Update SpamAssassin (PSA 8.0.1, SA 3.0.4)

[Katixa]

Hi there,

I hope not to be too repetitive, but I've extensively search this, and found nothing (spammassassin.org, swsoft.com, forums, google, etc.)

I simply want to upgrade from SA 3.0.4 to the latest version (3.1.7).

1. Is there any known compatibility issue with 3.1.x?

2. Where do I download a Plesk compatible package, if any?

And in case I need to do it from the spamassassin homepage...
3. do I download RPM or source?
4. Can I simply run the rpm install/upgrade or do I need to do something special so Plesk does not break?


Thanks in advance for any info... I would ask a no-anwer-for-that question, that is.. whye doesn't Plesk integrate a simple way of upgrading SA, and why does not YUM upgrade spamassassin psa?

Thanks!
Regards.

 

[atomicturtle]

Its perfectly safe to upgrade to 3.1.7 on PSA. RPM's are available in my yum archive at www.atomicrocketturtle.com for RH9, FC2-FC6, CentOS 3/4, and RHEL 3/4.

 

[Who-m3]

The easiest way to do this is to add AtomicRocketTurtle (ART for short) to your repos. www.AtomicRocketTurtle.Com (Archives at 3es.atomicrocketturtle.com, with instructions on the usage of his repos).

As for your first question, yes. I currently run SA 3.1.7 with Plesk 8.0.1's SA interface. I've had no problems reported on the 3 systems I do this with. My forth box does not yet utilize plesk (FC5...figures, huh?).

Second-Forth, ART's packages are compatible with Plesk. Utilizing his Yum repo, you can issue "yum update spamassassin". It'll tell you what dependancies need to be updated and ask if you're sure.. Just hit "y" for yes.

Hope this helps you out, and best of luck to you.

-John

 

[Katixa]

Thanks all!

Finally, done it... I visited AtomicRocketTurtle LONG ago, when I first tried to configure our previous dedicated server (the first one ever for me), and in this time I didn't even remember it existed.

I added the strings in yum.conf, launched it, and it updated all and even installed dependancies with no problems... Webmin reports 3.1.7 now

You cannot even imagine how happy I am... after days of research (well... a few hours, but days.. post forum, wait.. search.. post forum.. wait..).

I would also like to thank you atomicturtle for your work.

 

[atomicturtle]

Ah they forget the turtle so easily You're welcome!

 

[Katixa]

I do not pretend to go OT, but I would like to add something here.

Now that SA is updated to LATEST version, I still see that 1 email has not been caught, wich means 33% (3 mails received for now).

My main question is: Does this last version include also new detection rules or something to improve filtering? This is... something similar to the antivirus updates?

Or do I need to go deeper in SA and edit some configuration file to enable rules that are disabled by default (if any), and/or increase hits for each rule?

Thanks again.

 

[atomicturtle]

There is an internal rule updater with 3.1.x called: sa-update. You'll want to run that frequently, at least weekly.

I'd also recommend installing dcc, razor-agents, and pyzor (yum install dcc razor-agents pyzor).

 

[Ga8or]

I know this is for Linux users but is there a way to use this for updating on Windows 2003? I can find no info on doing this for Plesk and the support guys here refuse to tell me because 8.1 ships with 3.1.1 .... outdated as is most of the stuff Plesk ships.

 

[atomicturtle]

Not that I'm aware of. You're on your own with windows

 

[nickpick]

some additional questions

Hello,

I am getting creazy of the amount of spam in my server, so I was planning to upgrade the SpamAssassin to the 3.1.7 version.

Long ago I bought the Plesk spamassassin, but it does NOT trigger a lot of spam. It is simply of no use.

Before I start this project, I always like to be sure about some things. Hope one of you guys can help:

- In webmin I see 2 "bootup and shutdown actions" for spamassassin.
One for the psa-spamasassin
One for the spamasassin.
It is strange that only the psa-spamasassin is being started.
Not the other one.

This is confusing me.

Can I safely upgrade to the 3.1.7?
Or will it simply be of no use, because psa-spamassassin is running?
Should I uninstall the psa-spamassassin?
Can anyone explain this?

 

[atomicturtle]

Fighting spam is very much an arms race. There is no silver bullet to stop it, you've got to use a combination of technologies to have an effective mechanism to deal with the threat.

psa-spamassassin is misnamed, its not actually spamassassin. Its mearly the module in psa that lets you configure it. Yes you can upgrade spamassassin to 3.1.7(rpms available in my archive), and I would also recommend looking to rules_du_jour, as well as adding in dcc, razor, and pyzor (also in my archive). Most importantly, the bayesian classifier inside spamsassassin requires training, its possible that whats happening on your system is that it has "learned" spam as good mail, so its actively working against your other anti-spam technologies.

 

[nickpick]

Thanks.

I will surely give it a try. And you could very well be right about the learning spam as "good" mail. Perhaps I should clear the database and manually train it first?

Also there is my other question:
In Webmin i see that psa-spamassassin is started at boot time.
But spamassassin is not.
That is what is confusing me.
How is it actually started?

 

[cue79]

Thanks to jwdick, I've been able to update SpamAssassin 3.1.7 on my Plesk via Atomic Turtle's site (Thanks!). I'm awaiting to see the results, but I'm curious about the other techs you mention here - razor, pyzor, etc. Are they are reliable as SpamAssassin / as well updated? At least with SA, I know I can whitelist pretty easily if I spot a problem, but I don't know how simple it would be with those programs. TIA!

 

[atomicturtle]

They're all addons to Spamassassin

 

[cue79]

How do they improve it?

 

[nickpick]

I guess Plesk did not improve Spamassassin in any way.
They just created a control panel around it.
Correct me if i am wrong.

 

[atomicturtle]

Similiar to RBL's, they access internet databases of known spam signatures. Unlike RBL's, they look at the body of the message, rather than the IP address of the sender.

 

[cue79]

Well ok then, I guess I'll just have to plug 'em into SpamAssassin, although the results thus far from my users has been very positive.

 

[jwdick]

Originally posted by atomicturtle
I would also recommend looking to rules_du_jour, as well as adding in dcc, razor, and pyzor (also in my archive).

Is there any configuration that must take place after install DCC,Pyzor and Razor-agent? Before installation, I uncommented the plugins in /etc/mail/spamassassin/v310.pre. I had several "undefined dependancies" in the mail log files after installation.

 

[atomicturtle]

You dont need to change any configuration files. Just restart spamd.