A rule-based system for end-user e-mail annotations

A new system for spam e-mail annotation by end-users is presented. It is based on the recursive application of handwritten annotation rules by means of an inferential engine based on Logic Programming. Annotation rules allow the user to express nuanced considerations that depend on deobfuscation, word (non-)occurrence and structure of the message in a straightforward, human-readable syntax. We show that a sample collection of annotation rules are effective on a relevant corpus that we have assembled by collecting emails that have escaped detection by the industry-standard SpamAssassin filter. The system presented here is intended as a personal tool enforcing personalized annotation rules that would not be suitable for the general e-mail traffic.

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