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Posted to users@spamassassin.apache.org by Jared Hall <ja...@jaredsec.com> on 2021/07/19 14:43:09 UTC

CHAOS: v1.2.1 Released

  CHAOS.pm: Callouts, Handlers, And Other Stuff

https://github.com/telecom2k3/CHAOS


    <https://github.com/telecom2k3/CHAOS/wiki/CHANGELOG#version-121>Version
    1.2.1

Date: July 19.2021

  * Corrected a regex in the Fraud Baud(y) rules where a normalized UTF8
    character appeared un-hexed.
  * Additional Fraud Subject and Fraud Body rules added.
  * Additional duplicate Exchange Header rule added.
  * New User-Agents added.
  * New X-Mailers added.
  * Fixed erroneous header match in check_email_greets Eval that
    triggered during during SA lint check.


      <https://github.com/telecom2k3/CHAOS/wiki/CHANGELOG#notes>Notes

There are no configuration file changes needed in this release.


Enjoy,

-- Jared Hall


Re: CHAOS: v1.2.1 Released

Posted by Jared Hall <ja...@jaredsec.com>.
Henrik K wrote:
> On Tue, Jul 20, 2021 at 10:44:43PM -0400, Jared Hall wrote:
>> I went out in the garage this morning and pulled out an old Dell PowerEdge
>> that had CentOs 6 on it.
> Ever heard of virtual machines, or even perlbrew? :-)
>

I've been swamped.  Didn't really have the time to fire up another VM 
and load CentOS.  Perlbrew is good with PERLish stuff.  I use it all the 
time; but not so good when dealing with system libraries and all the 
miscellaneous libraries of SA and its requirements.

I said I'd go the extra mile for a Ninja.  Not TWO extra miles.

A man's gotta know his limitations :)

-- Jared Hall


Re: CHAOS: v1.2.1 Released

Posted by Henrik K <he...@hege.li>.
On Tue, Jul 20, 2021 at 10:44:43PM -0400, Jared Hall wrote:
> I went out in the garage this morning and pulled out an old Dell PowerEdge
> that had CentOs 6 on it.

Ever heard of virtual machines, or even perlbrew? :-)


Re: CHAOS: v1.2.1 Released

Posted by Axb <ax...@gmail.com>.
FTR: I'm on Centos 7

will test fixes

On 7/21/21 4:44 AM, Jared Hall wrote:
> Axb wrote:
>> what is this about? seems like a massive bug
>>
>> ______________________
>> *  0.0 SYSTEM_INFO CHAOS: v1.2.1 SA: v3.4.6 PERL: v5.16.3 - This
>>     *      system rocks!CHAOS: v1.2.1 SA: v3.4.6 PERL: v5.16.3 - CHAOS:
>>     *      v1.2.1 SA: v3.4.6 PERL: v5.16.3 - This system rocks!CHAOS:
>>     *      v1.2.1 SA: v3.4.6 PERL: v5.16.3 - CHAOS: v1.2.1 SA: v3.4.6
>>     *      PERL: v5.16.3 - This system rocks!CHAOS: v1.2.1 SA: v3.4.6
>>     *      PERL: v5.16.3 - CHAOS: v1.2.1 SA: v3.4.6 PERL: v5.16.3 - This
>>
> 
> It works fine on 5.18.2 and 5.26.1.  However, I fixed a couple of 
> blatant errors:
> 
> 1) perl syntax check (-c) issued warning due to $domain variable only 
> used once.  NOTE TO SELF: Avoid using undef in SA PerMsgStatus object 
> references.
> 2) To your issue, I was concatenating a $description variable onto 
> itself; never a good thing to do.  I suppose that's called a "stray cat" :)
> 
> Also, there are a couple of other fixes I've included:
> 
> 3) I changed PERL version checks to use $] with some string manipulation 
> instead of $^V in case I ever hear from anybody running PERL < 5.10.
> 4) Removed three MYTOB subject references that shouldn't be looked at 
> anymore (part of JR_ADMIN_FRAUD rule).  In AutoISP mode, that's a 
> heavy-scoring rule.  Ouch.
> 5) Added a sanity-check of the "Vanity" rule "SYSTEM_INFO" to keep the 
> Eval modifier within range.
> 6) Some documentation cleanup for better formatting using pod2markdown 
> required for GitHub.
> 
> There's a couple of things I wanted to add, but I pushed these fixes out 
> tonight as CHAOS version 1.2.2.
> https://github.com/telecom2k3/CHAOS
> 
> FWIW, I do list PERL 5.18 as a prerequisite but I'll go the extra mile 
> for a Ninja.  I went out in the garage this morning and pulled out an 
> old Dell PowerEdge that had CentOs 6 on it.  Unfortunately it didn't 
> recognize the drives; SCSI RAID controller probably.  So please let me 
> know if it works OK on PERL 5.16.
> 
> Sincere Thanks,
> 
> -- Jared Hall
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 



Re: CHAOS: v1.2.1 Released

Posted by Jared Hall <ja...@jaredsec.com>.
Axb wrote:
> what is this about? seems like a massive bug
>
> ______________________
> *  0.0 SYSTEM_INFO CHAOS: v1.2.1 SA: v3.4.6 PERL: v5.16.3 - This
>     *      system rocks!CHAOS: v1.2.1 SA: v3.4.6 PERL: v5.16.3 - CHAOS:
>     *      v1.2.1 SA: v3.4.6 PERL: v5.16.3 - This system rocks!CHAOS:
>     *      v1.2.1 SA: v3.4.6 PERL: v5.16.3 - CHAOS: v1.2.1 SA: v3.4.6
>     *      PERL: v5.16.3 - This system rocks!CHAOS: v1.2.1 SA: v3.4.6
>     *      PERL: v5.16.3 - CHAOS: v1.2.1 SA: v3.4.6 PERL: v5.16.3 - This
>

