Creating an E-Mail Filter

 A "filter" allows you to automatically move messages that contain certain words to the trash or to a folder you specify. They are a way to limit the amount of spam you receive in your inbox or to control the types of messages you receive in your inbox. Below are instructions for creating an e-mail filter (based on messages marked as SPAM by Barracuda) in the major e-mail clients - Netscape, Outlook, Eudora, Entourage, Mac Mail, and Connections.

NOTE: The word-based filters for [SPAM] and/or [QUAR] are only applicable if you have your quarantine settings turned to off (No) and your spam settings turned to on (Yes). This does not mean, however, that you cannot setup additional word-based filters on words that you specify. If you have any questions about how to setup filters, please contact the Help Desk.

Creating Word-based Filters

Netscape

Outlook

Eudora

Entourage

Macintosh Mail

Connections Mail

Additional notes on filters: The filters in these email clients are very customizable. The examples shown here are specific for handling messages suspected as SPAM by our Barracuda spam-filtering software. You are not limited to only the steps and options shown here. There are a wide variety of options available for you while setting up additional filters for your email account.

Creating an E-Mail Filter in Netscape 7.x for Windows

1. Open Netscape.
2. Under the Window menu, select Mail & Newsgroups.
3. Under the Tools menu, select Message Filters.
4. In the Message Filters window that pops up, click on New.

5. In the Filter Rules window that pops up, type in a name for your filter where it says Filter name. Here we used Spam.
6. Choose the Match any of the following option where it says For incoming messages that if it is not already selected.
7. Make sure that the two drop-down boxes have Subject and contains selected if they are not already selected.
8. In the text box to the right of contains, type in the word [SPAM] and make sure to include the brackets.

9. Click the More button.
10. Another row of options will appear below the first one. Keep “Subject” and “contains” selected and then type in [QUAR] in the textbox to the right.

11. Where it says Perform this action, select the Move to folder box.
12. Select the folder you would like to move the filtered messages to from the drop-down box. You can select Trash or create a new folder.
NOTE: We recommend creating a new folder called Spam that you should monitor occasionally to prevent accidental deletion of messages that should not have been marked as SPAM.
13. To create a new folder, click on the New Folder button. Under the New Folder window that pops up, type in a name for your folder. Here we used Spam. Select an option under Create as a subfolder of. If you want your folder to appear as a subfolder under your main account then make sure to first select your account name until the secondary popup menu appears and then select choose this for the parent. Then click the OK button.


14. Click OK to exit out of Filter Rules.
15. Make sure the Enabled box is checked on the Message Filters window and then close the window.

Additional Notes: These instructions were based on Netscape 7.02. If you are running a more recent version of Netscape, your options may differ.

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Creating an E-Mail Filter in Netscape 7.x for Macintosh

1. Open Netscape.
2. Under the Window menu, select Mail & Newsgroups.
3. Under the Tools menu, select Message Filters.
4. In the Message Filters window that pops up, click on New.

5. Type in a name for your filter at the top where it says Filter name.
6. Select the Match any of the following radio button if it is not already selected.
7. Make sure that the two drop-down boxes have Subject and contains selected if they are not already selected.
8. In the text box to the right of contains, type in [SPAM] just as it is shown below.


9. Click More.
10. Make sure that the two drop-down boxes have Subject and contains selected if they are not already selected.
11. In the text box to the right of contains, type [QUAR] just as it is shown.



12. Where it says Perform these actions, select the Move to folder box.
13. Select the folder you would like to move the filtered messages to from the drop-down box. You can select Trash or create a new folder. We recommend creating a new folder just for spam.
14. To create a new folder, click on the New Folder button. Under the New Folder window that pops up, type in a name for your folder. Here we used Spam. Select an option under Create as a subfolder of, or if you would like to use the default, click on the drop-down arrow and select [name of your account] on mail (could also be “Local Folders” instead of “mail”) and then choose this for the parent.
15. Click OK.
16. When you are taken back to the Message Filters window, make sure the Enabled checkbox is selected.
17. Close the Message Filters window.

