The mail reader in Netscape Communicator does not directly allow
inserting a program to filter the email, as some other email readers
do. I am using the following workaround.
The basic concept is a two step process:
---------------------------------------
1) fetchmail reads the mail from the remote server, and passes it to the
local inbox on your machine. SpamAssassin is installed in such a way as
to intercept and filter the mail before it is written to the local
inbox, on your machine.
remote server -> fetchmail -> procmail -> SpamAssassin -> /var/mail/
2) Netscape reads the mail via pop3 from the local inbox on your machine.
/var/mail/ -> Netscape
Step by step instructions:
--------------------------
1) Verify that fetchmail, procmail, and pop3d are installed on your
machine. This was true for my version of Linux, Mandrake 8.0. If this is
not the case on your machine, you will have to download these.
2) Setup fetchmail according to the instructions. I use a .fetchmailrc
similar to that shown below:
------------
# .fetchmailrc
poll postoffice.remote.emailserver.net
protocol POP3
username "[EMAIL PROTECTED]"
is "yourlocalusername" here keep limit 250000
------------
After everything is tested, you can remove the "keep" from the
.fetchmailrc file. This option leaves the email on the remote
server. During testing, you may read the same email several times,
depending the implementation of the remote server.
3) Verify that fetchmail is working and loading mail into your local inbox, typically /var/mail or /var/spool/mail
4) Setup Netscape to read the local inbox. You will need pop3 running as
a server on your machine for this to work. This is typically the default
for many Linux versions, but it wasn't working on my Mandrake 8.0,
though it did work on my Mandrake 7.0. I had to install the xinetd rpm
to make pop3 work.
In Netscape Mail and Newsgroups settings change the Pop Mail Server
server name to be "localhost" (if your machine has another name, you can
use that instead), and set the username to be your username on your
machine.
5) Verify Netscape can read email from your local machine.
Run fetchmail then use Netscape to Get Messages.
6) Finally, setup SpamAssassin to filter the email. I used the
following suggested method, as described in the SpamAssassin README:
"Installing SpamAssassin for Personal Use (Not System-Wide)"
This changes the .forward file in your home directory to send the mail
to procmail. procmail is configured to filter the mail through
SpamAssassin, before writing it to your local inbox.
DONE!
This is a bit inconvenient, in that you first have to run fetchmail, then
use Netscape, but it's a small price to remove a lot of spam! Of course,
you can set fetchmail to automatically poll every so often.
Gilligan
Subject: Re: netscape and spamassassin
From: Charles Dennett <charles.dennett <at> kodak.com>
Date: Tue, 15 Oct 2002 15:22:53 -0400
Cc: lambert Bernard <bga.Lambert <at> wanadoo.fr>
Newsgroups: gmane.mail.spam.spamassassin.general
Organization: Sitemaster / http://www.kodak.com
Reply-to: charles.dennett <at> kodak.com
lambert Bernard wrote:
> Hi
>
> I want to install spamassassin on my PC
>
> I run suse 8.0 , and I use Netscape as browser and email. my mail box is
> froma provider
>
> I have read the install and faq
>
> I saw how to set kdemail or procamail but nothing about netscape
>
> It is possible to use spamassassin with netscape mail, and where i can
> find how to set it ?
>
I guess I have the same kind of questions. I recently installed SA on
my SUN box at work. I use it with procmail via .forward/.procmailrc and
it works great.
At home I'm in the initial planning stages of building my own Linux box
to replace my aging Windows box. I currently use netscape 4.x and plan
on using something line Mozilla or Netscape 7 on the new box. My ISP is
a cable modem supplier so I use netscape's POP3 access for my mail.
Once I get my Linux box up and running I'd love to be able to use SA as
my spam filter. So, I'd still have to use POP3 and would not be using
sendmail on it, how would I go about integrating SA into it? I assume
there would be some kind of software that would poll my ISP's mail
server, grab the mail, filter it through SA and them procmail and drop
it in the mail spool on the linux box. What is that software?
Thanks for any tips.
--
Charles Dennett
Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, NY
Sitemaster http://www.kodak.com
