How to remove the spam mails from qmail queue

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How to remove spam mails from qmail mail queue

This post helps you to remove spam mails containing a string (subject) or from a particular user from the qmail mail queue. You have to install a open source

software qmail-remove.

Go to the directory /usr/local/src
[root@host ~]# cd /usr/local/src

Download the qmail-remove package
[root@host ~]# wget http://www.linuxmagic.com/opensource/qmail/qmail-remove/qmail-remove-0.95.tar.gz

Untar the package
[root@host ~]# tar xvzf qmail-remove-0.95.tar.gz

cd to the untared directory
[root@host ~]# cd qmail-remove-0.95/

compile
[root@host ~]# make

Install
[root@host ~]# make install

You can check the options with -h option
[root@host ~]# qmail-remove -h

Now the package is installed but you have to create a yanked directory to store the mails you are removing. You have to create it in the qmail base

directory. In this case it is /var/qmail/queue/ yours may differ.
[root@host ~]# cd /var/qmail/queue/
[root@host ~]# mkdir yanked

And before running the commands using this package you must stop qmail
[root@host ~]# /etc/init.d/qmail stop

There is one helpful tool with you can count and list the spam mails. Install it. You can get the directions from here
http://www.atomicorp.com/wiki/index.php/Spam

You can use -s option to get the total no.of spam mails in queue
[root@host ~]# /usr/bin/qmhandle.pl -s
Total messages: 253998
Messages with local recipients: 17
Messages with remote recipients: 253965
Messages with bounces: 1
Messages in preprocess: 16
[root@host ~]# /usr/bin/qmhandle.pl -s
Total messages: 185000
Messages with local recipients: 17
Messages with remote recipients: 184962
Messages with bounces: 1
Messages in preprocess: 20
[root@host ~]#

You can use -l option to list the spam mails in queue
[root@host ~]# /usr/bin/qmhandle.pl -l

You can read a message using the option -m
[root@host ~]# /usr/bin/qmhandle.pl -m22616314
 --------------
MESSAGE NUMBER 22616314
 --------------
Received: (qmail 25932 invoked by uid 502); 7 Dec 2011 12:17:40 +1100
Date: 7 Dec 2011 12:17:40 +1100
Message-ID: <20111207011740.25927.qmail@host.xxxxxx.com>
To: lyttmab@ppppp.com
Subject: I WISH TO HAVE YOU AS A PERSONAL ASSISTANT.
From: Mr.Morgan Kent <mr.morgankent2@ppppp.com>
Reply-To: morgankent202@ppppp.com
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit
morgankent2011@ppppp.com
mr.morgankent2011@ppppp.com
######OUTPUT TRUNCATED########

You can read the headers of the mails in the queue using the following command
[root@host ~]# /var/qmail/bin/qmail-qread
7 Dec 2011 14:22:43 GMT  #22708222  3232  <anonymous@host.xxxxxx.com>
        remote  crehkow@ppppp.com
7 Dec 2011 12:12:16 GMT  #22609322  3233  <anonymous@host.xxxxxx.com>
        remote  jbilodeau1@ppppp.com
7 Dec 2011 10:55:48 GMT  #14396666  3237  <anonymous@host.xxxxxx.com>
        remote  izzy46martinez@ppppp.com

For listing the mails in the mail queue with a particular content use the following command
[root@host ~]# qmail-remove -i -p "I WISH TO HAVE YOU AS A PERSONAL ASSISTANT"
It will list the mails with content I WISH TO HAVE YOU AS A PERSONAL ASSISTANT in it

The above command will only list the mails. for deleting them use option -r. Then all those mails will be moved to yanked directory.
[root@host ~]# qmail-remove -i -p "I WISH TO HAVE YOU AS A PERSONAL ASSISTANT"  -r
[root@host yanked]# pwd
/var/qmail/queue/yanked
[root@host yanked]# ls | wc -l
593379
[root@host yanked]#

Useful links
http://www.atomicorp.com/wiki/index.php/Spam
http://kb.parallels.com/en/1711
http://kb.parallels.com/en/766
http://www.linuxmagic.com/opensource/qmail/qmail-remove