It works fine on 5.18.2 and 5.26.1.  However, I fixed a couple of 
blatant errors:

1) perl syntax check (-c) issued warning due to $domain variable only 
used once.  NOTE TO SELF: Avoid using undef in SA PerMsgStatus object 
references.
2) To your issue, I was concatenating a $description variable onto 
itself; never a good thing to do.  I suppose that's called a "stray cat" :)

Also, there are a couple of other fixes I've included:

3) I changed PERL version checks to use $] with some string manipulation 
instead of $^V in case I ever hear from anybody running PERL < 5.10.
4) Removed three MYTOB subject references that shouldn't be looked at 
anymore (part of JR_ADMIN_FRAUD rule).  In AutoISP mode, that's a 
heavy-scoring rule.  Ouch.
5) Added a sanity-check of the "Vanity" rule "SYSTEM_INFO" to keep the 
Eval modifier within range.
6) Some documentation cleanup for better formatting using pod2markdown 
required for GitHub.

There's a couple of things I wanted to add, but I pushed these fixes out 
tonight as CHAOS version 1.2.2.
https://github.com/telecom2k3/CHAOS

FWIW, I do list PERL 5.18 as a prerequisite but I'll go the extra mile 
for a Ninja.  I went out in the garage this morning and pulled out an 
old Dell PowerEdge that had CentOs 6 on it.  Unfortunately it didn't 
recognize the drives; SCSI RAID controller probably.  So please let me 
know if it works OK on PERL 5.16.

Sincere Thanks,

-- Jared Hall












Re: CHAOS: v1.2.1 Released

Posted by Axb <ax...@gmail.com>.
what is this about? seems like a massive bug

______________________
*  0.0 SYSTEM_INFO CHAOS: v1.2.1 SA: v3.4.6 PERL: v5.16.3 - This
	*      system rocks!CHAOS: v1.2.1 SA: v3.4.6 PERL: v5.16.3 - CHAOS:
	*      v1.2.1 SA: v3.4.6 PERL: v5.16.3 - This system rocks!CHAOS:
	*      v1.2.1 SA: v3.4.6 PERL: v5.16.3 - CHAOS: v1.2.1 SA: v3.4.6
	*      PERL: v5.16.3 - This system rocks!CHAOS: v1.2.1 SA: v3.4.6
	*      PERL: v5.16.3 - CHAOS: v1.2.1 SA: v3.4.6 PERL: v5.16.3 - This
	*      system rocks!CHAOS: v1.2.1 SA: v3.4.6 PERL: v5.16.3 - CHAOS:
	*      v1.2.1 SA: v3.4.6 PERL: v5.16.3 - This system rocks!CHAOS:
	*      v1.2.1 SA: v3.4.6 PERL: v5.16.3 - CHAOS: v1.2.1 SA: v3.4.6
	*      PERL: v5.16.3 - This system rocks!CHAOS: v1.2.1 SA: v3.4.6
	*      PERL: v5.16.3 - CHAOS: v1.2.1 SA: v3.4.6 PERL: v5.16.3 - This
	*      system rocks!CHAOS: v1.2.1 SA: v3.4.6 PERL: v5.16.3 - CHAOS:
	*      v1.2.1 SA: v3.4.6 PERL: v5.16.3 - This system rocks!CHAOS:
	*      v1.2.1 SA: v3.4.6 PERL: v5.16.3 - CHAOS: v1.2.1 SA: v3.4.6
	*      PERL: v5.16.3 - This system rocks!CHAOS: v1.2.1 SA: v3.4.6
	*      PERL: v5.16.3 - CHAOS: v1.2.1 SA: v3.4.6 PERL: v5.16.3 - This
	*      system rocks!CHAOS: v1.2.1 SA: v3.4.6 PERL: v5.16.3 - CHAOS:
	*      v1.2.1 SA: v3.4.6 PERL: v5.16.3 - This system rocks!CHAOS:
	*      v1.2.1 SA: v3.4.6 PERL: v5.16.3 - CHAOS: v1.2.1 SA: v3.4.6
	*      PERL: v5.16.3 - This system rocks!CHAOS: v1.2.1 SA: v3.4.6
	*      PERL: v5.16.3 - CHAOS: v1.2.1 SA: v3.4.6 PERL: v5.16.3 - This
	*      system rocks!CHAOS: v1.2.1 SA: v3.4.6 PERL: v5.16.3 - CHAOS:
	*      v1.2.1 SA: v3.4.6 PERL: v5.16.3 - This system rocks!CHAOS:
	*      v1.2.1 SA: v3.4.6 PERL: v5.16.3 - CHAOS: v1.2.1 SA: v3.4.6
	*      PERL: v5.16.3 - This system rocks!CHAOS: v1.2.1 SA: v3.4.6
	*      PERL: v5.16.3 - CHAOS: v1.2.1 SA: v3.4.6 PERL: v5.16.3 - This
	*      system rocks!CHAOS: v1.2.1 SA: v3.4.6 PERL: v5.16.3 - CHAOS:
	*      v1.2.1 SA: v3.4.6 PERL: v5.16.3 - This system rocks!CHAOS:
	*      v1.2.1 SA: v3.4.6 PERL: v5.16.3 - CHAOS: v1.2.1 SA: v3.4.6
	*      PERL: v5.16.3 - This system rocks!CHAOS: v1.2.1 SA: v3.4.6
	*      PERL: v5.16.3 - CHAOS: v1.2.1 SA: v3.4.6 PERL: v5.16.3 - This
	*      system rocks!CHAOS: v1.2.1 SA: v3.4.6 PERL: v5.16.3 - CHAOS:
	*      v1.2.1 SA: v3.4.6 PERL: v5.16.3 - This system rocks!


