Setting Up Server-Side Rules for Junk Email

The advantage of setting up server-side rules, rather than just accepting the defaults for junk email provided by Outlook 2003, is that you can filter out junk email from anywhere you access your email. So, whether you are accessing your email from home, from a Smartphone, or a hand-held device, these settings prevent spam from cluttering up your Outlook Inbox.

Requirements: Outlook 2003 and an account* on the University's Exchange server

  1. Make sure you have folders for Junk E-mail and Junk Suspects under “Mailbox – Your Name.” (Junk E-mail is for messages with a high probability of being spam; Junk Suspects is for those with a lower probability of being spam.)
    • If not, create these folders by selecting New / Folder.
    • In the Create New Folder dialog box, type the folder name (e.g., Junk Suspects), as shown.

  1. Open a mail message that you consider spam by double-clicking it.
  2. Select View / Options. (Note: You must have a message open, not just in the Reading Pane to see View/Options.)

 

  1. In the Message Options dialog box, under Internet headers, scroll down until you find the line describing the message’s “X-Spam-Level” followed by a series of asterisks.

  1. Copy the asterisks (by highlighting the text and pressing Control+C to copy).
  2. Close out the message.
  3. Highlight your Inbox and select Tools / Rules and Alerts.

  1. To build a new rule, click New Rule.
  2. When the Rules Wizard displays, select Start from a blank rule.
  3. Leave the default setting of Check messages when they arrive and click Next.

  1. To create parameters for the rule, scroll down and check the option with specific words in the message header and click specific words (shown below under Step 2 in second box).

  1. A Search Text box opens.
  2. Paste (Control+V) the text you copied from the spam message into the Specify a word or phrase… line, as shown, and click Add. (Or you can simply type 5 asterisks (*****) for a recommended level of filtering for your Junk E-mail folder.)
  3. Click OK and Next.
  4. At the next screen, you are asked what you want to do with the message.
  5. Check the box to move it to the specified folder, and then click the word specified under Step 2 to select a folder.

  1. Highlight your Junk E-mail folder (or Junk Suspects* folder for e-mail with a lower asterisk count in the header) and click OK. (*Note: You go through this same process for Junk Suspects, but we recommend using 4 asterisks (****) as the X-Spam level. You can also type the asterisks rather than cutting and pasting from an actual e-mail message header.)

  1. Continue clicking Next until you are given the opportunity to name the rule. In this case, since we used an e-mail with a “high” score of 6 asterisks, we named the rule something to indicate this status (e.g., High Probability Spam). (Note: We recommend using a 5-asterisk level for your Junk E-mail folder.)
  2. Check the box to Turn on this rule and click Finish.

  1. You see the new rule listed in your Rules and Alerts box. Click OK.

  1. Now, as messages come in, the server automatically moves any incoming message that meets your spam criteria out of your Inbox. This is a server-side rule that does not depend on your computer, so it applies no matter where you check your messages.

Notes:

  • To obtain an account on the Exchange server, see information about the Supported Platform.
  • The university's two mail gateways use SpamAssassin to determine the likelihood of a piece of mail being ‘spam.’ Based upon a given e-mail’s characteristics, a level (indicated by asterisks) is added to that e-mail header.
  • In the example above, we are using the Exchange mail server with a Microsoft XP Professional operating system and Outlook 2003 as the mail client. Within Outlook, users can configure the server-side rules, which move messages with various scores to predetermined ‘Junk E-mail’ and ‘Junk Suspects’ folders.
  • Those who receive their e-mail via the Equinox server do not currently have a server-side way to manage spam. However, such a procedure is coming soon from the IT Department.