SETTING UP A SPAM FOLDER IN MICROSOFT OUTLOOK 2000
Creating a SPAM Filter  
 
  • The following procedures were tested with Outlook 2000 which is bundled with the Office 2000 software suite.
  • You can determine your version by opening Outlook and clicking on Help > About Microsoft Outlook.

  1. Launch Outlook.


  2. Click on Tools > Rules Wizard.


  3. Click on New.


  4. Click on "Check messages when they arrive" and then Next >.


  5. First, click the box next to "with specific words in the subject" - later you may want to repeat this exercise clicking "with specific words in the body".
    Second, click the specific words link in the bottom text box.

    [Note the many different conditions that allow you to set up specific rules in handling your email. The "Rules Wizard" is a very powerful tool that is worthy of spending some time learning its capabilities]

  6. A new dialog box will appear where you can Add as many words or phrases as you would like. A good approach is to read you SPAM mail as you receive it in order to choose words that are specific to the SPAM messages that are unlikely to be found in your personal email. But first, lets make sure we put ****SPAM**** in there so that messages that have been tagged as spam for you by our system will get filtered. You may always return to this dialog menu to add new words later so for now you can just put ****SPAM****. When you are finished, click OK and then Next >.


  7. First, click "move it to the specified folder".
    Second, click the "specified" link in the bottom text box.


  8. First, highlight the "Inbox" by clicking once.
    Second, click the "New" button.


  9. Type "SPAM" in the "Name:" text box and click OK.


  10. Click "OK" and then "Finish" in the next dialog box.


  11. Click "Rename..." to rename the rule we just created.


  12. Erase "****SPAM****" and choose a name for the specific rule that you just created. I named the rule "SPAM Subject" to reflect that I am trapping SPAM by using keywords and phrases in the subject line of incoming emails. Click "OK" and you will be returned to the main menu.


  13. You have just created your first rule and now have two options:


    1. Clicking "OK" will start filtering email. The next incoming email message will be subjected to the keyword and phrase filter you just created. Any emails containing the keywords and phrases in the subject line, will be automatically moved to the SPAM folder.

    2. Clicking Run Now will bring up a new dialog box allowing you to immediately run your rules on the existing email in your inbox. First, select the "SPAM Subject" rule. Second, "Browse" to your "Inbox" folder. Third, click "Run Now" which will start the filtering process on all email within your Inbox.


    3. A dialog box will display the status of the filter as it scans your email.


    4. When complete click "Close".


    5. You are finished.

      You have just created a SPAM filter for the Subject line of emails. You may want to repeat the process to create a filter for the message body of emails. Over the next few days and weeks you will need to modify your rules by adding or removing keywords and phrases. The more time you spend in "tweeking" your filter rules, the better SPAM filter you will have.

        Anytime you need to modify your rules simply:

      1. Click on Tools > Rules Wizard.


      2. Click on the Subject link in blue - in this case lose weight.


      3. Add or remove keywords and phrases. Click OK when finished and OK once more to return to your inbox.