On 7/19/21 4:43 PM, Jared Hall wrote:
> 
>   CHAOS.pm: Callouts, Handlers, And Other Stuff
> 
> https://github.com/telecom2k3/CHAOS
> 
> 
>     <https://github.com/telecom2k3/CHAOS/wiki/CHANGELOG#version-121>Version
>     1.2.1
> 
> Date: July 19.2021
> 
>   * Corrected a regex in the Fraud Baud(y) rules where a normalized UTF8
>     character appeared un-hexed.
>   * Additional Fraud Subject and Fraud Body rules added.
>   * Additional duplicate Exchange Header rule added.
>   * New User-Agents added.
>   * New X-Mailers added.
>   * Fixed erroneous header match in check_email_greets Eval that
>     triggered during during SA lint check.
> 
> 
>       <https://github.com/telecom2k3/CHAOS/wiki/CHANGELOG#notes>Notes
> 
> There are no configuration file changes needed in this release.
> 
> 
> Enjoy,
> 
> -- Jared Hall
> 
> 



Re: CHAOS: v1.2.2: Of Documentation

Posted by Charles Sprickman <sp...@bway.net>.
What would the elevator pitch be for this?

> On Jul 23, 2021, at 12:07 AM, Jared Hall <ja...@jaredsec.com> wrote:
> 
> Simon Wilson wrote:
>>> could you, please, finally, describe what does this module do,
>>> here to the list and/or to the wiki?
>>> 
>>> the description there is too hard to understand, epecially at the beginning,
>>> and I couldn't force myself to understand it (multiple times).
>>> 
>>> Maybe you should start with the easy parts and follow with those more
>>> compliated functionality, because I feel the description starts with thelatter.
>> 
>> I'm guessing from the silence in response that this will remain a mystery.
>> 
>> Simon.
>> 
>> ___________
>> Simon Wilson
>> M: 0400 12 11 16
> 
> Reads perfectly well to me.  I guess to be compatible with any other plugin, I must delete all documentation entirely :)  
> 
> Seriously, every single rule that this module can generate is listed.  That's a good start, comparatively.
> 
> I answer, and have answered, all questions regarding this module.  Open-ended questions, or questions that are vague and ambiguous, are ignored.  For instance, "Maybe you should start with easy parts"?  OK, what's easy?  I'm reminded of an old Star Trek episode where Dr. McCoy is reattaching Spock's brain.  "It's so easy.  A child can do it", he muses.  Questions have value.  Statements less so.
> 
> This module has some unique stuff that CANNOT be done in a pure SpamAssassin environment.  It also has stuff that can be replicated using standard rules.  
> 
> 1) The module, if installed and using the config file as is, does no harm at all.  It will merely generate rules based upon what it finds.  These are all scored at the low rate of 0.01.  It's up to the user to decide what to with them.  They can wrap up a generated rule in a meta rule.  Example:
> 
> meta   JR_HATES_BEENTHERE   (JR_X_BEENTHERE)
> score JR_HATES_BEENTHERE   8.0
> 
> 2) Via a configuration file option, "chaos_mode", the module can be set to automatically score its rules.
> 
> chaos_mode AutoISP
> 
> It will still run along with existing files, cranking out higher scores for those rules marked with an asterisk.  That is still probably acceptable for most people.  But it can cause problems.  The popular KAM ruleset scores SendGrid Emails with a high value.  Mine is split into two different values that are scored differently.  While they are both lower than KAM's, combined, I see that as a potential problem.  I have no knowledge of what somebody's rules are at any given moment.  Caveat Emptor.  There I go again with the Latin :)
> 
> 2A) What values do I set for these rules?  As a percentage of another configuration file option, "chaos_tag":
> 
> chaos_tag 7
> 
> Per the example above JR_X_BEENTHERE is a rule that is Auto-Scored.  If you lower the chaos_tag value, the score for this rule would be reduced.  If I increase the chaos_tag value, the score produced by this rule is raised.
> 
> 2B) The AutoISP mode, as is, should be fine for anybody running  a spam tag level of 8 to 12.  
> 
> 2C) The initial release of CHAOS.pm did all kinds of scoring.  One of the knocks I have about SpamAssassin is that is does not maintain counts of hits.  My complaints about this go all the way back to 2010.  Counts and Amounts.  SA is great with Amounts.  It sucks with Counts.  To the SA Development crew's credit, somewhere along the way, tflags were added to allow that functionality in a very primitive fashion.  Many people are happy with that.  I'm just not one of them.
> 
> I read somewhere, while looking at META rules that SA internally builds an array of the rules hit.  That way, as rules hit, METAs are then appropriately updated.  Gee, an array.  Maybe we could add a count to that array if the user wishes to?  I think that it is a lot of development; not so much the actual process of doing it, but updating all the User handling thereof.  Alas, It is what it is *SIGH*
> 
> 2D) One thing about running AutoISP mode is that you can change a Rule's name in the configuration file and not matter what, you'll get the Rulename that's hard-coded into the program.  When a Eval plugin function is called, SA passes the rule name to the plugin.  Most plugins just ignore it, and simply return a Hit/Miss value for the Rulename.  I ignore that completely.
> 
> 2E) When I first released CHAOS, all it did was Automatic Scoring.  And I used all kinds of fancy algorithms, even logarithmic, to demonstrate that.  That was pointless, as many pointed out at the time.  I don't do that stuff anymore.
> 
> 2F) Still, as is, AutoISP will still work great for most people. 
> 
> 3) As the first release of CHAOS was about as successful as the Hindenburg, I added the concept of Manual scoring.  This works in the same fashion as most people are accustomed to.  This is set in the configuration file:
> 
> chaos_mode Manual
> 
> There are currently two exceptions in Manual mode.  I don't allow changing Rulenames for the mailer_check() and id_attachments() Eval functions.  The reason is that these Evals can produce a lot of Rule outputs.
> 
> 
> OK, are you still with me?  If not, just implement Step 1) above.
> 
> 4) Regarding overall development,  rules, rules, rules, and documentation, my priorities are this:
> 
> 1) Bug fixes, first and foremost
> 2) New Stuff that's easy
> 3) New Stuff that's hard
> 4) Existing stuff that I'm committed to change
> 5) Standard rules distribution
> 6) CHAOS meta rules (using rules from #5 above)
> 7) Rework Documentation
> 
> 5) Suggestions and comments are always welcome.  The "Hi {emailuserpart}" development was the result of a need expressed here on SA-Users.  When I first released CHAOS, I got a lot of criticism by many senior people on this list.  I deserved it and I expected it.  These are professionals that took the time to load the plugin to see what it is about.  I adapted, made changes and came out better and wiser.  My respect for these people increased 100 fold.  That's how I roll.
> 
> But if you're going to sit on the sidelines and complain, I have bad news for you.  There's no shortage of stuff I can shove into /dev/null.
> 
> 
> $0.02,
> 
> -- Jared Hall
> 


