Where to save my updated MailWasher Pro spam filters
In early July, 2010, Firetrust, the makers of the famous anti-spam program: MailWasher Pro, released a brand new version. The new MailWasher 2010 was several years in the making and touts a new user interface, new spam weighting system and a brand new spam filter format.
Previously, MailWasher spam filters were in a plain text file, aptly named "filters.txt" - with each filter on a long separate line, ending with a line feed, but no blank lines between them. Some filters have many individual rules and trying to read and debug them is a challenge. The new version uses a well formed XML format, with indented sections and rules. This is a visually pleasing layout that is easy to read and edit, rule by rule. However, because each rule and condition is on a separate line, the file size is much larger than the old flat text file filters.
As many of you know, I write and publish spam filters for use in MailWasher Pro. I have been writing and updating these filters for years. But, with the release of the new MailWasher 2010, a lot of work was needed to convert the old filter format into the new one. The good news is that as of today, August 22, 2010, I completed the conversion and placed the new "Filters.xml" online. You can view and download them from my aforementioned Custom Filters page
If you already know where to save downloaded filters you don't need this article. Otherwise, you need this information to learn where to save updated filters. Where you save your filters file depends on both your operating system and the version of MailWasher Pro you have installed. Some, like me, use both the old and new versions simultaneously. I continue using the previous version 6.5.4, because it contains direct reporting of spam to SpamCop, for reporting members. And, the previous version has full-featured Mail Statistics and Spam Categories charts. I use the statistics and percentages reports in my weekly spam analysis articles, published on this blog, every Sunday (see my Spam and Email categories). These features are going to be added to the new version 2010 of MailWasher, at which time I and others will stop using the previous version.
If you are here out of curiosity, you can learn more about MailWasher Pro, or try it, or buy it here.
Let's move on with the locations of your spam filters, for various operating systems and versions of MailWasher Pro...
Location of MailWasher Pro user files and filters
MailWasher Pro is currently a Windows only application. People are currently working on porting it to Mac and Linux distributions (under WINE). This information only pertains to Windows users.
If you are using Windows 2000 or XP, all of your user files, filters, lists and preferences are saved under your logged in identity's Application Data directory (a.k.a: "folder"). MailWasher Pro version 6x and older will find their user files in their "C:\Documents and Settings\username\Application Data" directory, inside a sub-folder named "MailWasherPro." Windows XP users who install the new MailWasher Pro 2010 will find their user files inside an Application Data sub-folder named "Firetrust" > "MailWasher." (Sorry Windows 2000 users. No new version for you!)
If you have Windows Vista or Windows 7, your user files are found under the C:Users\username\AppData\Roaming directory. Your MailWasher files will be under a sub-folder named Firetrust\MailWasher, for the new 2010 version, or MailWasherPro for the old version (up to 6.x).
One well established way of getting to your Application Data folder, for your logged in identity, is to open the Run box (Windows key + R) and type in this command, then press Enter: %AppData% . Your Application Data directory will open as a window with folders. Find the appropriate folder for your version of MailWasher Pro and double click to open it.
An even simpler way of opening your actual MailWasher Application Data folder is available to version 2010 users. Go to the Help menu and click on it, then go down to the link labeled: "User Files" and click on it. Your personal user data files for MailWasher 2010 will open in a window. The one you are looking for for version 2010 is named: "Filters.xml"
The filters file name for the previous series 5 and 6 is "filters.txt"
How to replace your MailWasher Pro (MWP) filters.
Once you have open your MailWasher Pro application data folder, close the MailWasher program, if it was open. We do this because any changes you make to the filters, while the program is actively running, will be overwritten by the existing or default set, as soon as you close the program.
With MWP closed, right-click on your filters file and rename it to something like: filters-sav.(txt or xml). Then, download your desired updated version of my custom filters and save it to the appropriate MailWasher Pro AppData folder. If you don't rename the existing filters first, Windows will pop-up a challenge box asking if you wish to replace the existing file with the new one. I would save the previous working version beforehand.
You can also download my custom filters to your desktop, or a download folder of your choice. Once the file is downloaded, open it in your preferred text editor (Notepad, NoteTab Pro, Wordpad, Notepad Plus, etc). Then find your existing filters file and open it in another instance or tab of your text editor. Then, drag and drop the updated filter sections into your existing file and save the changes (make a backup first!). This way, you can keep your own personalized custom filter rules intact, while just updating the changes to the general spam rules I publish.
Save all changes, leave the text editor open with the changes visible, then open MailWasher. If it fails to show some or all of the updated rules, something was copied wrong. In the new version, a bad rule may cause all of the custom filters to disappear and be replaced with the default set. Maybe there was one bad character in an update for the new version (it is touchy that way). That's why I said to always save a backup before you edit your filters file.
Close MailWasher, but leave the filter file open in the text editor. As long as you don't close that file, even the bad rules will be visible and editable.
With the saved rules open you can select all and copy to a new text file. Then delete all but your personalized rules you know were working. Begin pasting in the new rules, one at a time, saving as you go, then opening MailWasher, until you find the bad one. Edit it until it is working, or remove it and contact me, or the Firetrust MailWasher Pro forum for help.
You can also hire me to convert your own personalized MailWasher spam filters from version 6x to the new xml format. I can also create a custom filter set to meet your personal requirements. Contact me here and request technical assistance. My hourly rate is reasonable.
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