SpamChoke Antispam Software
Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

This page contains the answers to the most Frequently Asked Questions about SpamChoke Antispam Software.

The FAQ is classified into:

a. Installation related issues.
b. Product registration related issues.
c. Product feature related issues.

a. Installation:

1. I have downloaded SpamChoke. How do I install it?
2. From where can I download a copy of SpamChoke?
3. How do I know that SpamChoke has been installed on my computer?
4. How do I un-install SpamChoke?

b. Product registration:

1. I am using an Evaluation copy of SpamChoke. How do I buy it?
2. Are only credit card payments accepted? Can I pay through other means?
3. I have purchased SpamChoke. What do I do next? How do I convert the evaluation copy to a licensed copy?
4. I have lost the "Registration Key". What do I do?

c. Product features:

1. What is Spam filter?
2. What happens to the spam emails detected by SpamChoke?
3. Do I need to modify the settings of SpamChoke so that it can start filtering spam email?
4. Can I know why an email is classified as spam
5. Can I do anything to improve SpamChoke's performance?
6. Some legitimate emails are being detected as SPAM emails. What do I do?
7. How to configure SpamChoke to filter spam emails of more than one email account?
8. I have installed SpamChoke but the spam emails I receive are not getting filtered. What should I do?
9. What are white list and black list? How can I set up such lists?


Answers:

a. Installation:

1. I have downloaded SpamChoke. How do I install it?

1. Click START -> SEARCH -> All FILES and FOLDERS.

2. Search for spamchoke10setup.exe.

3. If the file has been downloaded without error, the SpamChoke icon will be displayed. Double click on the icon to commence installation.

4. Click on SETUP button to continue installation.

5. The simple user-friendly Setup program will guide you through the installation process.

6. Click OK after SpamChoke is installed successfully.

7. SpamChoke will now prompt you to select your email accounts to be configured for spam filtering. Select the email accounts by clicking on the check box against the listed email accounts.

2. From where can I download a copy of SpamChoke?

You can download the latest version of SpamChoke from;

http://www.spamchoke.com/download/download.htm

3. How do I know that SpamChoke has been installed on my computer?

1. If SpamChoke has been successfully installed on your computer, the program will be in Program Files\SpamChoke folder. Check for the existence of this particular folder.

2. You can locate this icon on your desktop and taskbar.

4. How do I un-install SpamChoke?

If you wish to un-install SpamChoke, follow these instructions; Go to START-->PROGRAMS-->SpamChoke-->Un-install SpamChoke.

b. Product registration:

1. I am using an Evaluation copy of SpamChoke. How do I buy it?

To buy a copy of SpamChoke, visit; http://www.spamchoke.com/order/order.htm

You will receive your Registration Key through email after you have placed your order for SpamChoke.

2. Are only credit card payments accepted? Can I pay through other means?

Yes, you can order SpamChoke online and pay through check, money order, wire transfer or fax order.

You can place this order at;

http://www.spamchoke.com/order/other.htm

Write to sales@spamchoke.com if you require further assistance.

3. I have purchased SpamChoke. What do I do next? How do I convert the evaluation copy to a licensed copy?

On purchase of a copy of SpamChoke, you will be sent an email. The email will be in two parts. The first part consists of the License Agreement which is an agreement between you, the purchaser and Proland Software, the developer of SpamChoke. The second part contains a unique Registration Name and Key. The Name and Key have to be entered in the Registration Window, which appears which appears when you click . To complete the registration process, click . 

Your evaluation copy of SpamChoke is now converted to a licensed version. If you have not been able to locate the email that contains the Registration Information, please write to sales@spamchoke.com .

4. I have lost the "Registration Key". What do I do?

Write to the Internet Marketing Division at sales@spamchoke.com, along with email address from which you made the purchase or the Name to which SpamChoke was licensed. We will once again send your registration details to you.

c. Product features:

1. What is Spam filter?

It is the operational core of SpamChoke. The Spam Filter separates spam mail from legitimate mail and moves the latter to the Inbox. The filter can maintain a list of the spam mail received. In addition to this, the filter can also connect to the Internet and download updates to the product.

The Spam Filter is configurable and can be fine tuned to deliver optimum results on your computer. Moving the pointer on the scale to the left (red zone) increases the sensitivity of the filter while moving it to the right (green zone), decreases sensitivity. This means that the rules by which emails are filtered to the Inbox are more exacting when pointer is in the red zone. The rules are relaxed when the pointer is in the green zone. In the latter case, more spam emails will get through to the Inbox.