Re: CHAOS: v1.2.2: Of Documentation

Posted by Henrik K <he...@hege.li>.
On Fri, Jul 23, 2021 at 08:16:56AM +0300, Henrik K wrote:
> 
> > 2C) The initial release of CHAOS.pm did all kinds of scoring.  One of the
> > knocks I have about SpamAssassin is that is does not maintain counts of hits. 
> > My complaints about this go all the way back to 2010.  Counts and Amounts.  SA
> > is great with Amounts.  It sucks with Counts.  To the SA Development crew's
> > credit, somewhere along the way, tflags were added to allow that functionality
> > in a very primitive fashion.  Many people are happy with that.  I'm just not
> > one of them.
> > ...
> > I read somewhere, while looking at META rules that SA internally builds an
> > array of the rules hit.  That way, as rules hit, METAs are then appropriately
> > updated.  Gee, an array.  Maybe we could add a count to that array if the user
> > wishes to?  I think that it is a lot of development; not so much the actual
> > process of doing it, but updating all the User handling thereof.  Alas, It is
> > what it is *SIGH*
> 
> There's zero actual information here.  What exactly are you finding hard to
> "count"?

Looking at the emoji code for example, you are doing all sorts of funny
stuff like creating dynamic rules with count names

"The rulename, JR_SUBJ_EMOJIS or <YOUR_RULENAME> is appended with an
"_$count" whose score is 0.01.  Example: YOUR_RULENAME_3.  The rule's
description will reflect the number of Emojis found."

This is not really how SA is supposed to be used (even though it's
possible).  It's just complex and confusing.

Normal way is calling the eval function multiple times with the parameters
you want to check, there's many examples in the stock rules:

body HTML_OBFUSCATE_05_10      eval:html_range('obfuscation_ratio','.05','.1')
body HTML_OBFUSCATE_10_20      eval:html_range('obfuscation_ratio','.1','.2')


Re: CHAOS: v1.2.2: Of Documentation

Posted by Henrik K <he...@hege.li>.
On Fri, Jul 23, 2021 at 12:07:52AM -0400, Jared Hall wrote:
> 
> 1) The module, if installed and using the config file as is, does no harm at
> all.  It will merely generate rules based upon what it finds.  These are all
> scored at the low rate of 0.01.  It's up to the user to decide what to with
> them.  They can wrap up a generated rule in a meta rule.  Example:
> 
> meta   JR_HATES_BEENTHERE   (JR_X_BEENTHERE)
> score JR_HATES_BEENTHERE   8.0

While I guess it's not illegal to whip up rules on the fly, it's awkward and
inflexible for the users.

> 2C) The initial release of CHAOS.pm did all kinds of scoring.  One of the
> knocks I have about SpamAssassin is that is does not maintain counts of hits. 
> My complaints about this go all the way back to 2010.  Counts and Amounts.  SA
> is great with Amounts.  It sucks with Counts.  To the SA Development crew's
> credit, somewhere along the way, tflags were added to allow that functionality
> in a very primitive fashion.  Many people are happy with that.  I'm just not
> one of them.
> ...
> I read somewhere, while looking at META rules that SA internally builds an
> array of the rules hit.  That way, as rules hit, METAs are then appropriately
> updated.  Gee, an array.  Maybe we could add a count to that array if the user
> wishes to?  I think that it is a lot of development; not so much the actual
> process of doing it, but updating all the User handling thereof.  Alas, It is
> what it is *SIGH*

There's zero actual information here.  What exactly are you finding hard to
"count"?


Re: CHAOS: v1.2.2: Of Documentation

Posted by Martin Gregorie <ma...@gregorie.org>.
On Fri, 2021-07-23 at 19:49 +1000, Noel Butler wrote:
> I've still yet to see a list post explaining what this thing does
> so no he has not answered all questions about it, the most common sense
> thing of all time is if you advertise your wares, you at least tell
> people WTF it does, you don't send them to some web site to find out
> (which as some posters have indicated apparently does not even tell
> you).
> 

Yes, that is the same problem I have.

