Introduction

BoxTrapper functions as a spam filter for email addresses.

The filter works through “challenge-response” verification. When an email is sent to an account that has enabled BoxTrapper, BoxTrapper automatically sends a verification email in response.

This verification email requires the original sender to send a reply or click a link. After the sender does this, BoxTrapper delivers the original message to the intended recipient’s account.

The goal in enabling BoxTrapper is to block email senders who do not reply to the verification email or click the verification link.

Enable BoxTrapper

To enable BoxTrapper:

  1. Click BoxTrapper under the Mail heading.
  2. Select the appropriate email account by clicking the Manage link next to the account.
  3. Click the Enable button.

note Note: When BoxTrapper is enabled, even when automatic whitelisting is disabled, any email address that you send email to will automatically be added to the whitelist. This allows the recipient to receive email from that address without the sender going through the verification process.

Configure BoxTrapper settings

To configure BoxTrapper settings:

  1. Click the Configure Settings button.
  2. Enter all addresses forwarding mail to this account into the Email addresses going to this account box, separated with commas.
  3. Enter your name in the Your Name box.
  4. It is also possible to define how many days to keep logs (overviews of all messages sent to your account) and messages (sent to your account but not yet delivered). This input value should be a positive whole number.
  5. When BoxTrapper receives an email with a spam score lower than the value set in the Minimum SpamAssassin Spam Score required to bypass BoxTrapper option, it automatically delivers the message. The default value for this option is -2.5. This option's value is adjustable.
  6. You can also enable or disable automatic whitelisting by selecting the appropriate checkbox. When you enable automatic whitelisting, any email address that you send a message to will be added to the whitelist automatically.
  7. If the address in the From field of an incoming email is whitelisted, then BoxTrapper can automatically whitelist the addresses in theTo and CC fields. To enable this option, select the Auto Whitelist To and From lines from whitelisted senders (whitelist by association) checkbox.
  8. Click the Save button.

Edit Confirmation Messages

Verification and blacklist messages can be customized using cPanel. It is also possible, using the Reset to Default button, to return the auto-response messages to their default settings.

Edit White, Black, and Ignore Lists

This feature allows the BoxTrapper lists to be edited manually.

To edit the lists:

  1. Select the link to the list you would like to edit.
  2. Enter any information you would like, including messages, subjects, and email addresses.
  3. Click Save.


PICK Remember:

  • The Whitelist contains a list of addresses and subject lines that will automatically be allowed past the filter.
  • The Ignore-list contains a list of addresses and subject lines that will not be allowed past the filter.
  • The Blacklist contains a list of addresses and subject lines that will not be allowed to pass the filter. This option will also automatically send a customized warning message to the sender.

Forward List

Email addresses that are added to the forward list will receive white-listed email as forwards automatically. Enter email addresses to add them to the forward list. Remember to click Save when making changes to the list.

Review Log

You can view the BoxTrapper log through cPanel’s interface. This log is organized by day and will show any activity associated with an email address that has BoxTrapper enabled. This can be useful for isolating problems with email delivery.

Review Queue

Using the cPanel interface, you can view any BoxTrapper mail waiting for verification. This can improve email receipt times, since you can manually view and approve messages. You can find mail in the queue using the following tools:

  • Keyword Search: Searches can be filtered using the appropriate drop-down box and selecting Sender, Subject, or Body before entering a keyword. Selecting 1 of the 3 search filters causes the function to search only that section of each email for the keyword, decreasing search times.
  • Viewing by Date: By default, the mail queue shows today’s messages. You can view different dates by clicking the previous or next day’s date, displayed above the queued message list.

BoxTrapper also allows you to deliver or delete mail from the mail queue screen:

  1. Select the checkbox for the selected day to deliver all messages received on that day.
  2. Select Delete or Whitelist & Deliver.
  3. Click the Submit button.

To see the contents of a message:

  1. Click the email’s sender, subject, or date. cPanel will display the entire message, including headers, and provide more delivery options — for example, you can ignore or blacklist a sender.
  2. Select the desired option.
  3. Click Go.

A note for system administrators

If you have access to a WHM interface, and you are experiencing trouble using BoxTrapper and SpamAssassin together, contact your web hosting provider for more information about how your server is configured.

BoxTrapper and SpamAssassin will only work together if the following option in WHM's Exim Configuration interface (Main >> Service Configuration >> Exim Configuration Editor) remains disabled:

** Old Style Spam System [?]

      DEPRECATED: Use legacy transport based SpamAssassin™ system instead of the new ACL style one (not recommended, slow).