Beginning with Outlook 98,
you can use built-in junk mail processing, using either the Organize pane
or Rules Wizard. However, results can be less than satisfactory, often putting wanted
senders into the Junk Mail folder and not ignoring items sent with no
From address (usually spam).
I think Sue's low-maintenance method here may work better for many people, requiring a rules update only
when you join a new mailing list.
Outlook 2003 and 2007 include Junk Email filter. While this
filter cannot be updated by the end user, Microsoft releases
frequent updates for it. For most users, setting the Junk email
filter set to high is good enough, especially if their mail is also
scanned by a server side anti-spam filter. If it does not meet your
needs, check out the Anti-spam Tools below.
Adding Senders addresses or domains to the blocked lists is an
ineffective way of dealing with spam. Because few spammers reuse
addresses and the lists hold a limited number of addresses, it fills
the lists with addresses that will never be used. for this reason,
only use this method to add addresses which send you mail often when
you are unable to unsubscribe from the mailing list.
Rule
Your E-Mail -- Detailed article, with screen shots, on
creating Rules Wizard rules in Outlook 2002, including rules to
handle spam
The
built-in rules require constant maintenance to add legitimate
senders to the exclusion list or spammers to the junk senders list.
However, you can now download a list of thousands of known junk
senders for use with Outlook. The author of the
GazNET
Anti-Spam Protection File invites you to send in your junk
senders list from Outlook, to be added to the master list.
Editing Outlook's Filters.txt file does not change the way the
built-in junk mail filter works. This file is for information only.
It is not actively used by Outlook. Furthermore, Microsoft says it's
outdated and that the real junk mail filters can be found at
Microsoft Junk E-Mail Filter Readme.
Even though the Organize pane suggests that there are updates for
the junk filters, no such updates are available.
The
last four rules in my Rules Wizard list work together to
make sure that undesired messages not sent directly to me
are diverted to a Junkmail folder. These rules are mostly
designed to handle mailing lists that I've subscribed to.
Some lists work better with a "from people or
distribution list" rule, while others are best
handled with a "sent to people or distribution
list" rule. When I receive the first message from any
new mailing list that I've subscribed to, I examine the
header to figure out whether the From or To address is the
one that distinguishes the distribution list; it's usually
easy to tell. Then, I right-click and choose Add to
Contacts to add the address to my Contacts folder. (You
could also add to the Personal Address Book if you have it
in your profile.) This step is crucial to gathering all
the addresses for distribution lists into my first two
anti-junkmail rules.
I have some separate rules to move messages from a few
specific distribution lists into their own folders. Items
sent to or from other lists are caught by these two rules
and retained in the Inbox:
Rule#1 - Pre-Junk FROM:
Apply this rule after the message arrives
from people or distribution list (select
distribution list addresses from the address book)
move it to the Inbox folder
and stop processing more rules
Rule #2 - Pre-Junk TO:
Apply this rule after the message arrives
to people or distribution list (select
distribution list addresses from the address book)
move it to the Inbox folder
and stop processing more rules
Whenever you join a new list, add its To or From
address, as appropriate, to one of the above two rules.
The next rule handles mail sent to any of my own
personal e-mail addresses (e.g. sue@slipstick.com). I have
also put these addresses in Contacts. I find that this
rule works more reliably than rules created with the sent
directly to me or where my name is in
conditions.
Rule #3 - Pre-Junk TO ME:
Apply this rule after the message arrives
to people or distribution list (select my own
addresses from the PAB or Contacts)
move it to the Inbox folder
and stop processing more rules
You may actually need quite a few names in Rule #3. Outlook 97
was very consistent about using the underlying e-mail address, but
later versions seem to be sensitive to the display name. Also, in
Outlook 2000, you won't need the "move" action, only the "stop
processing" action.
Alternatively
in Outlook 2002, you can try replacing the "to" condition with the new
"sender is in address book" condition. This means Outlook will look up
the address in the address book you specify. Depending on the number
of entries in that address book, this condition might run into
problems if you receive a lot of mail. See
Outwitting Spammers.
