Multiple XP Users Confuses sb_service

[Kyle Forbes]

I'm stumped by this problem. My wife and I use Outlook express, and we each have our own account on our XP machine. When we both use the sb_tray program, the last one to start it up on his/her account apparently dictates where SpamBayes will retrieve its configuration information. Seeing this, I decided that maybe the best thing to do was to install the sb_service to provide a central mechanism for filtering spam on our computer.

The service starts automatically, and that seems to work fine. I can login to either of our accounts and retrieve email. However, the sb_tray program seems confused. Whoever runs the program first prevents the other one from running it. The first person to run it gets an active tray program through which he/she can review messages and configure the server. If I login to the second account, the sb_tray program doesn't work -- it says SpamBayes isn't running. Even if I shut down the first user's instance of the tray program, the second user can never seem to get an active connection to the service. Is this a known bug? How can two outlook express users review messages via the sb_tray program?

Thanks.

Kyle

[Tony Meyer]

Post by Kyle Forbes
I'm stumped by this problem. My wife and I use Outlook express,
and we each have our own account on our XP machine. When we both
use the sb_tray program, the last one to start it up on his/her
account apparently dictates where SpamBayes will retrieve its
configuration information.

SpamBayes should be looking in your individual user folders
(something like 'C:\Documents and Settings\{username}\Application Data
\SpamBayes\Proxy'). Are you both running sb_tray at the same time?
(i.e. using fast user switching or whatever Microsoft calls it). I'm
not sure how well Windows isolates multiple logged in users (i.e. can
they each run a separate copy of the same program?)

Post by Kyle Forbes
Seeing this, I decided that maybe the best thing to do was to
install the sb_service to provide a central mechanism for filtering
spam on our computer.

This should work, although I believe it means you'll share data
(configuration, training data). That might not matter to you.

Post by Kyle Forbes
The service starts automatically, and that seems to work fine. I
can login to either of our accounts and retrieve email. However,
the sb_tray program seems confused. Whoever runs the program first
prevents the other one from running it. The first person to run it
gets an active tray program through which he/she can review
messages and configure the server. If I login to the second
account, the sb_tray program doesn't work -- it says SpamBayes
isn't running.

Can you get copies of the most recent log files and send those to
us? (The troubleshooting guide explains where to find them). I
suspect that the second instance is started and finds one already
running (assuming that the other user is still logged in) so stops.

=Tony.Meyer
--
Please always include the list (spambayes at python.org) in your replies
(reply-all), and please don't send me personal mail about SpamBayes.
http://www.massey.ac.nz/~tameyer/writing/reply_all.html explains this.


_______________________________________________
***@python.org
http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/spambayes
Check the FAQ before asking: http://spambayes.sf.net/faq.html

[Coe, Bob]

Since you're using Outlook Express, you must be using the proxy server
implementation of Spambayes. Your problem evidently stems from the fact
that the proxy server provides only a single thread between the POP3
server and the two users. Assuming that you don't mind if you and your
wife share a single Spambayes database, you can solve the problem by
feeding the two incoming mail streams into Spambyes (i.e., don't bother
to differentiate your mail from your wife's), then splitting the output
of Spambayes using a second proxy server. (I know it sounds kludgy, but
it ought to work.) One proxy server (there may be others) that will do
that is VPOP3, an excellent and affordable product of a software house
in England. (Google will find you their Web site.) With two proxy
servers in series, you'll have to play some games with port numbers, but
VPOP3 is almost infinitely configurable, so that's not hard to do.

I've never used the Spambayes proxy server, so I don't know for a fact
that you can easily make it get its input from two POP3 accounts. But if
not, you can probably have your ISP throw all your mail (yours and your
wife's) into a single POP3 account. That won't inconvenience you,
because VPOP3 is going to split it up again anyway.

The point of all this is that you and your wife are no longer competing
for Spambayes's attention. It does its job in the background without
intervention from either user.

Bob

-----Original Message-----
From: spambayes-***@python.org [mailto:spambayes-***@python.org]
On Behalf Of Kyle Forbes
Sent: Saturday, January 14, 2006 12:16 AM
To: ***@python.org
Subject: [Spambayes] Multiple XP Users Confuses sb_service


I'm stumped by this problem. My wife and I use Outlook express, and we
each have our own account on our XP machine. When we both use the
sb_tray program, the last one to start it up on his/her account
apparently dictates where SpamBayes will retrieve its configuration
information. Seeing this, I decided that maybe the best thing to do was
to install the sb_service to provide a central mechanism for filtering
spam on our computer.

The service starts automatically, and that seems to work fine. I can
login to either of our accounts and retrieve email. However, the
sb_tray program seems confused. Whoever runs the program first prevents
the other one from running it. The first person to run it gets an
active tray program through which he/she can review messages and
configure the server. If I login to the second account, the sb_tray
program doesn't work -- it says SpamBayes isn't running. Even if I shut
down the first user's instance of the tray program, the second user can
never seem to get an active connection to the service. Is this a known
bug? How can two outlook express users review messages via the sb_tray
program?

Thanks.

Kyle