STANFORD UNIVERSITY

• IT Services
• Webmail
• Creating a Spam Filter

Creating a Spam Filter

Overview

Stanford's mail servers use a spam tagging system to mark messages it considers to be spam. These instructions will show you how to setup a filter in Webmail to automatically handle messages tagged by this system, either moving them to a separate mailbox or deleting them.

Note: You can also tell the mail servers to delete spam before it is ever delivered to your personal mailbox. The Spam Deletion Tool catches and discards spam before it enters your Inbox.

Creating a Spam Filter in Webmail

1. Click the Options button in the Webmail menubar.
   
   
   
   
2. Under the Other Options section, click on the Filters link.
   
   
   
   
3. Click the Edit Your Filter Rules link.
   
   
   
   
4. There are two ways to setup the filter: You can have it move the messages to a mailbox you have created to hold them or you can have the messages moved to the trash.
   
   To move the messages into a mailbox you have created, enter the following information:
   
   Click the New Rule button on the Existing Rules screen.
   
   
   
   
   Edit the fields on the Filter Rule screen so that it matches the screen below:
   
   Rule Name: Give your new filter a name such as Spam Filter.
   All of the following: This is checked by default.
   Drop-down boxes: Select Subject for the left box, Contains for the middle box.
   Text box: When the text box opens, enter:  [SPAM:
   Note: The first character of text is the left angle bracket. It is directly to the right of the "P" key on your keyboard. There is no space between the angle bracket and the "S."
   Do this: Select Deliver to folder for the left box, then Spam for the next box.
   Mark Message as: Check the box for Deleted.
   Stop checking if this rule matches: Checked by default.
   Note: This tells webmail to stop checking all of your filters if your spam rule matches.
   
   
   
   
5. If you would rather have the filter toss spam directly in the trash, follow the same instructions as Step 4 above, but:
   Do this: change the Deliver to folder: selection to Trash.
   
   
   
   
6. In either case, click the Save button when you have finished the settings.
   Your new filter rule will now appear in the Existing Rules section.