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Request for added message filter.

  • 6 replies
  • 1 has this problem
  • 4 views
  • Last reply by ian

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Please enable users to filter messages on the content of Hyperlinks. Hyperlinks are some spammers and scammers weak spot. Here is a current example: One of dozens I recently received, all redirecting via "overfilights.page.link" I want to filter out any message with links back to "overfilights.page.link* HTML CODE EXAMPLE: <a href="https://overfilights.page.link/FhqJ" target="_blank"> (not sure if/how the html will display here) This request from others has remained unanswered in the past. As a retired web developer, perhaps someone could direct me to the Thunderbird Development message filter source code.

Please enable users to filter messages on the content of Hyperlinks. Hyperlinks are some spammers and scammers weak spot. Here is a current example: One of dozens I recently received, all redirecting via "overfilights.page.link" I want to filter out any message with links back to "overfilights.page.link* HTML CODE EXAMPLE: <a href="https://overfilights.page.link/FhqJ" target="_blank"> (not sure if/how the html will display here) This request from others has remained unanswered in the past. As a retired web developer, perhaps someone could direct me to the Thunderbird Development message filter source code.

Chosen solution

The bug requesting Hrefs be filtered is here https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1211128

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All Replies (6)

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Trying to fight spam with static filters is futile. Use the built-in junk mail controls instead. https://support.mozilla.org/kb/thunderbird-and-junk-spam-messages

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Hi christ1, thank you for trying but unfortunately, you've not addressed my request.

The excellent built-in junk controls do a great job but it's not an exact science and sometimes legit emails end up in the junk folder.

I and many other users need to check the junk folder on a regular basis and this is where "static filters" do save a lot of time and bother.

A filter on the Html code or even just Hyperlink code would make things even better because we often get flurries of spam/scam and while they change subject text and other spoof-stuff, more often than not each flurry has a particular (unique) link which they hope people will click on.

Filtering on unique links is better than filtering on (not unique) bits of sentence in (say) the subject.

Deleting messages with unwanted (unique) links is not only safer, but more efficient as one such filter could kill a few dozen baddies over the following week/s.

Modified by ian

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ian said

Hi christ1, thank you for trying but unfortunately, you've not addressed my request.

What he said is about the size of it. It is a futile process that eventually will make other things go wrong because you will potentially have thousands of conditions every email must pass to make it to the inbox.

Manual management of spam is not a good use of time and is seriously prone to error.

The excellent built-in junk controls do a great job but it's not an exact science and sometimes legit emails end up in the junk folder.
and having lots of filters marking mail as junk is not going to help the false positive rate.
I and many other users need to check the junk folder on a regular basis and this is where "static filters" do save a lot of time and bother.
I assume from that statement you are deleting mail through your filters, so false positives from filtering issues will see you loosing legitimate mail. I saw a post here only a couple of weeks ago looking for someone to help restore all the inbox mail because they had incorrectly filtered and deleted the entire contents of their inbox.
A filter on the Html code or even just Hyperlink code would make things even better because we often get flurries of spam/scam and while they change subject text and other spoof-stuff, more often than not each flurry has a particular (unique) link which they hope people will click on.

Try the filtaquilla addon https://addons.thunderbird.net/en-US/thunderbird/addon/filtaquilla/

But I do not think it will offer access to the raw HTML, only the displayed text. It does however offer some serious extension on the standard message filtering.

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Hi Matt, sincere thanks for your input.

I agree with all points, including the risks of "over filtering" and deleting legit mail.

Indeed, it is the latter two concerns which prompted my request for hyperlink filtering.

1. Removing older (disused) filters and adding new ones is part of my existing control process which has never required more than a dozen filters. Nine at present, would be about three with hyperlink filtering. 2. Filtering on hyperlinks alone, would not delete any (of my) legit emails.

When emails appear and are visibly removed (by my filters) from "junk", and without the accuracy of hyperlink filters I must also check the "deleted" folder for an overview. An "overview" of filter-selected "junk" is much less tedious than fully assessing and deleting each and every junk email, but a chore no less. Thankfully, I do not receive much junk and often go weeks and months at a time with none whatsoever. They often seem to come in flurries.

How sweet it would be (for me) to filter on hyperlinks. Perhaps not for everyone, as you have pointed out.

Thanks again for your concern.

Best regards, ian

Modified by ian

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Chosen Solution

The bug requesting Hrefs be filtered is here https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1211128

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Thanks Matt,

Conclusion: "No coconut but at least it's on the wish list."

Bugzilla link succinctly addresses my request. https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1211128

Perhaps of related interest to commercial developers? https://superuser.com/questions/210047/script-thunderbird-filters

Thanks again for everything.

Best regards, ian

Modified by ian