Apache SpamAssassin is a powerful open source spam filter. It can be run as a Windows Service using FireDaemon Pro, which allows you to have the application start automatically at boot prior to login, start multiple instances of the application and more. This HOWTO will show you how to set it up. You can also use FireDaemon Fusion to manage FireDaemon and other Windows services via a web browser.

SpamAssassin Setup Under FireDaemon Pro

While Apache doesn't produce a version of SpamAssassin for Windows, the team at JAM Software produces a Windows version, which we will use in this HOWTO. Download SpamAssassin for Windows to somewhere on your hard drive.

Run the SpamAssassin installer. For the purposes of this HOWTO, we will use the default installation directory: C:\Program Files\JAM Software\SpamAssassin for Windows.

Download and install FireDaemon Pro into the directory of your choice, typically C:\Program Files\FireDaemon.

Next start the FireDaemon Pro GUI from the desktop shortcut. Click on the "Create a new service definition" button in the toolbar (or type Ctrl+N) and enter the information into the fields as you see below. Adjust the paths to suit your installation.

While there are no required parameters, SpamAssassin comes with many parameters that you can use to customise its settings. If you wish to use these parameters, enter them in the Parameters box.

Now click on the Settings tab. If you DON'T want to see SpamAssassin running, uncheck the Interact with Desktop check box & select “Hidden” from the “Show Window” dropdown. You can optionally run SpamAssassin as the user you installed it as. In the Logon Account field type your username (e.g. Administrator) and then enter the user's password twice in the Password and Confirm fields. You can change the Process Priority to allocate more CPU time to the dedicated server or specify which CPU or core SpamAssassin will run on (in the case of multi-processor, hyperthreaded or multi-core CPUs).

Now click on the Lifecycle tab. Be sure Console Application is checked.

Now click OK to finish setup and start running SpamAssassin!