Microsoft Outlook 2003

Using Junk E-mail Filters

Outlook 2003 provides a built-in Junk E-mail filter. This filter is activated by phrasing, font styles (e.g., all caps), and symbols (e.g., dollar signs) that are characteristic of Junk E-mail messages. The Junk E-mail filter cannot be completely accurate, so you should refine the filter by adding senders to the Blocked Senders list or the Safe Senders list.

IMPORTANT: You should review the Junk E-mail folder on a regular basis for the following reasons:

Messages in this folder count against your email account quota. Therefore, you will want to delete the unwanted messages from this folder regularly. For more information, refer to Managing Your Account Quota.
Messages will appear in the Folder List as unread messages, so the number of new messages in this folder will be indicated.
Some of the messages in the Junk E-mail folder will be messages that you actually do want to receive. For example, messages from listservs and HTML email servers such as Hotmail and Yahoo contain advertising that causes the messages to be filtered. Once you have found such messages, you can add them to your Safe Senders list.

This document will explain how to use the Junk E-mail filter, including the following:

Using Junk E-mail Filters
Adding Senders to the Blocked Senders List
Adding Senders to the Safe Senders List
Managing the Junk E-mail Lists
Turning Off Junk E-mail Filters

Using Junk E-mail Filters

It can be tiresome and time-consuming to wade through junk email messages. Using Junk E-mail filters will make using email more efficient and convenient.

NOTES:
All campus users must enable the Junk E-mail filter through Webmail.
Levels of protection are set at the server and override any settings you may make in Outlook.

Log-on to webmail
On the Outlook sidebar, click OPTIONS
In the Privacy and Junk E-mail Prevention section, select Filter Junk E-mail
Click SAVE AND CLOSE
The Junk E-mail Filter is turned on.

Adding Senders to the Blocked Senders List

The Junk E-mail filter is activated by phrases and common words in junk mail messages, but it cannot be completely accurate. If you receive a message that is not filtered but should be, you can add the sender to the Blocked Senders list. All subsequent messages from that sender will be filtered according to the options you have set for your Junk E-mail filter.

NOTE: You can not block senders from the uwec.edu domain.

Adding Senders to Blocked Senders List: Menu Option

From the Actions menu, select Junk E-mail » Junk E-mail Options...
The Junk E-mail Options dialog box appears.
Select the Blocked Senders tab
Click ADD...
The Add address or domain dialog box appears.
In the text box, type an email address or domain name to add to the Blocked Senders list
EXAMPLES: janedoe@spam.com or junkmail.org
Click OK
The sender is added to your Blocked Senders list.
To return to Outlook, click OK
Messages from this sender are now treated as Junk E-mail.

Adding Senders to Blocked Senders List: Quick Menu Option

Locate the message whose sender you want to be filtered as Junk E-mail
Right click the message » select Junk E-mail » Add Sender to Blocked Senders List
The sender is added to your Blocked Senders list.
A confirmation dialog box appears.
Click OK
Messages from the sender are now treated as Junk E-mail.

Adding Senders to the Safe Senders List

If you are concerned that the Junk E-mail filter will exclude messages sent by people that you want to correspond with (e.g., a friend who always writes messages in all caps) you can add these senders to the Safe Senders list.

IMPORTANT: To avoid the risk of @uwec.edu mail from ending up in your Junk E-mail folder, it is recommended to add @uwec.edu to the Safe Senders list.

Adding Senders to the Safe Senders List: Dialog Box Option

From the Actions menu, select Junk E-mail » Junk E-mail Options...
The Junk E-mail Options dialog box appears.
Select the Safe Senders tab
Click ADD...
The Add address or domain dialog box appears.
In the text box, type an email address or domain name that you want on the Safe Senders list
EXAMPLES: janesmith@mail.com or college.edu
Click OK
The sender is added to your Safe Senders list.
To return to Outlook, click OK
Messages from this sender are now excluded from Junk E-mail.

Adding Senders to the Safe Senders List: Quick Menu Option

Locate the message whose sender you want to add to the Safe Senders List
Right click the message » select Junk E-mail » Add Sender to Safe Senders List
A confirmation dialog box appears.
Click OK
This sender is added to your Safe Senders list.
Messages from this sender are now excluded from Junk E-mail.

Managing the Junk E-mail Lists

Periodically you will want to review or adjust your Safe Senders or Blocked Senders lists. These instructions show you how to edit or remove senders from these lists.

Editing Junk E-mail List Entries

From the Actions menu, select Junk E-mail » Junk E-mail Options...
The Junk E-mail Options dialog box appears.
Select the tab for the list you would like to edit
From the list of senders, select the one you want to edit
Click EDIT...
In the text box, make the desired changes
Click OK
The modified sender appears in the list.
Click OK

Removing Senders from Junk E-mail List

From the Actions menu, select Junk E-mail » Junk E-mail Options...
The Junk E-mail Options dialog box appears.
Select the tab for the list containing the entry you would like to remove
From the list of senders, select the one you want to remove
Click REMOVE
Click OK
The sender has been deleted from the list.

Turning Off Junk E-mail Filters

NOTE: All campus users must enable the Junk E-mail filter through Webmail.

The following steps will guide you through the process of turning off the Junk E-mail automatic filter:

Log-on to webmail
Click OPTIONS
In the Privacy and Junk E-mail section, deselect Filter Junk E-mail
Click SAVE AND CLOSE
The Junk E-mail filter is turned off.