I understand that CHAOS generates rules and has fancy ways of setting
their scores but I've yet to understand:

- why it was developed in the first place, i.e. what problem(s) does it
  solve that manually written rules fail to address?

- what are its design principles?

- what do its generated rules do that that can't be done with manually
  written rules?

- how, if at all, does it test the rules it writes and what does it do
  with rules that either don't work as intended or hit ham instead of
  spam? 

- does it accept human input about what is spam and what is ham and if
  so, how is this input provided, maintained, and stored for future
  reference? 

  IOW: 
  - is it working entirely from messages found in the incoming mail
    stream?
  - what about the outbound mail stream?
  - does it use mail archives or spam collections to test the rules it
    generates

Martin



Re: CHAOS: v1.2.2: Of Documentation

Posted by Noel Butler <no...@ausics.net>.
On 23/07/2021 18:01, Simon Wilson wrote:

> ----- Message from Jared Hall <ja...@jaredsec.com> ---------
> Date: Fri, 23 Jul 2021 00:07:52 -0400
> From: Jared Hall <ja...@jaredsec.com>
> Subject: CHAOS: v1.2.2: Of Documentation
> To: users@spamassassin.apache.org
> 
> Simon Wilson wrote: could you, please, finally, describe what does this 
> module do,
> here to the list and/or to the wiki?
> 
> the description there is too hard to understand, epecially at the  
> beginning,
> and I couldn't force myself to understand it (multiple times).
> 
> Maybe you should start with the easy parts and follow with those more
> compliated functionality, because I feel the description starts  with 
> thelatter.
> 
> I'm guessing from the silence in response that this will remain a 
> mystery.
> 
> Simon.
> 
> ___________
> Simon Wilson
> M: 0400 12 11 16

Reads perfectly well to me.  I guess to be compatible with any other  
plugin, I must delete all documentation entirely :)
No - but perhaps a start would be to *really* listen when people ask  
questions demonstrating you are not as good as you think you are at  
writing things which make sense to people other than yourself.

> Seriously, every single rule that this module can generate is  listed.  
> That's a good start, comparatively.
> 
> I answer, and have answered, all questions regarding this module.

Again no. Perhaps not all mailing list emails make it through the 
module...

I've still yet to see a list post explaining what this thing does
so no he has not answered all questions about it, the most common sense 
thing of all time is if you advertise your wares, you at least tell 
people WTF it does, you don't send them to some web site to find out 
(which as some posters have indicated apparently does not even tell 
you).

I wont comment on the rest of his trash talk, based on his useless smart 
arse replies, I don't care what this thing does we wont be touching it 
due to his childish pathetic attitude, for all we know it's malware.

-- 
Regards,
Noel Butler

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Re: CHAOS: v1.2.2: Of Documentation

Posted by Simon Wilson <si...@simonandkate.net>.
----- Message from Jared Hall <ja...@jaredsec.com> ---------
    Date: Fri, 23 Jul 2021 00:07:52 -0400
    From: Jared Hall <ja...@jaredsec.com>
Subject: CHAOS: v1.2.2: Of Documentation
      To: users@spamassassin.apache.org


> Simon Wilson wrote:
>>> could you, please, finally, describe what does this module do,
>>> here to the list and/or to the wiki?
>>>
>>> the description there is too hard to understand, epecially at the  
>>> beginning,
>>> and I couldn't force myself to understand it (multiple times).
>>>
>>> Maybe you should start with the easy parts and follow with those more
>>> compliated functionality, because I feel the description starts  
>>> with thelatter.
>>
>>
>> I'm guessing from the silence in response that this will remain a mystery.
>>
>> Simon.
>>
>> ___________
>> Simon Wilson
>> M: 0400 12 11 16
>
> Reads perfectly well to me.  I guess to be compatible with any other  
> plugin, I must delete all documentation entirely :)

No - but perhaps a start would be to *really* listen when people ask  
questions demonstrating you are not as good as you think you are at  
writing things which make sense to people other than yourself.

>
> Seriously, every single rule that this module can generate is  
> listed.  That's a good start, comparatively.
>
> I answer, and have answered, all questions regarding this module.

Again no. Perhaps not all mailing list emails make it through the module...

> Open-ended questions, or questions that are vague and ambiguous, are  
> ignored.  For instance, "Maybe you should start with easy parts"?  
> OK, what's easy?  I'm reminded of an old Star Trek episode where Dr.  
> McCoy is reattaching Spock's brain.  "It's so easy.  A child can do  
> it", he muses.  Questions have value.  Statements less so.

Like that one?

