Spam filter in Outlook 2000

[Stephen Glynn]

Problem: I want to edit my spam filter in Outlook 2000, which runs on
Office XP. In particular, I want to disable the filter for the word
"Advertisement" in the subject line.

The spam/adult filters are contained, AFAIK, in C:\Program
Files\Microsoft Office\Office\filters.txt. I've tried editing this
this but with no effect. Windows Explorer can find it easily enough,
but Outlook doesn't seem to be picking up on the changes I make to
filters.txt. It's certainly using some file to filter on, since I can
change the colour of spam/adult mails easily enough, but it must be
using a copy of filters.txt that I can't find.

Strangely enough, find files can't see filters.txt either.

Me baffled. Help!

Steve

 

[Jocelyn Fiorello [MVP - Outlook]]

Filters.txt is a readme file, basically -- it just gives you an idea of what
Outlook filters on. Changing its contents won't make any difference.

--
Jocelyn Fiorello
MVP - Outlook

*** Messages sent to my e-mail address will NOT be answered -- please
reply only to the newsgroup to preserve the message thread. ***


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[Stephen Glynn]

Filters.txt is a readme file, basically -- it just gives you an idea of what
Outlook filters on. Changing its contents won't make any difference.

Thanks. But does that mean I can't change what I want Outlook to
filter for?

Specifically, I sometimes get a lot of bona fide emails with the word
"advertisement" in the Subject field (when people reply to job adverts,
for example). Is there any way to tell Outlook not to mark them as
spam or should I just disable Outlook filtering and use something like
Mailwasher or SpamCop?

Steve

 

[Diane Poremsky [MVP]]

create a rule to move all mail with that word to the deleted folder (or
delete it immediately)

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]
Author, Teach Yourself Outlook 2003 in 24 Hours
Coauthor, OneNote 2003 for Windows (Visual QuickStart Guide)
Author, Google and Other Search Engines (Visual QuickStart Guide)

 

[Stephen Glynn]

create a rule to move all mail with that word to the deleted folder (or
delete it immediately)

Sorry, but that's the opposite of what I'm trying to do. If I turn
Outlook's spam filter on then Outlook immediately regards anything with
the word "advertisement" in the Subject field as spam. I quite
frequently send and receive emails which are about advertisements --
booking them in newspapers, for example, or replying to them.

What I want to know is if I can edit the list of words on which Outlook
filters emails to delete the word "advertisement". As it is, all I
seem to be able to to do is either send all emails that Outlook thinks
are spam to a separate folder (or flag them up in a different colour)and
check them later, which is a bit of a waste of time.

It's a matter rather on my mind at the moment since I almost lost a
couple of very important emails last week -- the printers were adamant
that they'd sent me very urgent proof copies of some adverts that never
seemed to hit my inbox and which I eventually discovered in my spam
folder because they'd been headed "Urgent Proofs: Your advertisement
booked for ....". In this instance all I can say is thank God for faxes.

Similarly, there are several words and phrases I'd like to add to both
the spam and adult filter lists -- "viagra", for example, or "barely
legal teen".

It's not a big deal, since I can perfectly easily turn Outlook's filters
off and use a third party product like Mailwasher or Spam Inspector,
where I can set my own filters. I was just wondering if it is possible
to edit Outlook's filter list. If someone can assure me it isn't then
I can stop wasting time trying to figure out how to do it (I hate
mysteries when it comes to computers).

Steve

 

[Diane Poremsky [MVP]]

Then create a rule to do something to the messages - I think flagging
will work, if not, move to a folder (try move to Inbox ). The rules should
hit the message before the spam filter.

Sorry, but that's the opposite of what I'm trying to do. If I turn
Outlook's spam filter on then Outlook immediately regards anything with
the word "advertisement" in the Subject field as spam. I quite
frequently send and receive emails which are about advertisements --
booking them in newspapers, for example, or replying to them.

What I want to know is if I can edit the list of words on which Outlook
filters emails to delete the word "advertisement". As it is, all I
seem to be able to to do is either send all emails that Outlook thinks
are spam to a separate folder (or flag them up in a different colour)and
check them later, which is a bit of a waste of time.

It's a matter rather on my mind at the moment since I almost lost a
couple of very important emails last week -- the printers were adamant
that they'd sent me very urgent proof copies of some adverts that never
seemed to hit my inbox and which I eventually discovered in my spam
folder because they'd been headed "Urgent Proofs: Your advertisement
booked for ....". In this instance all I can say is thank God for faxes.

Similarly, there are several words and phrases I'd like to add to both
the spam and adult filter lists -- "viagra", for example, or "barely
legal teen".

It's not a big deal, since I can perfectly easily turn Outlook's filters
off and use a third party product like Mailwasher or Spam Inspector,
where I can set my own filters. I was just wondering if it is possible
to edit Outlook's filter list. If someone can assure me it isn't then
I can stop wasting time trying to figure out how to do it (I hate
mysteries when it comes to computers).

Steve

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]
Author, Teach Yourself Outlook 2003 in 24 Hours
Coauthor, OneNote 2003 for Windows (Visual QuickStart Guide)
Author, Google and Other Search Engines (Visual QuickStart Guide)




[Posted using NewsLook NNTP add-in for Outlook]

 

[Jocelyn Fiorello [MVP - Outlook]]

FWIW, if Diane's suggestions ultimately do not help in your situation, you
may be better off using a Mailwasher type program rather than beating your
head against the wall trying to get Outlook 2000 to successfully fight off
2004-style spam. You may have heard that Outlook 2003's spam filtering
technology is much improved over previous versions, so if you are able to
upgrade, now might be a good time.

--
Jocelyn Fiorello
MVP - Outlook

*** Messages sent to my e-mail address will NOT be answered -- please
reply only to the newsgroup to preserve the message thread. ***


In