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Spam Filters, Forwarding & Auto-Replies

Once you have created an email account in the FREAKHOSTING Web Hosting Control Panel, you can fine-tune how incoming messages are handled. This guide covers email forwarding rules, catch-all configuration, spam filtering thresholds, allow/block lists, and out-of-office auto-replies — everything you need to keep your inbox clean and your workflow smooth. If you have not yet created an email account, start with the How to Create and Manage Email Accounts guide first.

Difficulty

Beginner

Time

10 Minutes

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Accessing Email Settings

1

Log in to the Web Hosting Control Panel

Open your browser and navigate to web.freakhosting.com. Enter your login credentials to access the control panel.
2

Select Your Website

From the dashboard, click on the website (domain) you want to manage email for.
3

Open the Emails Tab

In the top navigation bar, click the Emails tab.
4

Select the Email Account

Click on the email address you want to configure. This opens the detailed settings page with a left sidebar containing all configuration sections: Forwarders, Catch-all, Spam settings, and Out of office.

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Forwarders

The Forwarders section lets you automatically store and then forward all emails sent to your email account to one or more forwarding addresses. The original message stays in your hosted mailbox, and a copy goes out to every address in your forwarder list.
1

Open the Forwarders Section

Click Forwarders in the left sidebar of your email account settings.
2

Add a Forwarding Address

Enter the email address you want to forward messages to in the Forwarding address input field and click Add.
3

Add More Addresses (Optional)

Repeat for as many addresses as you need. Every incoming email will be forwarded to all addresses in the forwarder list simultaneously.

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Real-World Forwarding Examples

Here are some common scenarios where forwarding shines:
  • Small business owner: Forward sales@yourbusiness.com to your personal Gmail so you never miss an inquiry while you are on the go. The original stays in your hosted mailbox for record-keeping, and you get a copy right in your phone’s Gmail app.
  • Team monitoring: Forward support@yourbusiness.com to three team members at once — alice@gmail.com, bob@outlook.com, and carol@yahoo.com — so everyone sees every ticket as it arrives.
  • Migration helper: Moving to a new email provider? Set up forwarding to your new address so you catch any stragglers still sending to the old one.
Forwarding is perfect if you want to monitor a domain-branded address but prefer reading email in your personal Gmail, Outlook.com, or other inbox. You get the professional look of you@yourbusiness.com with the convenience of your favorite email app.
If you want to forward emails without keeping a mailbox, you can convert the account to a forwarder-only address. See the Convert to Forwarder-Only section in the email accounts guide.

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Catch-All

The Catch-all feature routes emails sent to any address that does not exist at your domain to a designated mailbox. You will find a simple toggle switch in the Catch-all section of the sidebar. How it works: If someone accidentally sends an email to suport@yourdomain.com (misspelled), or to marketing@yourdomain.com (an address you never created), the catch-all setting ensures you still receive that message instead of it bouncing back to the sender. To enable it, toggle the Catch-all switch to On.

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When Catch-All Makes Sense

  • You are a freelancer with a personal domain and want to catch emails sent to any variation of your name.
  • You printed business cards with info@yourdomain.com but only created hello@yourdomain.com — catch-all saves the day.
  • You run a small business and want to make sure nothing slips through the cracks, even if a customer guesses the wrong address.
Heads up — catch-all is a spam magnet. Enabling catch-all can significantly increase the amount of spam you receive, because spammers often send to random address combinations like a1b2c3@yourdomain.com. Only enable this feature if you have a genuine need to capture emails sent to non-existent addresses, and make sure your spam filters are configured tightly (more on that next).

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Spam Settings

The Spam settings section gives you granular control over how the server handles suspected spam. You will find three slider controls, each with a scale ranging from Strict (lower number, catches more) to Permissive (higher number, lets more through). Every incoming email gets a spam score — a number assigned by the server based on hundreds of checks (suspicious links, sketchy headers, known spam patterns, and more). The higher the score, the spammier the message looks. Your thresholds tell the server what to do with messages at different score levels. For most users, the defaults work great. Here is a quick reference:
SettingDefaultPlain EnglishOur Recommendation
Spambox4Fairly strict — most spam goes to your Spam folder, but the occasional newsletter might get caught tooKeep at 4 for good protection. Raise to 5-6 if you are missing legitimate emails.
Reject8Only the worst offenders get bounced — this is a high bar that almost never hits real emailKeep at 8 or higher. Lowering this risks bouncing real messages permanently.
Greylist6Middle ground — suspicious messages get a “come back later” challenge that most spam bots failKeep at 6 for a solid balance of protection and speed.