>
> This module has some unique stuff that CANNOT be done in a pure  
> SpamAssassin environment.  It also has stuff that can be replicated  
> using standard rules.
>
> 1) The module, if installed and using the config file as is, does no  
> harm at all.  It will merely generate rules based upon what it  
> finds.  These are all scored at the low rate of 0.01.  It's up to  
> the user to decide what to with them.  They can wrap up a generated  
> rule in a meta rule.  Example:
>
> meta   JR_HATES_BEENTHERE   (JR_X_BEENTHERE)
> score JR_HATES_BEENTHERE   8.0
> ||
> 2) Via a configuration file option, "chaos_mode", the module can be  
> set to automatically score its rules.
>
> chaos_mode AutoISP
>
> It will still run along with existing files, cranking out higher  
> scores for those rules marked with an asterisk.  That is still  
> probably acceptable for most people.  But it can cause problems. The  
> popular KAM ruleset scores SendGrid Emails with a high value. Mine  
> is split into two different values that are scored differently.   
> While they are both lower than KAM's, combined, I see that as a  
> potential problem.  I have no knowledge of what somebody's rules are  
> at any given moment.  Caveat Emptor.  There I go again with the  
> Latin :)
>
> 2A) What values do I set for these rules?  As a percentage of  
> another configuration file option, "chaos_tag":
>
> chaos_tag 7
>
> Per the example above JR_X_BEENTHERE is a rule that is Auto-Scored.  
> If you lower the chaos_tag value, the score for this rule would be  
> reduced.  If I increase the chaos_tag value, the score produced by  
> this rule is raised.
>
> 2B) The AutoISP mode, as is, should be fine for anybody running  a  
> spam tag level of 8 to 12.
>
> 2C) The initial release of CHAOS.pm did all kinds of scoring.  One  
> of the knocks I have about SpamAssassin is that is does not maintain  
> counts of hits.  My complaints about this go all the way back to  
> 2010.  Counts and Amounts.  SA is great with Amounts.  It sucks with  
> Counts.  To the SA Development crew's credit, somewhere along the  
> way, tflags were added to allow that functionality in a very  
> primitive fashion.  Many people are happy with that.  I'm just not  
> one of them.
>
> I read somewhere, while looking at META rules that SA internally  
> builds an array of the rules hit.  That way, as rules hit, METAs are  
> then appropriately updated.  Gee, an array.  Maybe we could add a  
> count to that array if the user wishes to?  I think that it is a lot  
> of development; not so much the actual process of doing it, but  
> updating all the User handling thereof.  Alas, It is what it is *SIGH*
>
> 2D) One thing about running AutoISP mode is that you can change a  
> Rule's name in the configuration file and not matter what, you'll  
> get the Rulename that's hard-coded into the program.  When a Eval  
> plugin function is called, SA passes the rule name to the plugin.  
> Most plugins just ignore it, and simply return a Hit/Miss value for  
> the Rulename.  I ignore that completely.
>
> 2E) When I first released CHAOS, all it did was Automatic Scoring.  
> And I used all kinds of fancy algorithms, even logarithmic, to  
> demonstrate that.  That was pointless, as many pointed out at the  
> time.  I don't do that stuff anymore.
>
> 2F) Still, as is, AutoISP will still work great for most people.
>
> 3) As the first release of CHAOS was about as successful as the  
> Hindenburg, I added the concept of Manual scoring.  This works in  
> the same fashion as most people are accustomed to.  This is set in  
> the configuration file:
>
> chaos_mode Manual
>
> There are currently two exceptions in Manual mode.  I don't allow  
> changing Rulenames for the mailer_check() and id_attachments() Eval  
> functions.  The reason is that these Evals can produce a lot of Rule  
> outputs.
>
>
> OK, are you still with me?  If not, just implement Step 1) above.

Is this just a flippant remark? It's hard to tell amongst the rest of  
it. Taking it on face value... if someone does not understand what  
something is and/or what it does, the answer should NEVER be install  
it anyway and see what it does. Why/how do you think that is an  
appropriate recommendation?

>
> 4) Regarding overall development,  rules, rules, rules, and  
> documentation, my priorities are this:
>
> 1) Bug fixes, first and foremost
> 2) New Stuff that's easy
> 3) New Stuff that's hard
> 4) Existing stuff that I'm committed to change
> 5) Standard rules distribution
> 6) CHAOS meta rules (using rules from #5 above)
> 7) Rework Documentation
>
> 5) Suggestions and comments are always welcome.  The "Hi  
> {emailuserpart}" development was the result of a need expressed here  
> on SA-Users.  When I first released CHAOS, I got a lot of criticism  
> by many senior people on this list.  I deserved it and I expected  
> it.  These are professionals that took the time to load the plugin  
> to see what it is about.  I adapted, made changes and came out  
> better and wiser.  My respect for these people increased 100 fold.  
> That's how I roll.
>
> But if you're going to sit on the sidelines and complain, I have bad  
> news for you.  There's no shortage of stuff I can shove into  
> /dev/null.

I haven't seen anyone complain.
I have seen several smart people genuinely ask you for a *brief*  
summary of what your module does.

>
>
> $0.02,


My "$0.02" would be that you may have more success with people  
understanding this module, then using it, then contributing to it,  
sharing it and recommending it if you respect not just the "senior  
people" on this list, but also others who in good faith want to  
understand your module. It has obviously had a lot of work put into it  
- and (giving benefit of doubt) likely does something of use to the  
community... I for one am genuinely curious (albeit that curiosity is  
diminishing down the effort:benefit scale).

Simon


-- 
Simon Wilson
M: 0400 12 11 16


CHAOS: v1.2.2: Of Documentation

Posted by Jared Hall <ja...@jaredsec.com>.
Simon Wilson wrote:
>> could you, please, finally, describe what does this module do,
>> here to the list and/or to the wiki?
>>
>> the description there is too hard to understand, epecially at the 
>> beginning,
>> and I couldn't force myself to understand it (multiple times).
>>
>> Maybe you should start with the easy parts and follow with those more
>> compliated functionality, because I feel the description starts with 
>> thelatter.
>
>
> I'm guessing from the silence in response that this will remain a mystery.
>
> Simon.
>
> ___________
> Simon Wilson
> M: 0400 12 11 16

Reads perfectly well to me.  I guess to be compatible with any other 
plugin, I must delete all documentation entirely :)

Seriously, every single rule that this module can generate is listed.  
That's a good start, comparatively.

