Spam Filtering in Outlook 2010

[Shadrack]

I'm bombarded with spam emails that go to my work email address. IT has a spam filter set up on the Exchange server, but it really just doesn't work very well at all. I asked IT if there was anyway to have email messages that are all eastern characters filtered out, but for some reason there was no way.

It has gotten so bad that I've had to completely disable my work email on my phone because it was too intrusive getting 10 spam emails an hour. Especially if my work laptop was off and Outlook's additional Junk Email filter wasn't grabbing some of those for me before they hit my phone.

The Junk Email filter still lets quite a few messages through.

Can someone please point me to a recommended addon or product that would filter my client side email in Outlook better? Or maybe I can setup my Junk Email settings to be stronger? It seems like I keep receiving the same types of emails, so something that was adaptive might work better.

Thanks

[+BudMan MVC]

So how does your phone get emails, does your desktop send them? Or does your server just push them to your phone, or does your phone pull them from your server.

I ask because you mention that your desktop client was filtering to junk, and then you don't get them on your phone?

Is leaving your desktop on to filter the messages an option? Its always better to filter the mail before it gets put into your mailbox. Ie at the server or at a server/service before it even hits your exchange server.

You should be able to setup server type rules to filter out mail with rules so that your desktop would not have to be running.

If your getting the same type of emails, it may be possible to just create a server side rule to put them in a specific folder that does not get sent to you phone or just deleted, etc.

Could you post up some of these spam messages with full headers and we can take a look? Maybe find something that could be used to filter them on.

So are you the only user having these spam issues? If a company wide issue your IT might want to look for a better solution.

[Shadrack]

Thanks for the reply, BudMan. My answers are in bold below.

So how does your phone get emails, does your desktop send them? Or does your server just push them to your phone, or does your phone pull them from your server.

My Email is pushed to my phone via the Exchange 2003 server.

I ask because you mention that your desktop client was filtering to junk, and then you don't get them on your phone?

Well, the filter setup on the Exchange 2003 server side gets some of the junk messages... We receive an email daily from IT that contains a list of our "bounces". But that isn't enough. There is additional junk email that makes it through, and my Outlook Junk email filter (set at "High" but not White List only) will get some of it.

Is leaving your desktop on to filter the messages an option?

Yes. If I setup my phone to receive via PUSH then I will usually get/hear/feel the spam (uhg) on my phone first and then when it hits my Outlook some moments later it is removed from my inbox. To combat this, I have set my phone up to only download new messages every 30 minutes, and that way my Outlook client has an opportunity to filter out the junk. It collects a LOT of junk mail, but I'm still getting a 5-10 about every hour that make it through the junk email filter.

Its always better to filter the mail before it gets put into your mailbox. Ie at the server or at a server/service before it even hits your exchange server.

You should be able to setup server type rules to filter out mail with rules so that your desktop would not have to be running.

I need to look into this. I'm hesitant to turn up my Outlook spam filter to White List only. However, it would be nice for the server to place all the email from folks in my contact list in my Inbox and then all other email either gets filtered out because it is Junk or goes into another folder that won't ping my phone. I've tried setting this up and am having the following problems with it:

* Any rule that seems to rotate around my contact list (even though my contact list is on the exchange server) switches from a server side rule to a client side rule. Instead of using "sender is in specified Address Book", I try "from people or public group". From there I can select everyone in my address book, and it will stay as a server side rule. But it won't let me select any of my "Groups" and insists on expanding those groups into individual email addresses as the entry (essentially the same as selecting everyone in my contact list). This is undesirable because it means I have to update the rule to "white list" someone on the server side.

* I can't seem to "invert" the rule. I can move messages from "people or public group" or move messages where "sender is in specified Address Book" but there doesn't seem to be a rule to move message from people NOT in a list or NOT in a specified address book. I would like to keep a white list in my Inbox, and all others go to some folder that I can sort through periodically but not my Junk email that contains just a crap ton of uselss junk.

