How to Create and Manage your Junk Inbox Rule

Transcription

1 How to Create and Manage your Junk Inbox Rule Overview Every message received from outside of the University is scanned by a program called SpamAssassin before it is delivered to your Exchange inbox. SpamAssassin gives the message a score indicating the likelihood it's SPAM (unsolicited, junk mail). This score is stored within the header of the message, which is a behind-the-scenes element that s normally hidden when you read an because it contains technical details most people don't care about. SpamAssassin uses a star rating system where the more stars (actually, asterisks **) a message is awarded, the more likely that message is SPAM. A message with one (or zero) stars * is probably not junk, while a message with twenty stars ******************** almost definitely is junk. Exchange s Inbox Rules allow you to filter your messages. For example, you can create an Inbox Rule that says move all messages received from amazon.com to a folder called Amazon, or flag all messages received from my boss. The steps described below combine these two ideas to create your own personal Inbox Rule to automatically move messages with at least a certain number of SpamAssassin stars into your Junk-mail folder. We ll explain how to do this using Outlook Web Application (OWA), because that s how students and many staff access their , and creating the rule in OWA will work for everyone. Optionally, you can instead create the Inbox Rule using Outlook on your Windows or Mac computer if that s how you normally access - look for the Rules icon in the menu. Create your SPAM Inbox Rule Login to the Outlook Web Application (OWA) by visiting: Click on Options near the upper right corner of the page, then select Create an Inbox Rule... from the menu:

2 Your (initially empty) list of Inbox Rules will appear. Click New : The New Inbox Rule form appears. Click the More Options... link near the bottom. This will allow you to write a rule dealing with the message header:

3 Next click on the selection list immediately below the prompt When a message arrives, and: Select It includes these words and then in the message header... : A Specify Words or Phrases dialog box appears - click on the text Type words or phrases here and carefully enter this: X-Spam-Level: ** and then click the + plus symbol to add the words to the (initially empty) list: Note Accuracy counts here. The phrase you need to type is X-Spam-Level: ** The letters X, S and L

4 must be in UPPERCASE, and there's exactly one space between the colon : and the two asterisks **. After the phrase has been added, click the OK button to save this step: Now specify what should be done with the messages that meet the criterion you just set. Click on the selection list immediately below the prompt Do the following: and select Move, copy, or delete and then Move the message to folder :

5 A Select Folder dialog appears. Click on your Junk folder, and then click the OK button: Finally, make sure the Stop processing more rules option checked, and click the Save button:

6 You can then click the My Mail button in the upper right corner of the page to return to reading your You've just created an Inbox Rule that says put all messages SpamAssassin has flagged with two or more stars directly into my Junk folder. Monitor and Adjust No SPAM detection software is perfect and it s important to check your Junk folder periodically to make sure mail has not been incorrectly classified as junk. This is especially true in the days immediately after you ve created or changed your SPAM inbox rule. If you find isolated messages in your Junk folder that should not be there First, move the message back to your Inbox folder. Right-click on the message s subject, select Move to folder from the pop-up menu, and then select Inbox from the next screen. More importantly, if the wrongly classified messages are from a company or person you expect to communicate with regularly, you should adjust your Inbox Rule to stop moving their s to your Junk folder in the future even though SpamAssassin might give them two or more stars. You do this by adding an exception to your SPAM Inbox Rule as described next. Go back to your where you created your SPAM Inbox rule by clicking Options (in the upper right), then Create an Inbox Rule.

7 Double-click on your SPAM rule in the list that appears, then click on the Add Exception button: Use the menus to make your exception read: Except if It includes these words in the sender s address.

8 Then use the Specify Words or Phrases dialog to add entire addresses or just the parts after symbol to the exception list. In the screenshot below, our SPAM filter will allow s from [email protected] and anyone Be sure to click OK and then SAVE your changes to your SPAM Inbox Rule.

9 Viewing the stars It s useful to see what SpamAssassin is inserting into the headers of your messages. To see any message's header while working with OWA, double-click the message s subject to open the message in a pop-up window. Then click the Message Details icon along the top (circled in the screenshot below): The raw original text of the is shown in a resizable window. In the screenshot below, the message has no asterisks in the X-Spam-Level header, and so is not spam according to Spam Assassin.

10 How many stars work for you? If you don t like the way your Spam Inbox Rule is behaving, start by examining the X-Spam-Level values of the message by viewing the Message Details as just described so you know how SpamAssassin has scored the message. Depending on whether your rule is too harsh (many wanted messages are incorrectly being moved to Junk) or too lax (many junk messages are making it to your Inbox) you can adjust the number of stars threshold in your Inbox Rule upwards or downwards from the suggested two stars. Here's how: 1. Login to OWA at 2. Click on Options in the upper right corner of the page, then select Create an Inbox Rule Click on the rule you created named Header contains 'X-Spam-Level: **, then click the Details icon 4. Click on the text X-Spam-Level: ** to edit it, then Save your changes. Empty your Junk folder You should periodically permanently delete your Junk folder. In OWA, Right-click on the Junk folder and select Empty Junk Need help with this? For help with setting up your Spam inbox rules, open an OIT Service Desk work ticket or call x2200.