Using Outlook to Block SPAM
While our servers use MailScanner and SpamAssassin to filter spam before it reaches you, Outlook also provides its own layer of junk email filtering that you can configure to suit your needs.
Does spam have you down lately? If you are using Microsoft Outlook, you can control certain anti-spam features and, when used correctly, greatly reduce the amount of spam that reaches your inbox. Here’s how.
Junk email messages, also known as spam, can be a nuisance in your Inbox. The Junk Email Filter in Outlook identifies messages that are likely junk and moves them to the Junk Email folder. You can easily change the level of junk email protection to include automatically deleting junk email.
Some of these steps vary from version to version of Outlook.
***Note*** By default, the Junk Email Filter protection level is set to No Automatic Filtering.
***Note 2*** Outlook does not have a spam folder; instead, it is called Junk Email
Using Outlook Junk Mail Filter
Right-click on the spam email
Scroll down to Junk
Select the option you want (see below for explanation)
Block Sender
If you’re receiving unwanted emails, you can block the email addresses and domains you don’t want to receive messages from. Add any email address or domain to your blocked senders list to move these messages directly to your Junk Email folder.
The email address in the From line will be added to the Blocked Senders list
Never Block Sender
There are times when you don’t want messages from a specific person or domain to end up in your Junk Email folder. Messages from addresses or domains on the safe senders list won’t get moved to your Junk Email folder.
The email address in the From line will be added to the Safe Senders list
Never Block Senders Domain (@example.com)
The email address in the From line will be added to the Safe Senders list
Never Block this Group or Mailing List
There are times when you don’t want emails coming from a specific person or website to end up in your Junk folder.
The email address in the From line will be added to the Safe Senders list
Not Junk
If you want to remove someone from the blocked senders list, follow the instructions below.
- Select Junk
- Select, Not Junk
- This will mark an email as not junk after it has been marked as junk.
Have Questions?
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Junk Mail Options
Options tab
Choose the level of junk email protection you want:
No Automatic Filtering: This disables the Junk Email Filter. However, messages are still evaluated by using the domain names and email addresses in your Blocked Senders List.
Low: If you don’t receive many junk messages, or want to filter only the messages that are the most obvious junk, select this option.
High: If you receive lots of junk messages, but don’t want to restrict messages from senders on your safe lists, select this option. We recommend you occasionally check the Junk Email folder to make sure that a message you wanted isn’t moved in error.
Safe Lists Only: This is the most restrictive option. Any message that isn’t from someone on your Safe Senders List or isn’t to a mailing list on your Safe Recipients List is classified as junk.
Permanently delete suspect junk email instead of moving it to the Junk Email folder
Disable links and other functionality in phishing messages (recommended)
Warn me about suspicious domain names in email addresses (recommended)
Safe Senders Tab
Emails from addresses or domain names on your Safe Senders List will never be treated as junk email
Safe Recipients Tab
Email sent to addresses or domain names on your Safe Recipients List will never be treated as junk email
Block Senders Tab
Emails from addresses or domain names on your Blocked Senders List will always be treated as junk email.
International
Some email messages you receive might be written in languages you are unfamiliar with and don’t want to read. These messages can be marked as junk and moved to the Junk Folder.
The sender’s email address in different countries/regions can end with top-level domain codes, such as .ca, .mx, or .us. The Blocked Top-Level Domain List allows you to block all messages sent from an email address ending with a specific top-level domain.
Blocked Top-Level Domain List
To block unwanted email messages from another country/region, you can add country/region codes to the Blocked Top-Level Domains List. For example, checking the CA [Canada], US [United States], and MX [Mexico] boxes in the list blocks messages from email addresses that end in .ca, .us, and .mx.
Blocked Encoding List…
To block unwanted email messages that appear in another character set or alphabet, you can add encodings to the Blocked Encodings List.
Note: Junk email is retained for 30 days before it is automatically deleted and is not recoverable.
It is important to note that there is no foolproof solution to stopping all unwanted emails. But when configured correctly, Outlook Junk Mail filters will block a large amount of unwanted email.
FAQs
Outlook does not use the term "spam folder." Instead, it calls it the Junk Email folder. Emails identified as junk by Outlook's filter are automatically moved there. You can find it in the left-hand navigation panel of Outlook. Note that junk email is retained for 30 days before being automatically and permanently deleted — so check it periodically to make sure nothing important was filtered by mistake.
Right-click on the unwanted email in your inbox, scroll down to Junk, and select Block Sender. The sender's email address will be added to your Blocked Senders List, and future emails from that address will be automatically moved to your Junk Email folder.
Outlook offers four levels of junk email protection: No Automatic Filtering (off, but blocked senders still apply), Low (filters only the most obvious junk), High (filters aggressively — check your junk folder regularly), and Safe Lists Only (the most restrictive — only emails from your Safe Senders or Safe Recipients Lists are delivered). By default, Outlook is set to No Automatic Filtering, so most users should at minimum switch to Low or High.
Right-click the email in your Junk Email folder and select Junk → Not Junk. This moves the message back to your inbox. To prevent future emails from the same sender from being filtered, right-click any email from that sender and select Junk → Never Block Sender to add them to your Safe Senders List.
Yes. Under Junk Mail Options, go to the International tab. There you can add country/region top-level domain codes (such as .ru, .cn, or .br) to the Blocked Top-Level Domain List, which will block all emails arriving from those country-specific domains. You can also block emails in specific foreign character sets or alphabets using the Blocked Encoding List.
Still overwhelmed by spam even after adjusting your Outlook settings?
Outlook’s built-in filters are a great first step, but server-level spam filtering is where the real protection happens. Simply Web Services provides professional email hosting with MailScanner and SpamAssassin protection built in.