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Using the Built-in Junk E-Mail Filter in Microsoft Outlook 2003

1. Open Outlook.
2. From the Actions menu, select Junk E-mail, and then select Junk E-mail Options.
3. You will see the Junk E-mail Options window below.

4. If you have a level of anything above “Low”, the likelihood of legitimate messages being sent to the automatically created Junk E-mail folder in Outlook increases. To ensure that any legitimate messages will not be lost, it is recommended to leave the “Permanently delete suspected…” option unchecked and just monitor the Junk E-mail folder periodically. In addition, because this built-in Junk E-mail feature in Outlook could interfere with other rules you have setup, we recommend either keeping it on “Low” or on “No Automatic Filtering”.
5. You may also choose to specify any email address as a safe sender (such as newsletters, announcement lists, etc) so mail sent from that address is not treated as junk e-mail. To do this, click on the “Safe Senders” tab and then the “Add” button to add either an email address or a generic domain. For example, after you click on “Add” you can just type in “webster.edu” (without the quotes) and this means that anyone sending from an @webster.edu email address will not have their mail treated as junk e-mail in your client.

6. You can also use the “Blocked Senders” tab to always treat mail coming from a particular address as junk e-mail.

Additional Notes: Depending on your version, dialog boxes may have a slightly different appearance, but instructions and command buttons should basically be the same. If some spam gets through your filter, right-click the message header, select Junk E-mail and then Add to Junk Senders list. This will keep it from getting through again.

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Creating an E-Mail Filter in Microsoft Outlook 2003

1. Open Outlook.
2. Under the Tools menu, select Rules and Alerts.
3. Click the “New Rule” button.
4. Make sure “Start creating a rule from a template” is selected if it is not already.
5. Select “Move messages with specific words in the subject to a folder”, then click the Next > button.

6. On the next screen, with specific words in the subject has a checkmark in front of it by default. Leave this option checked.
7. In the Rule description area (Step 2: Edit the rule description), click on the blue underlined text specific words

8. In the Search Text pop up window that appears, type in the word [SPAM] (make sure to include the brackets) in the Specify words or phrases to search for in the subject text box. Then click Add.
9. [SPAM] will now appear in the Search list box as shown below. Please note that in the search list, [SPAM] appears in quotes. This is added by Outlook. Do not type in the quotes when you are adding the word in step 8 above.
10. Now type in the word [QUAR] (include the brackets). Click on Add.
11. Both words will now appear in the Search list box and your screen should look similar to that below.

12. Click OK.
13. When the Rules Wizard window is again active, click on the blue underlined text specified folder (specified is underlined, folder is not) in the Rule Description area.

14. In the pop up window that appears, select the folder where you want your filtered messages to go. You can select an existing folder or create a new one.
NOTE: We recommend creating a new folder called SPAM that you should monitor occasionally to prevent accidental deletion of messages that should not have been marked as SPAM.
15. To create a new folder, click on the New button, type in a name for your new folder, then you will need to select where to place this new folder. To have this folder appear under all of your other personal folders, make sure Personal Folders is selected underneath “Select where to place the folder”. Then click OK.
16. Back on the previous window, the folder you just created should now be selected under the “Choose a folder” area. Ensure that is and then click OK.

17. Click Next >.
18. Where it asks What do you want to do with the message? make sure that move it to the specified folder is selected.
19. Click Next >.
20. On the next screen, it asks you if you want to add any exceptions. Click on the Next > button.
21. On the next screen, in the Please specify a name for this rule text box, type in the name you would like to use. In this instance, we used "SPAM".
22. Make sure Turn on this rule is selected and then click Finish after you have reviewed the rule description for accuracy.

23. Your rule will now show with a checkmark in front of it on the main “Rules and Alerts” window. Click the OK button to exit out of Rules and Alerts.

