Why would I receive an add for Viagra?

[--VQ--]

Question: Asked by Martin at Abacus Furniture
How could an add for Viagra get through the spam filter?
(the gray Control Stripe says Filter Released)

Answer

In it's default mode, Vanquish blocks all spam, not just some of the spam. But the way in which we achieve this is very different than you might expect. Understanding this "non-traditional" process can make the long term process of cleaning your mail both effective and transparent.

Our methods differ from other antispam systems in two ways. (Bare with me... This may seem odd - at first):

• Vanquish does not make any community assumptions. The words Viagra, Penis
  and Mortgage are not blocked nor even detected.
  
• Vanquish does not detect or search for undesirable content at all. Instead, it
  blocks ALL incoming mail, and then analyzes it for evidence of desirable content
  or characteristics.

Here is a simple flowchart of the tests that Vanquish applies to incoming mail.

One of the tests is turned off by default: Personal Smart Filter (it is 2nd from bottom on the flowchart). If you do not activate this feature, Vanquish uses a dozen other tests to deliver the mail that it is clearly desirable. But some desirable mail from unrecognized senders may get pulled aside. This can lead to user effort searching through the Held Mail folder for important mail. When you activate the Personal Smart Filter,[*] Vanquish uses you recent behavior to build a database of desirable contact. Then it releases and delivers additional mail that would otherwise have been blocked - even though it does not pass the more definitive tests.

Recall that this filter feature doesn't block any mail! After all, Vanquish blocks all mail and then carefully looks for desirable traits. The Personal Smart Filter is one of many unblocking mechanisms. It lets mail slip through to your IN Box, so that you don't need to keep peeking at the Spam. After all, the measure of a good antispam process is not the amount of spam blocked, but the ability to deliver desirable mail with precision.

In the case of the email that you submitted, the Personal Smart Filter has erroneously allowed the spam to get through.Recalling that the PSF is not pre-loaded with community metrics (it doesn't consider 'Viagra' a bad word), faulty behavior can be caused by two things:

• The filter is not yet trained
  
• The filter has become polluted, becuase you did not guide it's training during the first few weeks.

Both problems are easy to solve - and the solution will last you a lifetime (without constant intervention). Please refer to these tips:

• Enabling Personal Smart Filter: 1st month is critical
  
• Spam is back? RESET the Personal Smart Filter