Filtering With Outlook

Every message that is centrally scanned for spam is given a score. To allow Outlook to filter mail automatically, a mail header (X-Spam-Score) is added to each email.

To configure Outlook to filter on this header, you must do the following. These instructions are based on Outlook 2002, and will not work with Outlook Express.

1. Open the "Rules Wizard". This can be found under Tools>Rule Wizard.

2. Click on "New"

3. Select "Start from a blank rule", ensure "Check messages when they arrive" is selected and click "Next".

4. Select the checkbox "with specific words in the message header"

5. Click on the specific words link which appears in the textbox titled "Rule Description".

6. Type in "X-Spam-Score: *****" to activate this filter for messages that score 5 points or above. (There is one space between the : and the first star)

   The number of stars used indicates the spam rating of the message. The more stars a message has the more likely it is spam. Five stars is a good initial value, but you should experiment a bit to see what works best for you.

   Click "Add" and then "Ok". Your filter should look like the screenshot below. Click "Next" if it does.

   

7. Select your desired action (e.g., "move it to the specified folder", "delete it" etc.) and click "Next"

8. If you wish to allow certain messages to bypass the spam filtering, you can configure an exception rule. The last option ("except if sender is in Outlook Address Book") is probably the most useful, although this step is entierly optional. Click "Next" to proceed.

9. Give this rule a unique name, such as "Spam Filter". If your filter looks similar to the screenshot below, click "Finish".