I answer, and have answered, all questions regarding this module. 
Open-ended questions, or questions that are vague and ambiguous, are 
ignored.  For instance, "Maybe you should start with easy parts"? OK, 
what's easy?  I'm reminded of an old Star Trek episode where Dr. McCoy 
is reattaching Spock's brain.  "It's so easy.  A child can do it", he 
muses.  Questions have value.  Statements less so.

This module has some unique stuff that CANNOT be done in a pure 
SpamAssassin environment.  It also has stuff that can be replicated 
using standard rules.

1) The module, if installed and using the config file as is, does no 
harm at all.  It will merely generate rules based upon what it finds.  
These are all scored at the low rate of 0.01.  It's up to the user to 
decide what to with them.  They can wrap up a generated rule in a meta 
rule.  Example:

meta   JR_HATES_BEENTHERE   (JR_X_BEENTHERE)
score JR_HATES_BEENTHERE   8.0
||
2) Via a configuration file option, "chaos_mode", the module can be set 
to automatically score its rules.

chaos_mode AutoISP

It will still run along with existing files, cranking out higher scores 
for those rules marked with an asterisk.  That is still probably 
acceptable for most people.  But it can cause problems. The popular KAM 
ruleset scores SendGrid Emails with a high value. Mine is split into two 
different values that are scored differently.  While they are both lower 
than KAM's, combined, I see that as a potential problem.  I have no 
knowledge of what somebody's rules are at any given moment.  Caveat 
Emptor.  There I go again with the Latin :)

2A) What values do I set for these rules?  As a percentage of another 
configuration file option, "chaos_tag":

chaos_tag 7

Per the example above JR_X_BEENTHERE is a rule that is Auto-Scored. If 
you lower the chaos_tag value, the score for this rule would be 
reduced.  If I increase the chaos_tag value, the score produced by this 
rule is raised.

2B) The AutoISP mode, as is, should be fine for anybody running  a spam 
tag level of 8 to 12.

2C) The initial release of CHAOS.pm did all kinds of scoring.  One of 
the knocks I have about SpamAssassin is that is does not maintain counts 
of hits.  My complaints about this go all the way back to 2010.  Counts 
and Amounts.  SA is great with Amounts.  It sucks with Counts.  To the 
SA Development crew's credit, somewhere along the way, tflags were added 
to allow that functionality in a very primitive fashion.  Many people 
are happy with that.  I'm just not one of them.

I read somewhere, while looking at META rules that SA internally builds 
an array of the rules hit.  That way, as rules hit, METAs are then 
appropriately updated.  Gee, an array.  Maybe we could add a count to 
that array if the user wishes to?  I think that it is a lot of 
development; not so much the actual process of doing it, but updating 
all the User handling thereof.  Alas, It is what it is *SIGH*

2D) One thing about running AutoISP mode is that you can change a Rule's 
name in the configuration file and not matter what, you'll get the 
Rulename that's hard-coded into the program.  When a Eval plugin 
function is called, SA passes the rule name to the plugin. Most plugins 
just ignore it, and simply return a Hit/Miss value for the Rulename.  I 
ignore that completely.

2E) When I first released CHAOS, all it did was Automatic Scoring. And I 
used all kinds of fancy algorithms, even logarithmic, to demonstrate 
that.  That was pointless, as many pointed out at the time.  I don't do 
that stuff anymore.

2F) Still, as is, AutoISP will still work great for most people.

3) As the first release of CHAOS was about as successful as the 
Hindenburg, I added the concept of Manual scoring.  This works in the 
same fashion as most people are accustomed to.  This is set in the 
configuration file:

chaos_mode Manual

There are currently two exceptions in Manual mode.  I don't allow 
changing Rulenames for the mailer_check() and id_attachments() Eval 
functions.  The reason is that these Evals can produce a lot of Rule 
outputs.


OK, are you still with me?  If not, just implement Step 1) above.

4) Regarding overall development,  rules, rules, rules, and 
documentation, my priorities are this:

1) Bug fixes, first and foremost
2) New Stuff that's easy
3) New Stuff that's hard
4) Existing stuff that I'm committed to change
5) Standard rules distribution
6) CHAOS meta rules (using rules from #5 above)
7) Rework Documentation

5) Suggestions and comments are always welcome.  The "Hi 
{emailuserpart}" development was the result of a need expressed here on 
SA-Users.  When I first released CHAOS, I got a lot of criticism by many 
senior people on this list.  I deserved it and I expected it.  These are 
professionals that took the time to load the plugin to see what it is 
about.  I adapted, made changes and came out better and wiser.  My 
respect for these people increased 100 fold. That's how I roll.

But if you're going to sit on the sidelines and complain, I have bad 
news for you.  There's no shortage of stuff I can shove into /dev/null.