2. What happens to the spam emails detected by SpamChoke?

On installation, SpamChoke creates a mailbox called SpamChoke, in your email software. All spam emails detected are moved to the SpamChoke mailbox and Trash, according to the configured Spam Filter sensitivity.

3. Do I need to modify the settings of SpamChoke so that it can start filtering spam email?

SpamChoke automatically configures itself to stop spam on your email software. You only need to install it. The rest of the task is done by SpamChoke itself.

4. Can I know why an email is classified as spam?

Spam mail is moved to the SpamChoke mailbox. A list of all such email can be viewed by going to , and clicking . Select the email that you want analysis on click . A pop-up window will display the reasons why that particular email has been detected as spam.

5. Can I do anything to improve SpamChoke's performance?

SpamChoke can be fine tuned for optimum performance in your computer. You can configure Spam Filter to deliver optimum results on your computer. Moving the pointer on the scale to the left (red zone) increases the sensitivity of the filter while moving it to the right (green zone), decreases sensitivity. This means that the rules by which emails are filtered to the Inbox are more exacting when pointer is in the red zone. The rules are relaxed when the pointer is in the green zone. In the latter case, more spam emails will get through to the Inbox.



6. Some legitimate emails are being detected as SPAM emails. What do I do?

There is a provision to overcome this problem by identifying the mail as legitimate by adding the origin of the mail to a white list. All emails originating from this source will be automatically moved to the Inbox. All the addresses in your address book can be added to the white list.

To add a source to the white list, do the following;

From the SpamChoke main screen, go to , and in the Reports screen, select
. All the recent emails detected as spam are shown in the main window, for the email account that is displayed. Select the email source that is to be added to the white list and click . A search facility is also provided so that you may quickly find the desired email.

7. How to configure SpamChoke to filter spam emails of more than one email account?

To configure an email account under SpamChoke for spam email filtering, do the following;

a. Run SpamChoke.
b. Select in the SpamChoke window.
c. Click Email Accounts.
d. Select .
e. Select the email accounts to be configured for filtering by clicking on the check box against the account.
f. Click  to confirm.

8. I have installed SpamChoke but the spam emails I receive are not getting filtered. What should I do?

It is possible that SpamChoke is not working on your computer yet. Check for the following.

1. Check for this icon  in the system tray. If the icon is missing, then SpamChoke has not been loaded on to your computer to work in an on-line mode.

To remedy this situation, check if SpamChoke is installed in your computer by going to START->PROGRAMS->SpamChoke. If you do not find SpamChoke under PROGRAMS, then you will have to re-install SpamChoke again.

2. If SpamChoke is installed under PROGRAMS, click SpamChoke. You will need to see if your email account has been configured by SpamChoke to stop spam emails. Do the following to see if your email account is configured.

  a. Select  in the SpamChoke window.
  b. Click Email Accounts. If your email account is displayed in the Email Accounts window, SpamChoke will   filter spam emails from this account. If your email account is not displayed, then you will need to do the   following;
  c. Select . 
  d. Select the email accounts to be configured for  filtering by clicking on the check box against the account.
  e. Click  to confirm.

If you are still unable to configure SpamChoke, please write to support@spamchoke.com.

 9. What are white list and black list? How can I set up such lists?

White list and black list are set up to override SpamChoke's filters.

To add a source to the white list, do the following;

From the SpamChoke main screen, go to  , and in the Reports screen, select . All the recent emails detected as spam are shown in the main window, for the email account that is displayed. Select the email source that is to be added to the white list and click  . A search facility is also provided so that you may quickly find the desired email. The Add to White list fields can be edited to define your own criteria for white listing an email. Once an email address or domain is white listed, all emails originating from there will be moved to the Inbox without further checks. It is therefore recommended that only trusted senders and sources be added to the white list.

To black list a sender or domain in SpamChoke:

From the SpamChoke main screen, go to , and in the Reports screen, select . All the emails moved to the Inbox in the previous session are displayed. Highlight the email which you consider spam and hit  . This takes you to the 'Add to Black list screen'. Confirm the criteria for which an email is to be black listed by clicking on the check box provided against the option. Click  to set up the new black list criteria.

The Add to black list fields can be edited to define your own criteria for black listing an email. Once an email address or domain is black listed, all emails originating from there will be moved to the Trash without further checks. It is therefore recommended that you use this feature carefully so that legitimate emails are not moved to the Trash.

Copyright © 2004 Proland Software. All rights reserved.