If your getting the same type of emails, it may be possible to just create a server side rule to put them in a specific folder that does not get sent to you phone or just deleted, etc. That would be nice... but they seem to all be different

Could you post up some of these spam messages with full headers and we can take a look? Maybe find something that could be used to filter them on. Ok, here are a few that I received today:

From: DEACON GAJINDER MANAWALIA <[email protected]> Subject: FOR GOD'S PEOPLE

From: mrs Serah shinn <[email protected]> Subject: Dearest in the Lord,

From :BIYI WILLIAMS <[email protected]> Subject: GOOD DAY.}}}

From: [email protected] Subject: (none)

From: wftye <[email protected]> Subject: (in some kind of Asian character set).

From: MR. RICHARD BROWN <[email protected]> Subject: FROM BRISTOL MEYERS COMPANY

From: (Asian character set) Subject (Asian character set) <-- I get lots and lots of these...

....

So are you the only user having these spam issues? If a company wide issue your IT might want to look for a better solution.

I think that some of the folks that have been with the company for awhile get the spam the worst. At one point about 5-10 years ago someone decided that we should have all of our email addresses on our public web site and we have been getting an insane amount of spam ever since. I think that it is probably a company wide issue, but I just don't have the authority to make it an issue other than complaining about it to IT.

I've tried setting up a rule that will auto-forward "white listed" email messages to a gmail account that I setup, but I'm not pleased with the results so far. The "forward" action is just like as if I were to click forward on the email in Outlook...it stamps the email as forwarded but this will work with my address book. There is a "redirect" action that works the way I want, but it won't utilize all of my address book because when I select that it throws me an error informing me that "redirect" is a server side action and looking at my address book is a client side action and therefore they are incompatible. "Redirect" will work if I choose "specific people or public groups" and select all my email addresses but this doesn't make for a very convenient way to add people to the white list.

Further, I'm having issues with setting up my phone to use my company email address while sending messages received through my gmail inbetween address. If I'm logged into the gmail website I can set my company email address as the default email, but my when email is sent from my phone through that account it stamps the message with my @gmail.com address that I setup :(.

I think that setting up a white list for my Inbox, moving known Junk email into the Junk Email folder, and moving all other messages that are not on my White List but are also not suspected to be junk to a "Inbox2" or some other folder that I can sort through periodically (but not on my phone) and have this all done on the Server side... now that would be super ideal if at all possible. Even better if I can set it up from Outlook without having to bug IT about it because they are all very very "busy".

[sc302 Veteran]

maybe something like this is more of what you want

http://download.cnet...4-10280271.html

Your company should really invest in a quality antispam solution, not use the built in antispam solution. It was adequate at best in 2003.

[Shadrack]

maybe something like this is more of what you want

http://download.cnet...4-10280271.html

Your company should really invest in a quality antispam solution, not use the built in antispam solution. It was adequate at best in 2003.

Thanks. I would love to be able to send an email "Get quality antispam solution" and just make it so, but you're talking to a peon.

[sc302 Veteran]

Well what I have linked to would be a fix to your issue, the second part would be something to suggest to management and/or your IT staff. Enough peons complain something will get done. I can suggest a few products possibly even quote a few...I turn into a pumpkin the 22nd and can no longer quote but can still suggest.

[Shadrack]

Thanks, sc302! I'm going to install what you suggested on Monday.

For now, IT did help me setup a server side rule so that I have two Inboxes. One is "Inbox" and only takes email sent from within my company and the other is "Inbox - External" which all other mail goes to. All the spam has been going into "Inbox - External" on the server side which is working great because it isn't pinging my phone anymore. However, I have still had a few internal emails slip through the Inbox and land in my External inbox. So it will still take some tweaking.

[+BudMan MVC]

Those postings of your spam, nothing there to work with -- need he HEADERS!!! to see if they are coming from same server? Same country? Same spammer with info in the headers could use to filter, etc.