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Understanding Each Threshold

This controls when an incoming message is automatically moved to your Spam (Junk) folder instead of your Inbox. You can view your Spam folder using any IMAP email client or through webmail.What the numbers actually mean:
  • Score 2 (very strict): Catches almost everything, but you will probably find legitimate emails in your Spam folder regularly. Check it often.
  • Score 4 (default): The sweet spot for most people. Catches the vast majority of spam while letting most real emails through. You might see the occasional false positive — maybe a marketing email or an automated notification.
  • Score 6-7 (permissive): Only the more obvious spam gets flagged. If you are getting a lot of spam in your Inbox, this is probably too high.
Recommended: Leave at 4 unless you notice a problem. Lower it if too much spam reaches your Inbox. Raise it if you keep fishing legitimate emails out of your Spam folder.
This is the nuclear option. Messages with a spam score higher than this threshold get outright rejected by the mail server. The sender usually receives a non-delivery receipt (bounce message) from their email provider telling them delivery failed.Why this matters: Unlike the Spambox (where you can rescue a false positive), rejected messages are gone. The sender gets a bounce, but you never see the message at all. That is why the default is set high at 8 — it only catches messages that are almost certainly spam.What the numbers mean in practice:
  • Score 8 (default): Only the most blatant spam gets rejected — messages riddled with phishing links, known spam content, and forged headers. Very safe.
  • Score 5-6 (aggressive): Risky territory. You might permanently bounce a legitimate email from a sender with a poorly configured mail server.
  • Score 10+ (very permissive): Almost nothing gets rejected. All spam handling falls to the Spambox and Greylist instead.
Recommended: Keep at 8 or above. It is much better to let a suspicious email land in your Spam folder (where you can review it) than to reject it outright and never know it existed.
Greylisting is a clever trick that temporarily defers suspicious incoming messages. Think of it like a bouncer at a club checking IDs: the first time someone shows up, the bouncer says “come back in 5 minutes.” A real guest (legitimate mail server) will patiently wait and come back. A troublemaker (spam bot) will shrug and move on to the next target.How it works technically: When a message hits the greylist threshold, your mail server responds with a temporary “try again later” code. Legitimate mail servers are designed to retry automatically after about 5 minutes, and the message gets accepted on the second attempt. Most spam servers, on the other hand, are fire-and-forget — they do not bother retrying, so the spam simply disappears.The trade-off: First-time emails from brand-new senders may be delayed by a few minutes. Once a sender has been “verified” through this process, their future emails arrive instantly.What the numbers mean:
  • Score 4 (strict): More messages get the “come back later” treatment. Very effective against spam, but new senders will experience a short delay more often.
  • Score 6 (default): A good balance. Only moderately suspicious messages get greylisted, keeping delays to a minimum.
  • Score 8+ (permissive): Very few messages are greylisted. Fast delivery, but you miss out on this layer of spam protection.
Recommended: Leave at 6. Greylisting is one of the most effective spam-fighting tools with minimal impact on legitimate mail.
How the three thresholds work together: Think of your spam filtering as three layers of defense. A message arrives, gets scored, and then:
  1. Greylist check — If the score is above your greylist threshold, the message is temporarily deferred (legitimate servers retry and get through).
  2. Spambox check — If the score is above your spambox threshold, the message lands in your Spam folder instead of your Inbox.
  3. Reject check — If the score is above your reject threshold, the message is bounced back to the sender entirely.
Adjusting all three gives you fine-tuned control over your entire spam filtering pipeline.

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Tuning Tips for Common Situations

SituationWhat to Adjust
Too much spam in my InboxLower the Spambox threshold from 4 to 3 or 2
Legitimate emails landing in SpamRaise the Spambox threshold to 5 or 6, or add the sender to your Allow list
Want maximum spam protectionLower Spambox to 3, keep Greylist at 6, keep Reject at 8
Getting bounced emails I should not beRaise the Reject threshold to 9 or 10
New sender emails are delayedThis is greylisting working as intended — first-time senders experience a short delay. Raise Greylist to 7-8 if the delays bother you

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Allow / Block List

Below the spam threshold sliders, you will find the Allow list and Block list sections. These let you override the automatic spam filters for specific senders, giving you the final word on who gets through and who does not.
  • Allow list (green checkmark) — Add email addresses here to bypass all spam filters. Messages from allowed senders will always be delivered straight to your Inbox, regardless of their spam score. Enter the email address and click Allow.
  • Block list (red X) — Add email addresses here to always reject messages from those senders. Blocked senders will never be able to deliver email to your account. Enter the email address and click Block.

