Trash the Junk Mail, part 1

Trash the Junk Mail, part 1

It seems that more than ever, I check my Internet mail and find unwanted e mail messages accumulating in my e mail program. These try selling varied services including insurance, background checks, online gambling, software, diets, digital TV and varied forms of sex. This month, I will begin sharing my strategy to deal with unwanted e mail.

Unwanted e-mail has many names. I've heard these messages called junk e mail, bulk e mail, solicitations and SPAM (among the family-friendly names). While most apply, we should veer away from calling this unwanted e mail "SPAM" since "SPAM" is a trademarked product. I will use the term "junk e-mail" from this point on.

Junk e-mail is not selective. People receive junk e-mail regardless of their demographics. I've seen 16 year-old girls receive junk e mail for Viagra, 50 year-old nuns receive junk e mail for sex and 85 year-old retirees receive junk e mail for life insurance. The Internet web sites you visit may or may not determine what junk e mail you receive. A much stronger factor is…who is selling your Internet mail address?

I suspect that varied organizations sell Internet addresses. These would include (but are not limited to) a) Internet Service Providers, b) financial institutions, and c) associations. They see their Internet address databases as an additional source of revenue. My wife and I registered a puppy dog in 2002 with an international organization. Within two weeks, I had received more than 20 junk e mails for dog food, magazines and training.

Outlook 2003 has a built-in Junk Mail filter. For those of running an older version of Outlook, use the Outlook Rule Feature. I created a folder named "Junk E mail" and told Outlook 2000 to move any inbound junk e mail directly into that folder.

I created an Outlook rule that looks at messages, as they arrive, and determines if they're from junk e mail senders. If they are, then Outlook automatically moves them to my Junk E mail folder. If they're not, Outlook lets them remain in my IN box. Creating this is a two-step process.

First, build an Outlook Rule that performs this screening. From Outlook's IN box, choose Tools > Rules Wizard > New to launch the Rules Wizard. Choose "Check messages when they arrive" and click "Next." Select "Suspected to be junk e-mail or from Junk Senders" and click "Next." Select "move it to the specified folder" and click "specified folder" in the bottom window. Navigate to the "Junk E-mail" folder you created, select the folder and click "OK." Click "Next" twice. Rename the rule (if you want to) and click "Finish." From now on, Outlook will intercept messages from Junk Senders and move them to the Junk e mail folder.

Second, add junk-email senders to your list. Simply review messages as they arrive in your In box. If you see a sender that habitually sends you junk e mail, right-click the message, select Junk E-mail > Add to Junk Senders List. For example, I've decided that someone with the e-mail address MO2037_20020927_3326@dealmate.com is sending me junk e mail. I added this address to my Junk Senders list.

This rule runs automatically on messages when they arrive. If the senders are on your Junk Senders list, Outlook will move them to your Junk E-mail folder. Next month, I will show you how to create rules that look at text in the subject line and body when deciding to move them or not.