Disclosed are signature-based systems and methods that facilitate spam
detection and prevention at least in part by calculating hash values for
an incoming message and then determining a probability that the hash
values indicate spam. In particular, the signatures generated for each
incoming message can be compared to a database of both spam and good
signatures. A count of the number of matches can be divided by a
denominator value. The denominator value can be an overall volume of
messages sent to the system per signature for example. The denominator
value can be discounted to account for different treatments and timing of
incoming messages. Furthermore, secure hashes can be generated by
combining portions of multiple hashing components. A secure hash can be
made from a combination of multiple hashing components or multiple
combinations thereof. The signature based system can also be integrated
with machine learning systems to optimize spam prevention.