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Real-World Allow/Block Scenarios

When to use the Allow list:
  • Your bank’s notification emails keep landing in spam — add alerts@yourbank.com to the Allow list.
  • An important client uses a marketing platform that triggers spam filters — add *@clientcompany.com to allow everything from their domain.
  • Automated invoices from your accounting software are getting flagged — add the sender to guarantee delivery.
When to use the Block list:
  • An ex-employee’s personal email keeps sending unwanted messages — block their address.
  • You keep receiving spam from a specific domain — block *@spamdomain.com to stop all of it.
  • A persistent sales cold-emailer will not take no for an answer — add them to the block list and move on with your life.
You can add entire domains to the allow or block list by using the wildcard format *@domain.com. This matches every email address from that domain — handy when a company sends from multiple addresses like noreply@, billing@, and support@.
Be careful with the allow list. Adding a domain like *@gmail.com would bypass spam filters for every Gmail user on Earth — probably not what you want. Stick to specific addresses or domains you trust.

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Out of Office

The Out of office feature lets you set an automatic reply that is sent to anyone who emails you while you are unavailable — perfect for vacations, holidays, parental leave, or extended absences. When no auto-reply is active, you will see a “No out of office” empty state with an Add button.
1

Open Out of Office Settings

Click Out of office in the left sidebar of your email account settings, then click the Add button.
2

Write Your Message

Compose the automatic reply message that senders will receive. Keep it friendly, informative, and concise. Include when you will be back and who to contact for urgent matters.
3

Save Your Settings

Click Save to activate the auto-reply. Remember to turn it off when you return!

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Example Out-of-Office Messages

Here are a few templates to get you started — copy, customize, and go: Simple vacation reply:
Thank you for your email! I am currently out of the office on vacation from March 25th through April 4th with limited access to email. I will respond to your message when I return on Monday, April 7th. If you need immediate assistance, please contact my colleague Sarah at sarah@yourbusiness.com. Thanks for your patience!
Professional business reply:
Thank you for reaching out. I am currently unavailable and will return on Monday, April 7th. During my absence, please direct any urgent inquiries to our support team at support@yourbusiness.com or call us at (555) 123-4567. I will reply to your message as soon as possible upon my return.
Casual freelancer reply:
Hey there! Thanks for your email. I am taking some time off and will be back at my desk on April 7th. I will get back to you as soon as I can after that. If it is truly urgent, shoot me a text at (555) 987-6543 and I will do my best to help. Cheers!
The out-of-office reply is typically sent once to each unique sender during the active period, so the same person will not receive your auto-reply multiple times if they email you again. This prevents annoying back-and-forth loops.
Pro tip: Set a calendar reminder on your return date to disable the auto-reply. Nothing says “I forgot” quite like an out-of-office message still running two weeks after you got back.

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Frequently Asked Questions

That is almost certainly greylisting at work (enabled by default with a threshold of 6). First-time emails from new senders are temporarily deferred for about 5 minutes while the server waits for the sending server to retry. This is normal and by design — it is one of the most effective spam-fighting techniques. Subsequent emails from the same sender will arrive without delay. If the delays bother you, you can raise the greylist threshold or add trusted senders to your Allow list.
Start with these steps, in order:
  1. Lower the Spambox threshold from 4 to 3 (or even 2 if spam is really bad).
  2. Add known spam senders to your Block list — especially repeat offenders.
  3. Check that greylisting is active at 6 or lower — this catches a lot of automated spam.
  4. If you are still drowning in spam, consider enabling catch-all only if you need it — turn it off if you do not.
Always check your Spam folder periodically for any legitimate emails that may have been caught in the crossfire.
You have a few options:
  1. Add the sender to your Allow list (quickest fix for a specific sender).
  2. Add their entire domain using *@theirdomain.com if the company sends from multiple addresses.
  3. Raise the Spambox threshold to 5 or 6 if this is happening with many different senders.
If a particular sender consistently gets flagged, the Allow list is your best friend — it guarantees their messages bypass all spam checks.
Absolutely. In the Forwarders section, you can add as many forwarding addresses as you need. Every incoming email will be forwarded to all addresses in the list simultaneously. There is no practical limit — add your whole team if you want.
No. The auto-reply is sent once per unique sender during the active period. If the same person emails you five times, they will only receive your out-of-office message after the first email. This prevents annoying reply loops and inbox clutter for the sender.
They work together. Catch-all routes undeliverable addresses to your mailbox, and then the spam filters process those messages just like any other incoming email. However, catch-all addresses tend to attract a lot of spam, so your Spam folder will likely get busier. Make sure your spam thresholds are tuned tightly if you use catch-all.
Yes. If you enable both, any email sent to a non-existent address at your domain gets caught by catch-all and delivered to your mailbox, and then your forwarding rules kick in and send a copy to your forwarding addresses. It is a belt-and-suspenders approach — just be ready for more volume.

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Last Updated: March 2026 | Web Hosting Support: Email spam and forwarding configuration made simple.