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Implementing Email Filters for Microsoft Outlook 2000 or XP

Outlook supports two different approaches for filtering electronic junk mail: you can turn on built-in junk email filters, and/or define and implement user-defined filters.

Built-in Junk Email Filters
Microsoft Outlook includes a set of built-in filters that identify junk email, such as commercial bulk email and email suspected of having adult content. Implementation of these filters enable you to highlight the message by changing its color or to move it to a folder for later review and disposal. The criteria used by the built-in filters are documented at.

To set up filtering using Outlook's built-in junk email filters:

Open your Outlook Inbox. From the Tools drop-down menu, select Organize. Click on the Junk E-Mail link on the left side of the window. Select the actions to be applied to the junk or adult content email:
- Select Move, and then define the folder to which the junk email is to be moved.
- Or select Color, and then select the color to be assigned to junk and adult content email. The same or different colors may be assigned to each type of email identified by the built-in filters.
  Note: Changing the color of filtered email sets these suspicious messages apart visually so you can readily delete them. However, given they are still in your Inbox, you won't miss an important message that might be flagged inadvertently by the built-in junk mail filters.
Click the Turn On button for one or both filters.
To customize a built-in filter by adding a sender's name to it, click on the "click here" link for more options. Options described in the next window include:
- How to add a sender's name to a filter by right-clicking on a closed message and choosing Junk E-Mail from the menu.
  Note: If the message is opened instead of closed, select Actions from the drop down menu, select Junk E-Mail, and select either "Add to Junk Senders list" or "Add to Adult Content Senders list."
  How to view or edit the names you have added by clicking on "Edit Junk Senders" or "Edit Adult Content Senders."
- How to download filter updates from the Microsoft Outlook web site.

User-Defined Filters
To set up user-defined filtering in Microsoft Outlook, use its Rules Wizard feature. Rules enables automated deletions, alerts, categorization, auto-forwarding, auto-replying, and spam filtering. To set up an Outlook rule:

Open your Outlook Inbox. From the drop-down menu, select Tools, Rules Wizard. A window listing existing rules will appear. To create a new rule, click the New button. If prompted, select "Start From a Blank Rule." Select "Check messages when they arrive" and click Next. From the list of conditions, check the box next to the condition you want to use. You may need to scroll down to find the desired condition.

Note: The rule description displayed changes depending on the condition selected.

Select a condition, such as "with specific words in the subject and body" and click on the underlined text in the rule description.

To filter for messages flagged as spam, select the condition "with specific words in the subject" and click on the underlined text in the rule description.

Type one word or a phrase to be used by the rule into the "Add new" field, and click the OK (2000) or Add (XP) button. The word or phrase will be displayed in the Search list window.

To filter for messages flagged as spam, use the phrase "*****SPAM*****" (without the quotation marks).

Repeat step 7 for each word or phrase to be used by the rule until the complete list of keywords or phrases has been defined. If you get a message saying you cannot use your rules with previous versions of Outlook, you will probably want to say "Yes" to complete the rule, then click Next. Specify the action you want implemented on the email filtered by the rule.

Check the box next to the action you want implemented. Example: "Move it to the specified folder." Click on the underlined text in the rule description. In the folder list that appears, select the folder to which the filtered mail should be delivered. You can create a new folder by clicking the New button.
Note: Use a folder that is in your mailbox rather than a folder stored in a Personal folder file (PST) so the rule will be stored and executed on your server instead of your client (i.e., your personal computer). Rules storing messages in PST files are automatically stored on your client.

You will want to avoid setting up client rules because they cannot be run while you are not logged on or when you log in using a different computer, such as a home office computer, or via the Web.
Select the folder, and click OK to display the folder name in the rule description, then click Next.
We recommend reviewing the contents of your spam folder on a regular basis to ensure no legitimate email was flagged as spam.

Specify any exceptions you want to apply, and click Next. Enter a name for the rule that will make sense to you, and specify whether to run the rule on existing messages and whether to turn on the rule, then click Finish. If other rules are in place, you can specify the order in which they are run by clicking on the Move Up or Move Down buttons.

Click OK to save the changes and close the window.