The final rule catches everything else and slaps it
into the Junkmail folder, for later review and
deletion. Note that it does not include any conditions, only an
action and an exception:
Rule #4 - Move to Junkmail folder :
move it to the Junkmail folder
except if my name is in the To or Cc boxf
Note that you won't see a "stop processing more
rules" option in Outlook 97, but the "move"
action stops processing of the message if you are working
in a standalone situation.. However, If you connect
to Microsoft Exchange Server with Outlook 97, you need to
add a "delete" rule to stop processing on
messages that meet the specified condition; otherwise,
they drop through and are processed by all the rules.
Client anti-spam tools are listed below. For server-based tools, see Content
Control Tools:
Anti-spam tool scans your contacts and sent and saved messages to build a list of approved senders. Mail from anyone not on that list is routed to a quarantine folder, with the option to send a confirmation query to the sender. You can also add entire domains to the approved senders list. (Formerly Qurb.)
Multi-modal anti-spam tool for Outlook 2000. Uses word and regular expression filters, blacklists, whitelists, real-time blackhole lists, Bayesian filters, character set filtering. Works with all kinds of Outlook accounts. Can convert RTF and HTML messages to plain text, remove external image links, and provide access to files that Outlook security blocks.
Tool to organize your Outlook mail, learning by example as you sort your mail into customizable categories, such as Spam and Later. Outlook 2000 or later.
Alternative to Outlook Rules Wizard to eliminate junk mail, sort messages by categories, and alert you to priority messages. Also forwards messages from certain category folders automatically to another address or a mobile device.
Anti-spam and mail management tool for Outlook 2000 and later. Uses custom fields and views to prioritize your Inbox and reorganize it according to your relationship with each sender (e.g. friend, boss, client, supplier, etc.). Includes a New Mail command to send a new message to the sender(s) of the currently highlighted message(s). Another feature notifies you if a contact doesn't respond to your mail message within a certain number of days. Allows you to select multiple messages and flag them for follow-up with a single click.
Outlook utility that categorizes different types of junk mail and moves it out of your Inbox. Triggers the Outlook Email Security Update address book prompts.
The Junk E-mail Reporting Tool allows you to submit junk e-mail to Microsoft for analysis. When you choose to submit junk e-mail, it will be deleted from your Inbox and sent to FrontBridge, a Microsoft company, for analysis to help improve the effectiveness of FrontBridge's junk e-mail filtering technologies. For Outlook 2003 and Outlook 2007. Version 1.
Rules Wizard custom action that expands the junk and adult mail filters in Outlook 98 and Outlook 2000 to add an entire domain to the filter, not just a single sender from that domain.
Anti-spam tool combining white list, a trainable Bayesian filter, user-defined filters, and other techniques. Automatically builds lists of frequent correspondents and friends. Can run on demand to scan an Exchange Inbox.
Utility to organize mail by adding a unique reference to each conversation thread, tracking all messages related to that thread in an indexed database, and filing them to specific location. It "remembers" where you filed mail from specific senders and uses the same folder for new mail from that sender. You can also designate mail from certain senders as bulk mail. Cleans out junk mail on demand. Identifies suspected spam or viruses. Provides reminders for tasks linked to conversations, and sends notifications to SMS, pager, or other mail account.
Uses rules and input from other Spamcatcher users to identify junk mail. Allows mail from anyone in your Outlook Contacts folder, and blocks mail from anyone on your Outlook junk senders list. The company also offers a service to filter spam from up to three existing Internet accounts by routing mail through a "shell" account. Can also filter mail for an entire domain.
Multi-modal anti-spam tool for Outlook 2000 and later, offering filters, peer junk identification, blacklists, whitelists, and optional challenge messages to suspected spam senders.
Analyzes messages from POP accounts using whitelist, blacklist, and "intelligent" methods, adding a "spam" label to the subject of suspected junk messages. Can also work with Hotmail and MSN accounts. Blocks popup, pop-under, and banner ads.
Free content-classification (e.g. anti-spam) tool for Outlook 2000 or later, using the open-source POPFile classification utility. Methods include Bayesian analysis, whitelist (can import from Outlook contacts), and keyword and regular expression matches. Can monitor any Outlook folder (including PST, Exchange, IMAP, and Hotmail) and handle new items, moving them to other folders, deleting them, marking them as read, or playing an alert. Training mode allows you to set your own definition of spam (or other classifications). Triggers Outlook security prompts during contact import.
