Filtering Spam in Outlook 2003/ 2007 — Advanced
Last updated
August 21, 2009 10:11:04 AM PDT
Set up mail filters to decrease junk mail (also known as spam) in your e-mail inbox. This advanced form of filtering allows you to spam "score" and create rules to prevent specific e-mail messages from being tagged as spam.
In the right place? See also basic instructions.
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- Look in the mail headers of your e-mail as follows: With Outlook open, right-click an e-mail message, and select Options.
- Scroll through the Internet Headers section to find the X-Spam-Level line. Make a note of the number of asterisks (*) in this line.
- Spam messages may have a row of several asterisks; legitimate messages may have one or none. Check several messages to compare scores.
- Decide on a number somewhere in between and remember you can change the settings later if the filters are too strict or let in too much spam. (4 or 5 is a good place to start.)
- With Outlook open, open the Tools menu, and then click on Rules Wizard.
- Click New.
- In the Rules Wizard pop-up menu, select Start from a blank rule.
- Click Next > to continue
- In the Rules Wizard window, use the scroll bar to view all the available conditions. Select with specific words in the message header.
- Click on specific words in the second section of the window.
- In the Search Text pop-up window, type: X-Spam-Level: ***** (or the number of *s equal to the number you decided upon). Leave a single space between the colon (:) and the asterisks (*).
- Click Add, and then click OK.
- Click Next > to continue.
- In the next Rules Wizard window, use the scroll bar to view all the available actions and select move it to the specified folder.
- Click specified in the second section of the window.
- In the Rules and Alerts window, click the Inbox icon, and then click New.
- In the Create New Folder pop-up window, type Spam in the Name field. Note: If you would like to create an exception rule, skip to step 7.
- Click OK to continue.
- In the next Rules and Alerts window, click Finish.
- Click Run Rules Now.
- Select the X-Spam-Level: ** check box. You may need to click the Browse button to get to your inbox and spam folder.
- Click Apply.
- Click Close. Click OK.
- To create an exception for a specific e-mail address, continue to Step 7; otherwise, skip to Step 9.
- After creating a new folder for spam, click Next.
- Check the box next to except with specific words in the sender's address.
- Click specific words in the lower portion of the window.
- Type the e-mail address of the person whose mail you want to receive (e.g., gblufin@hotmail.com).
- Click OK.
- In the next Rules and Alerts window, click Finish.
- Click Run Rules Now.
- Select the X-Spam-Level: ** check box. You may need to click the Browse button to get to your inbox and spam folder.
- Click Apply.
- Click Close.
- Click OK.
- Incoming e-mail that appears to be spam will automatically be moved to the new folder you created.
- It's possible for legitimate e-mail to be marked as spam. Periodically check the contents of the Spam folder to ensure that this has not occurred before deleting its contents.
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