How to manage email filters in cPanel

Email communication has become the main form of communication for most individuals and organisations. Emails are sadly prone to fraudsters who use this to exploit users and their private and sensitive information with spam, phishing and spoofing emails to their inbox.

A way to protect your mailbox from falling prey to such criminal activity is to create an email filter. A filter is a way to reduce the risk of becoming a target and receiving any potentially dangerous emails.

Your email filter can be created and managed in cPanel.

• Log into ClientZone.
• Click on the ‘Hosting’ tab.
• Select the domain you want to access on the right-hand side.
• On the next screen, click on the ‘Website Manager’ button and then ‘Log into Website Manager’.

• Once in cPanel, under the Email section, select the ‘Email Filters’ option.

• A list of your email accounts will appear, select ‘Manage Filters’ of the desired email account you wish to access.

• Select ‘Create a New Filter’

• You will need to set the rules for the filter you are creating.

1. Enter a Filter Name.
2. Set the Rules for the filter

• From - The sender’s email address.
• Subject - The message’s subject line.
• To - The email address to which the message is sent.
• Reply - The mail address that the sender will receive any responses.
• Body - The content of the message.
• Any Header - Any part of the message’s header.
• Any recipient - Any recipient of the email message.
• Has not been previously delivered - The system looks at messages that are in the queue for delivery.
• Is an Error Message - The system looks at error messages that are sent as an auto-response.
• List ID - The account’s mailing lists.
• Spam Status - If the mail is marked as spam by Apache SpamAssassin.
• Spam Bar - The content of the Spam Bar header that Apache SpamAssassin generated for this message. The more plus signs (+) assigned to the message, the more likely the message will be marked as spam.
• Spam Score - The total number of plus signs (+) in the Spam Bar value, displayed as a number.

• contains - The message contains a ‘word’ or ‘sentence’ that you will predefine.
• matches regex - The message matches an expression that you define.
• does not contain - The message does not contain the defined words or sentence.
• equals - The message exactly matches a defined word/s or sentence.
• begins with - The message begins with the defined word.
• ends with -The message ends with the defined word.
• does not begin - The message does not begin with the defined word.
• does not end with -The message does not end with the defined word.
• does not match -The message does not exactly match the defined word.

• Discard Message - Trash the message with no notice sent to the sender.
• Redirect to Email - The message will be forwarded to a specified email address.
• Fail with Message - The message will be trashed and send a notice will be sent to the sender.
• Stop Processing rules - Proceed and ignore all other filter rules. (Useful when you have more than one filter set up)
• Deliver to Folder - Place the message to a specific email folder.
• Pipe to a Program - Send the message to a specific program for further processing.

• Once you have set up the rules as desired for the Filter select ‘Create’.

A popup will appear that your new filter has been created successfully.

To view current and active filters:

• In cPanel, select ‘Email Filters’.
• Select ‘Manage Filters ‘of the desired mailbox from the list of mailboxes.
• There will be a list of the current filters for that mailbox.
• To edit the rules of the mailbox, select ‘Edit’.
• To delete the filter of the mailbox selects ‘Delete’.
• To test the filter of the mailbox, complete the filter test box and select ‘Test Filter’.

• If you are making edits or adding rules to the filter, select plus (+) to add a rule to the filter.
• Click ‘Save’.