Anti-spam tool using Bayesian filters, whitelist, blacklist, and challenge queries. Automatically bounces known spam messages back to the sender as if your address didn't exist. Also blocks potentially dangerous attachments.
COM add-in for reporting junk mail messages. It extracts the header, appends it to the message text and then sends the combined elements to your chosen destination. Outlook 2000 or later.
Agnitum 's Spam Terrier features built-in heuristics-based anti-spam tools and collars junk email by training itself. As a user selects what he or she considers spam, Spam Terrier "learns" to identify behavior patterns of spam, instead of relying on users to block specific keywords and phrases. The more you train Spam Terrier, the better its nose gets for inappropriate email. It remembers "spam scores" that classify a message as "not spam," "probable spam" or "definite spam" so that accuracy increases over time. Spam Terrier supports multiple email accounts in both Outlook and Outlook Express and is available in English, German, Spanish, French and Russian.
SpamBayes will attempt to classify incoming email messages as 'spam', 'ham' (good, non-spam email) or 'unsure'. This means you can have spam or unsure messages automatically filed away in a different mail folder, where it won't interrupt your email reading. First SpamBayes must be trained by each user to identify spam and ham. Essentially, you show SpamBayes a pile of email that you like (ham) and a pile you don't like (spam). SpamBayes will then analyze the piles for clues as to what makes the spam and ham different. For example; different words, differences in the mailer headers and content style. The system then uses these clues to examine new messages. Open source anti-spam add-in. Version 1.0.4.
Anti-spam tool using Bayesian, whitelist (including Outlook contacts), blacklist (including Outlook junk senders), peer reporting, and other techniques. Handles POP, Exchange, and HotMail accounts. Outlook 2000 or later.
Learning classifier, Online Clearing, Rulesets powered by SpamAssassin. Stops Phishing requests for personal data with SPF/ CallerID and online clearing. Includes Automated update service. Free for all! No ads, no spyware. Requires Outlook 2000 or higher. SpamIntelligence 1.2 released under the GPL
Monitors POP and MAPI accounts to filter out junk mail, hoaxes, foreign-language messages, and other mailbox clutter. "Friends" list allows you to make sure that certain people's messages always get through.
Anti-spam tool for POP accounts for Outlook 2000 or later. Uses Bayesian and natural language processing techniques, plus sender white and black lists. Automatically trusts all addresses in the Outlook address book. Analyzes spam by topic and category, allowing you to keep a particular type of information but get rid of the rest.
Anti-spam tool based on peer reporting and whitelist techniques, for Outlook 2000 or later. Users can set which folders they want scanned, including IMAP folders. Beta users can continue using that version for free.
Adds "white list" spam filtering to Outlook 2000 or later, building a trusted senders list from unread items in your Inbox. The trusted senders list is a text file, so you probably could also build it by exporting from your Contacts folder. Free. Delphi source code available.
Client anti-spam tool supporting all kinds of Outlook accounts, including Hotmail and Exchange. Works by analyzing message content. Keeps all suspected spam in a separate database to reduce clutter in your Inbox.
Notes
If you are bothered mainly by messages sent to you in foreign
languages, see
Foreign
spam removal -for suggested characters to use in a Rules
Wizard rule.
Another approach is to use Remote Mail in Outlook 97 or
Outlook 98/2000 Corporate/Workgroup Mode or modify the send/receive
settings in Outlook 2002 to download headers only, then delete any of
those "MAKE MONEY FAST" messages and download only those from known
senders.
Or, get a third-party program to go through your mail before you
let Outlook touch it. Spam-prevention services and tools that aren't specifically
related to Outlook. Most provide either a POP proxy to run on your
machine or a separate mailbox to cleanse your mail:
Broadband
AntiSpam - blacklist, whitelist, keywords, lists of known
spammers
ChoiceMail
- blacklist, whitelist, confirmation from new senders
Rules Wizard and Assistants
