I am getting Spam marked Filter Allowed

[--VQ--]

Question: I am starting to receive spam that is marked Filter Allowed. How can I avoid this.
(This tip also applies when legitimate mail is trapped in Held Mail and not challenged)

Background (General info about the personal smart filter).

Unlike most antispam services, Vanquish did not implement its new filter to block spam. Instead, we use it as a mechanism of last resort to automatically release mail that is probably desirable. With sufficient methods of identifying legitimate mail, our goal is to eliminate the need for users to constantly check the Held Mail folder. In the past, our tools included the Allow List, Smart Maintenance, SurfMatch, SmartSubject, Address confirmation , etc. Now we have added a very personal Bayesian filter. It is yet another technique of letting mail out of the Held Mail folder.

Because this new filter uses a rapid learning process, it is very important to train it early and accurately. For most users, this produces a startlingly accurate release mechanism for legitimate email that might otherwise get trapped in your Held Mail area. But it can also be tricky to untrain, if you neglected to help it during the first 300-500 email messages (good ones and misidentified ones).

Training - Best Practice
To maximize the value of your filter, we check Held Mail regularly during the period in which you receive your first 500 legitimate emails (typically the first 3-5 weeks of use). Release any personally desirable messages from Held Mail and Mark as Spam any message that arrives with the "Filter Allowed" control stripe (may require logging into your Vanquish account).

We understand that the purpose of a good antispam service is to help you avoid checking your Held Mail. If you use the filter feature, a brief period of careful training will lead to solid protection in the future. In addition to your own training, your personal filter rules are reinforced by every message that arrives from someone that you already trust, including mail that is admitted by any of the other mechanisms.

Filter Reset
If you have failed to do this early in your subscription - or if you believe tha the filter has become poorly trained, look on the page Configure » Preferences. Next to the check box for Personal smart filter, see if there is a Reset Filter button. If so, click it and follow directions. If you do not see such a button, click here and ask us to reset it for you.