Creating a spam folder

Before making any filters, you need to create a folder to hold spam until you have a chance to review its contents. While it is possible to create a filter that simply deletes anything that may be spam, this is not recommended as you may inadvertently delete mail you want to keep. Instead, you will filter the probable spam into a separate folder and review and/or delete it at your convenience.

	From the main Outlook window, select the File menu, choose Folder and click New Folder...
A new window will open. In the "Name:" line, type "Spam" (without the quotes). The "Folder contains:" line should have "Mail Items" listed. In the bottom section, click on "Personal Folders" to highlight it, then click "OK". This will ensure that the new folder will be created at the same level as your Inbox and Outbox and not as a subfolder.

You should now see a new folder named "Spam" in your folders list. If you do not see a list of folders your folders list box has probably been closed. If this is the case, click the "View" menu at the top of the main Outlook window then click on "Folder List". If desired, you can make an "Outlook Shortcut" for your new Spam folder by right clicking on the Spam folder in the folders list and choosing "Add to Outlook Bar" in the resulting pop-up menu.

Creating a spam filter:

Now that you have created your spam folder, you may make the filter that will catch a broad array of spam and send it to that folder. This is a filter that catches email containing anti-spam headers which Internet Channel has added based on the route the message has followed through the Internet on its path to you. Such a filter is called a "Message Rule" in Outlook.
 
 

Open the "Rules wizard" by clicking the Tools menu at the top of the main Outlook window and selecting Rules Wizard. You will probably need to click on the drop-down menu at the bottom of the menu to display the full array of menu options. If you do not see the Rules Wizard listed, click on your Inbox then try again. The content of the Tools menu changes depending on what part of Outlook is being used.

 

The Rules Wizard window appears, listing any rules that have been created previously. Click the "New" button in the upper right hand corner of this window.

In the "Which type of rule do you want to create?" window, select "Check messages when they arrive". Click Next.

In the "Which conditions do you want to check?" window, scroll through the list until the line "with specific words in the message header" is visible. Place a check in the box to the left of this line. Notice that the content in the bottom portion of the window changes depending on what is selected in the top list. Also notice that is is possible to check more than one item in the list, so be careful. In the bottom section, click on the underlined phrase "specific words".

In the "Search Text" window, type "X-Spam-Status: Yes" (without the quotes). Be sure to enter this text exactly as shown. Click OK to return to the main Rules Wizard screen. Notice that the phrase "specific words" has been replace with "X-Spam-Status: Yes". Click Next.

In the "What do you want to do with the message?" window, place a check next to the line that reads "move it to the specified folder". As before, you may select more than one action, so be careful. In the bottom section, click on the underlined word, "specified".

In the "Choose a folder:" window, click on the "Spam" folder which you created earlier. Click OK.

The description of the rule gives a nice summary of the intended action. If a message arrives with the phrase "X-Spam-Status: Yes" somewhere in the headers, it will be moved to the Spam folder. This means that it will not show up in your Inbox. This message rule is complete. Click Finish.

 

Now that the rule is complete, it appears in the rule list with a check next to it. As long as a check appears next to a rule, it is active. To disable a message rule without deleting it, simply uncheck this box. You can add as many rules as necessary and modify existing ones. Rules are applied in the order they appear in this list and you may change this order with the "Move Up" and "Move Down" buttons. These buttons are only available if you have more than one message rule.

 

Now that the rule is complete, it appears in the rule list with a check next to it. As long as a check appears next to a rule, it is active. To disable a message rule without deleting it, simply uncheck this box. You can add as many rules as necessary and modify existing ones. Rules are applied in the order they appear in this list and you may change this order with the "Move Up" and "Move Down" buttons. These buttons are only available if you have more than one message rule. Click OK to exit the Rules Wizard. Note : You can use "To: Undisclosed.Recipients" as a header keyword too.

Bypassing filters

It is possible that a filter may move legitimate mail into your spam mailbox. Let's assume that something about mail from your Eudora News mailing list triggers the Internet Channel mail server to add anti-spam headers to those messages. To bypass the filter, create an exception:

Modifying an existing rule is nearly the same procedure as creating a new rule. Both cases use the same Rules Wizard.

Open the Rules Wizard as described above and click on the rule you wish to modify. Then click the Modify button at the right of the window. Repeatedly click the Next button at the bottom of the Rules Wizard window to move through the various screens of the wizard. These screens show the current rule options. Continue to click Next until the "Add any exceptions" screen (shown at the left) is visible. Scroll through the upper list of exceptions and place a check next to the line that reads "except if from people or distribution list". Click the underlined phrase "people or distribution list" in the bottom section.

A new window will open, displaying entries from the Contacts list (i.e. the address book). In this example, "Eudora News" is already in the Contacts list. To add that name and email address to the list of exceptions, highlight the entry in the left hand box and click the "From->" button. Eudora News now appears in the right hand box. You may add multiple names to the list of exceptions. To remove a name from the exception list click on it's entry in the right hand list and press the delete button on the keyboard. If Eudora News was not in the Contact list to begin with, it could be added using the "New Contact" button at the bottom of the screen. Click OK to return to the main Rules Wizard window. Click Next on that screen, then click Finish to save the changes.

Disabling filters

Open the Rules Wizard as described above. Remove the check mark next to the rule you want to disable.