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Creating an E-Mail Filter in Eudora 5.x for Windows

1. Open Eudora.
2. Under the Tools menu, select Filters.
3. Click on the New button.

4. Under Match (near the top) click the box directly before Incoming if it is not already selected.
5. For the drop-down box to the right of the word Header, choose Subject.
6. Choose contains from the drop-down box directly below the Header drop-down box and then type in the word [SPAM] (making sure to include the brackets) in the text box.
7. Next, where it says “ignore” in the drop-down box below the options you just set, change this to “or”
8. For the second Header drop-down box, choose Subject.
9. Choose contains directly below that box and type in the word [QUAR] (making sure to include the brackets) in the text box.
10. Under Action choose Transfer To (about the second one from the bottom of the list) from the first drop-down box.
11 . Click on the In button.

12. You will get a pop up just below the button showing you a list of all your folders and the option for a New one. You may choose any folder that already exists or create one. To create a new one, select New. You will get a new pop up box (shown below) called New Mailbox. Type a name for the new mailbox you would like to create (we used "SPAM") and then click OK when finished.

13. When you change screens, or close the current window or program, it will ask you if you want to save your filters. Choose Yes.

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Creating an E-Mail Filter in Entourage (Macintosh)

1. Open Entourage
2. Go to Tools then Rules

3. Click on New (+)

4. Type in a “Rule Name”


5. In the If section, choose “Subject” for the first field, “Contains” for the second field and type in [SPAM] in the last blank field as shown below.
6. Click Add Criterion.
7. In the If section, choose “Subject” for the first field, “Contains” for the second field and type in [QUAR] in the last blank field as shown below.



8. In the Then section, choose “Move message” for the first field.
9. In the second field click on “Choose folder from the drop-down list”, here you can either setup a new folder to move your Spam to (click on New Folder then name your folder and click Create), or choose an existing folder. When finished, click the Choose button.
10. Click OK.

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Creating an E-Mail Filter in Macintosh Mail 1.3.x

1. Open Mail.
2. You may create custom filters. You can do this by selecting Preferences under the Mail menu and then clicking on the Rules button located on the upper toolbar.

3. To add a new rule, click on the Add Rule button.

4. When the Rules window appears, type in a name for your filter where it says Description.
5. Choose Subject and Contains from the drop-down boxes.
6. Type in [SPAM] (exactly like shown) in the text box to the right of contains.
7. Click the plus button to add another condition.



8. Choose Subject and Contains from the dropdown boxes.
9. Type in [QUAR] (exactly like shown) in the text box to the right of contains.
10. Choose a desired action you wish to be taken for your filtered messages where it says Perform the following actions. Choose Move Message then choose the email folder you want the messages moved to in the to mailbox dropdown box.

11. When finished, select OK.
12 . Close out of the Rules window.

NOTE: Mac Mail also has a junk mail filtering option. We recommend turning this feature OFF as it could interfere with your other rules.

1. Turn this off by selecting Preferences under the Mail menu and then clicking on the Junk Mail option.

2. Make sure the Enable Junk Mail filtering is NOT checked.

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Creating an E-Mail Filter in Connections Mail

1. Logon to Connections.
2. Click on Mail.
3. Click on Options.
4. Click on Filters.

5. Click on Create Filter.

6. Click on the drop down box by Subject and choose Contains.
7. Type in [SPAM] (make sure to include the brackets)
8. Next, click on Choose Folder.

9. Choose the folder you would like these emails moved to (note that this folder must already have been created at this point – if you want a new folder, you will need to go back to your main Mail window and add it, then return to these steps), then click OK.

10. Click OK again to return to the filters page.
11. Click Create Filter.
12. Click the drop down box by Subject and choose Contains.
13. Type in [QUAR]

14. Next click Choose Folder.
15. Choose the folder you would like these emails moved to, then click OK.

16. Click OK to return to your email.

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This document is http://www.webster.edu/depts/acs/kb/filter.html.
Revised 6/26/06