configuring junk mail filters in a desktop E-mail program
Once you have modified your central filtering settings (to make them more restrictive) as described at www.bu.edu/pcsc/email/spam/faqs.html#modify you have taken significant steps toward blocking spam from reaching your Inbox, and that might be all you need to do.
However, if you still get an objectionable about of spam, you can further manage it on your local computer using the Junk Mail controls/filters that are built in to popular desktop mail programs such as Thunderbird and Outlook. The instructions below give you a sense of how this works, using Thunderbird and Outlook as examples.
(Note: If you are currently using only Web-based mail, you can download and configure a desktop mail program as described on our related page. Once you've done that, proceed with these instructions...)
Thunderbird 2.0
Outlook (2003 and 2007)
Thunderbird 2.0
Thunderbird's filtering tool is "adaptive" which means it won't perform perfectly the first time you use it. Instead, it will take a guess at what it thinks is spam and you will tell it when it's wrong by either selecting, or removing, the flame tag. For example, in the upcoming graphic, Thunderbird has correctly identified that the "Healthy Teeth" message is spam. However, the user would still need to go ahead and manually flame the "Google Home Business" message. Over time, you will be teaching Thunderbird to learn what you personally define as spam, and the filtering system becomes increasingly more accurate.
To use this feature of Thunderbird, go to Tools-Account Settings and select Junk Settings for the Account you want to filter. Define your settings according to personal preference, but it will look something like what you see below. NOTE: You can also set filtering to Trust junk mail headers set by SpamAssassin (which uses the X-Spam-Status and X-Spam-Flag headers). However, this setting probably redundant if you are already filtering as described on our related page.
Next, go to Tools-Options-Privacy-Junk and use your personal preference to determine where you want "Junk" mail to go.
You can get even more precise in how you do filtering with Thunderbird. For more information, see the detailed wiki at http://kb.mozillazine.org/Junk_Mail_Controls.
Outlook 2003 and 2007
Outlook includes a built-in junk mail filter, and has for the last several versions. For versions 2003 and 2007, however, regular updates from Microsoft keep up with what is currently defined as spam. Outlook 2007 is more fully-featured than 2003, both in its ability to detect spam and in the manner and frequency with which it receives updates. If you decide to upgrade to Outlook 2007, it's good to note that you can install Outlook without having to install the rest of Office 2007. If you aren't yet ready to make the leap to 2007 in terms of Word, Excel, etc. you can still use Outlook 2007.
With either version, you are probably getting updates by default. If not, you can use the Outlook Help menu to check for updates, or download them directly. In addition to the definition updates, you can adapt your filters using the "Mark as Junk" or "Mark as not Junk" features (available by doing a right click on the message).
You can configure the filtering by going to Tools-Options-Preferences and then click on the Junk E-mail button. Select the level of filtering you want (High is recommended), and then Apply it.
For more information, use the Microsoft Outlook Help menu within Outlook and search on Junk E-mail. You will also find plenty of information on-line, such as this useful Microsoft article.
Outlook 2007 Defaults settings (switching to High is recommended)
Outlook 2003 Defaults
