and maximum scan limits for each XTM device model, see About spamBlocker and VOD Scan Limits.
5. In the Cache size text box, enter the number of entries spamBlocker caches locally for messages that have been categorized as spam and bulk. A local cache can improve performance because network traffic to Commtouch is not required. Usually, you do not have to change this value.
   You can set the Cache size to 0 to force all email to be sent to Commtouch. This is most often used only for troubleshooting.
6. Clear the Enabled check box adjacent to Proactive Patterns if you want to disable the Commtouch CT Engine Proactive Patterns feature. This feature is automatically enabled. This feature uses a large amount of memory while the local database is updated. If you have limited memory or processor resources, you may want to disable this feature.
7. The Connection string override text box is used only when you must troubleshoot a spamBlocker problem with a technical support representative. Do not change this value unless you are asked to give additional debug information for a technical support problem.
8. You can also define several other optional parameters for spamBlocker:

• Enable and Set Parameters for Virus Outbreak Detection (VOD)
• Use an HTTP Proxy Server for spamBlocker
• Add Trusted Email Forwarders to Improve Spam Score Accuracy

9. Click Save.

See Also

Configure spamBlocker

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