How to Set Up BoxTrapper to Block Spam

BoxTrapper is a challenge-response spam tool available in cPanel. When an email arrives from a sender you haven't approved before, BoxTrapper holds the message and sends the sender an automatic reply asking them to confirm they're a real person. Once they respond, the original message is released to your inbox and their address is remembered for future mail.

Setting up BoxTrapper in cPanel

1. Log in to cPanel and open the BoxTrapper tool under the Email section.
2. Select the email account you want to protect from the dropdown.
3. Open the Configure tab and choose how strict you want it: options typically range from auto-whitelisting anyone you've emailed to requiring every new sender to confirm.
4. Save your settings, then check the Email Queue tab periodically to release or delete held messages that need a manual decision.
5. Add addresses you always want to receive from, such as suppliers or regular clients, to the Whitelist tab so their mail is never held.

BoxTrapper is not available in DirectAdmin, which relies on SpamAssassin and manual mail filters instead. See our guides on setting up SpamAssassin and creating mail filters for the DirectAdmin equivalent of blocking unwanted senders.

BoxTrapper works well for low-volume addresses like a personal or small business inbox, but it adds a delay before first-time senders reach you, and some legitimate senders never see or respond to the automatic challenge. For a busy sales or support inbox, SpamAssassin combined with mail filters usually works better since it doesn't require the sender to do anything.