How to manage spam filters in cPanel
Enable cPanel spam filtering, tune SpamAssassin scores, use Spam Box safely, configure whitelist/blacklist rules, and avoid permanent loss from auto-delete.
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cPanel spam filtering uses Apache SpamAssassin rules to score incoming messages. Messages above your threshold can be tagged, moved to Spam Box, or deleted depending on your settings.
Enable spam filtering
- Log in to cPanel.
- Open Email and choose Spam Filters.
- Enable Process New Emails and Mark them as Spam.
- Save if cPanel prompts you to update settings.
Spam score threshold
The lower the score threshold, the more aggressive the filtering. The higher the score, the more permissive the filtering.
| Score | Behavior | Use case |
|---|---|---|
| 3 to 4 | Aggressive | Heavy spam, more false positives possible. |
| 5 | Default | Balanced starting point. |
| 7 to 10 | Permissive | Use when legitimate mail is being tagged too often. |
Enable or disable Spam Box
Spam Box moves spam-tagged messages to a separate spam folder instead of leaving them in the inbox. This is safer than auto-delete because you can review the folder for false positives.
- Open Spam Filters.
- Enable or disable Move New Spam to a Separate Folder (Spam Box).
- Use webmail or IMAP to review the spam folder periodically.
Whitelist and blacklist senders
Use the whitelist for trusted senders that are incorrectly flagged. Use the blacklist for addresses or domains that should always score as spam.
friend@example.commatches one address.*@example.netmatches all senders at a domain.- Do not whitelist broad public domains such as Gmail or Outlook.
Auto-delete spam carefully
Auto-delete permanently discards messages that exceed the configured score. Start with tagging or Spam Box before enabling auto-delete.
Use a high threshold such as 10 or higher for auto-delete. If a real message is deleted by this feature, recovery is usually not possible.
Related: Email filters in cPanel: block, redirect, or sort mail | How to create and manage email accounts in cPanel | Default Address in cPanel: handle mail to unknown addresses | Why is my email going to spam? | SPF, DKIM, and DMARC in cPanel-email authentication
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