If you want, why don't you export a lot of spam as msg, then zip them up or put them in a pst we can open and look at to what is common with them and might be able to setup some filters. You might not want to make your email address in the spam public -- so PM and I can give you personal email account to send them too, or put them in your dropbox and let me know the link via PM.

That spam software sc302 linked too is OLD as the hills! Here is current link

http://www.sonicwall....html#tab=trial

Seems they only sell that in packs of 5 for licensing?

I can not STRESS ENOUGH that your IT should be dealing with the spam at server level or before -- desktop filtering is not where it should be filtered, it needs to be filtered before it even gets to your exchange server! Spam filtering can be done on a shoestring budget for sure if need be.. Just fire up a box infront of your exchange server if need be and use say http://spamassassin.apache.org/

Just filtering who can even talk to your server is a HUGE reduction is spam, some simple filtering based upon is the server sending your email even legit email server, does it have a PTR, is on listed as dynamic IP range, is it on a black list. What country is it in -- maybe there are some countries you can just block because you personally would never do business with them. There are FREE anti-spam lists you can have your IT guess subscribe too and help filter out if you should allow server to even talk to your exchange server.

Look at the headers of your spam, I would be large sums of money that most of it should of never been even allowed to talk to your server in the first place.

example -- from this lottery spam I won!!

Received: from smtp.epagri.sc.gov.br (smtp.epagri.sc.gov.br. [200.18.9.19])

by mx.google.com with ESMTP id ez8si7674016vdb.128.2012.05.29.05.06.33;

Tue, 29 May 2012 05:08:35 -0700 (PDT)

Got to love what looks like a government server being an open relay!! Anyway that IP is on several blacklists -- and really should have been denied to even be talked too!! Google can not really use such methods, much different userbase then a company business address. So they need to be more giving on sending servers. Clearly it was marked as spam and in my spam folder - but a business does not even need to talk to such servers.

here is another spam in my gmail

Received: from f3ufo2lho0j ([115.186.117.132]) by mx.google.com with ESMTP id o8si7651725igl.64.2012.05.28.07.03.16;

You know the pills that are suppose to make your junk bigger ;) Well look at then, again on a **** load of blacklists and their server should of never been allowed to even talk to email server.

You can play around with software on your machine -- but if spam has gotten to your mailbox then battle has already been lost if you ask me!! Your company had to pay for the bandwidth for it to get to your mailbox, they clearly are having to handle much more mail then they really need too - this requires more cpu horsepower, more bandwidth, more storage, etc. etc..

I would really suggest you have your IT look into putting a service in front of their mail server.. MS provides such services for example. http://www.microsoft...r-exchange.aspx

They can do a Trial to see how it works out, and if cost is doable, but there are many services like this. Depending on the number of email addresses you have it can be very cheap!!

[sc302 Veteran]

there are plenty of free versions.

http://www.spam-reader.com/

just for example

[+BudMan MVC]

I wouldn't doubt it, but doing it on the desktop is the lost battle before you even start. Spam should be fought before your company servers have to deal with it in the first place.

Your not doing anyone any favors trying to do your IT dept job for them.. I can not believe how someone in IT would not want to filter their email the best they can?? Do they really like hearing users complaints? IT can be as simple as paying a few dollars per email address and changing your MX record, and possible couple of changes on your exchange and now your spam can be controlled.

And now less storage required on your own servers, less bandwidth used. Server can work less because there will be less email to handle. Its a win, win, win for all concerned. Especially the user who will now have far less spam to deal with and be able to concentrate on work emails vs getting distracted by spam.

[rabi poss]

me too

[GeorghiW]

There is also http://www.spamfighter.com/Product_Info.asp

OK spam filterering but will add a signture to outgoing e-mails

[Shadrack]

Sigh... doing a web search on Outlook 2010 Junk Mail just led me right back here...