Outlook's
Spam-Handling Features
Tech Tips. Vol. 2004 No. 08
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Both Outlook and Outlook Express contain built-in tools to help
you manage spam. The capabilities vary depending on the tool
and version: Outlook Express uses a "blocked senders"
list you create to specify which items to treat as spam. In
Outlook 2000/2002/XP, you can turn on a built-in filter that
looks for certain keywords and characters to identify spam;
you fine-tune the filters by adding or removing specific senders'
email addresses. Outlook 2003's filters are automatically turned
on; you specify the level of protection and manage exception
lists.
Whatever version, don't expect these features to solve your
entire spam problem. There is no perfect anti-spam solution
available anywhere. However, turning on Outlook's automatic
features does offer at least some protection.
Outlook 2000 and 2002/XP
Open Outlook and click on your in-box; click the "Organize"
button on the tool bar; on the left side of the box that opens,
click "Junk E-Mail". You will see bulleted entries
for both Junk and Adult content. Using the drop-down menu for
each item, you may chose to "move" such items to a
folder, or to "color" them to highlight them in your
inbox. If you chose "move", Outlook will by default
create a folder called "Junk Mail" to hold spam. You
can also choose to place spam into your deleted items folder,
or to any other folder you specify. After making your selections,
click "Turn On".
Remember that the filters are crude, so you'll need to check
the spam folder regularly for misrouted, legitimate messages.
To exempt a sender from future classification as a spammer,
pull down the "Tools" menu, select "Rules Wizard",
then click on the underlined "Exception List". You
can then exempt a specific email address or a domain name
(to exempt all email from address on the domain).
The easiest way to add an address to your list of spammers
is when you get an email: right click on the email entry in
your inbox, select "Junk E-mail" and select the
appropriate "add" option.
Outlook 2003
Your job in Outlook 2003 is to manage the automatic filters;
you can set protection to none, low, or high. You can also
use "safe senders", "safe recipients"
and "blocked senders" lists to fine-tune the filters.
Here is a great link to the details:
http://dummies.com/WileyCDA/DummiesArticle/id-2203.html
As with all spam filters, this one's not perfect, so be sure
you regularly check the folder to which you have spam routed.
Look for misrouted legitimate email and add those people to
your "safe senders" list. Be sure empty the folder
periodically after you've dealt with any legitimate messages
it contains.
Outlook Express
Outlook Express has no automatic filters. All spam management
is via "rules" that identify "blocked senders".
To create an initial list, pull down the "Tools"
menu and select "Message Rules", then "Blocked
Senders List." When the window opens, click the "add"
button. You can block a particular address, or an entire domain.
You can also add the sender of any particular message: select
a message from the sender you wish to block, pull down the
"Message" window, and click "Block Sender."
Copyright 2003-2005 by Shulman Clark
Associates, LLC. All rights reserved.
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