$0.02,

-- Jared Hall


Re: CHAOS: v1.2.1 Released

Posted by Simon Wilson <si...@simonandkate.net>.
  ----- Message from Matus UHLAR - fantomas <uh...@fantomas.sk> ---------
   Date: Mon, 19 Jul 2021 18:48:15 +0200
   From: Matus UHLAR - fantomas <uh...@fantomas.sk>
Subject: Re: CHAOS: v1.2.1 Released
     To: users@spamassassin.apache.org

> On 19.07.21 10:43, Jared Hall wrote:
>> CHAOS.pm: Callouts, Handlers, And Other Stuff
>>
>> https://github.com/telecom2k3/CHAOS
>>
>> <https://github.com/telecom2k3/CHAOS/wiki/CHANGELOG#version-121>Version
>> 1.2.1
>>
>> Date: July 19.2021
>>
>> * Corrected a regex in the Fraud Baud(y) rules where a normalized UTF8
>> character appeared un-hexed.
>> * Additional Fraud Subject and Fraud Body rules added.
>> * Additional duplicate Exchange Header rule added.
>> * New User-Agents added.
>> * New X-Mailers added.
>> * Fixed erroneous header match in check_email_greets Eval that
>> triggered during during SA lint check.
>>
>>    <https://github.com/telecom2k3/CHAOS/wiki/CHANGELOG#notes>Notes
>>
>> There are no configuration file changes needed in this release.
>
> could you, please, finally, describe what does this module do,
> here to the list and/or to the wiki?
>
> the description there is too hard to understand, epecially at the beginning,
> and I couldn't force myself to understand it (multiple times).
>
> Maybe you should start with the easy parts and follow with those more
> compliated functionality, because I feel the description starts with  
> thelatter.

I'm guessing from the silence in response that this will remain a mystery.

Simon.
  ___________
Simon Wilson
M: 0400 12 11 16

Re: CHAOS: v1.2.1 Released

Posted by Darrell Budic <bu...@onholyground.com>.
> On Jul 20, 2021, at 10:16 AM, Bowie Bailey <Bo...@BUC.com> wrote:
> 
> On 7/19/2021 12:48 PM, Matus UHLAR - fantomas wrote:
>> On 19.07.21 10:43, Jared Hall wrote:
>>> CHAOS.pm: Callouts, Handlers, And Other Stuff
>>> 
>>> https://github.com/telecom2k3/CHAOS
>>> 
>>> 
>>> <https://github.com/telecom2k3/CHAOS/wiki/CHANGELOG#version-121>Version
>>>   1.2.1
>> 
<snip>
>> Maybe you should start with the easy parts and follow with those more
>> compliated functionality, because I feel the description starts with the
>> latter.
> 
> Agreed.  I looked at this briefly when you initially posted about it, but since I could not get a good idea of what it does, I never looked any further.
> 
> Could you please post an executive summary giving a basic description of what this module does?  What problem is it trying to solve?  Why should I use it?

I’d love to see some example rules that you use to take advantage of the module, care to make some available? They’d be a good doc to include in the module distribution if you could…

  -Darrell

Re: CHAOS: v1.2.1 Released

Posted by Bowie Bailey <Bo...@BUC.com>.
On 7/19/2021 12:48 PM, Matus UHLAR - fantomas wrote:
> On 19.07.21 10:43, Jared Hall wrote:
>> CHAOS.pm: Callouts, Handlers, And Other Stuff
>>
>> https://github.com/telecom2k3/CHAOS
>>
>>
>> <https://github.com/telecom2k3/CHAOS/wiki/CHANGELOG#version-121>Version
>>   1.2.1
>>
>> Date: July 19.2021
>>
>> * Corrected a regex in the Fraud Baud(y) rules where a normalized UTF8
>>   character appeared un-hexed.
>> * Additional Fraud Subject and Fraud Body rules added.
>> * Additional duplicate Exchange Header rule added.
>> * New User-Agents added.
>> * New X-Mailers added.
>> * Fixed erroneous header match in check_email_greets Eval that
>>   triggered during during SA lint check.
>>
>>
>> <https://github.com/telecom2k3/CHAOS/wiki/CHANGELOG#notes>Notes
>>
>> There are no configuration file changes needed in this release.
>
> could you, please, finally, describe what does this module do,
> here to the list and/or to the wiki?
>
> the description there is too hard to understand, epecially at the beginning,
> and I couldn't force myself to understand it (multiple times).
>
> Maybe you should start with the easy parts and follow with those more
> compliated functionality, because I feel the description starts with the
> latter.

Agreed.  I looked at this briefly when you initially posted about it, but since I 
could not get a good idea of what it does, I never looked any further.

Could you please post an executive summary giving a basic description of what this 
module does?  What problem is it trying to solve?  Why should I use it?

Thanks.

-- 
Bowie

Re: CHAOS: v1.2.1 Released

Posted by Matus UHLAR - fantomas <uh...@fantomas.sk>.
On 19.07.21 10:43, Jared Hall wrote:
> CHAOS.pm: Callouts, Handlers, And Other Stuff
>
>https://github.com/telecom2k3/CHAOS
>
>
>   <https://github.com/telecom2k3/CHAOS/wiki/CHANGELOG#version-121>Version
>   1.2.1
>
>Date: July 19.2021
>
> * Corrected a regex in the Fraud Baud(y) rules where a normalized UTF8
>   character appeared un-hexed.
> * Additional Fraud Subject and Fraud Body rules added.
> * Additional duplicate Exchange Header rule added.
> * New User-Agents added.
> * New X-Mailers added.
> * Fixed erroneous header match in check_email_greets Eval that
>   triggered during during SA lint check.
>
>
>     <https://github.com/telecom2k3/CHAOS/wiki/CHANGELOG#notes>Notes
>
>There are no configuration file changes needed in this release.

could you, please, finally, describe what does this module do,
here to the list and/or to the wiki?

the description there is too hard to understand, epecially at the beginning,
and I couldn't force myself to understand it (multiple times).

Maybe you should start with the easy parts and follow with those more
compliated functionality, because I feel the description starts with the
latter.


-- 
Matus UHLAR - fantomas, uhlar@fantomas.sk ; http://www.fantomas.sk/
Warning: I wish NOT to receive e-mail advertising to this address.
Varovanie: na tuto adresu chcem NEDOSTAVAT akukolvek reklamnu postu.
A day without sunshine is like, night.