I've used the Junk E-mail Filter in Outlook 2003 for almost 3 years, and the amount of spam I've received in my Inbox has been close to nothing. It's a great tool, but like any tool it's not perfect. I still get fraudulent e-mail from time to time and I've had some messages from colleagues blocked. Over time, I've discovered some basic tips that have helped me use the filter more effectively. I hope these help you as well.

1. Check your Junk E-mail Filter folder regularly: The filter captures nearly all the bogus messages that come to my mailbox, but it also often captures messages I want. In addition to missing messages from colleagues outside of Microsoft, I've missed messages from my brother and a friend. I check my Junk E-mail Folder every morning to make sure I haven't missed anything.

   

2. Update the Junk E-mail Filter regularly: New updates to the filter are made available frequently. The updates refine and provide a more current definition of which e-mail messages should be considered spam. The further you can stay ahead of spammers, the better off you'll be. Learn how to update the junk e-mail filters.

3. Turn off links that might link to fraudulent sites: I'd like to think I can always identify a phishing, but when I'm busy it's possible to miss some. I find it best to set up the filter to turn off links that are in suspicious e-mails and go to the Junk E-mail folder. If the filter considers a message suspicious, the format of the message is changed to plain text and the links in the message are disabled. Learn more how to block or unblock links in suspicious phishing messages.

   

4. Set filters to High: You have four options for the spam protection you want—No Automatic Filtering, Low, High, and Safe Lists Only. By default the junk e-mail filter is set to low. Low works fine, but I like all the protection I can get and set it at high. It captures more spam and makes me feel more confident in the mail in my Inbox. Learn how to change the junk e-mail filter options.

   

Let me know if you've found tricks that help you get more of the mail you want, and less of the stuff you don't want.

—Jason Kozleski