Creating and Managing E-mail Filters (PMX Spam)

The following instructions cover the various types of message filters that Webmail offers, including PMX SPAM filtering (see no. 1C below). Please also consult creating and managing mail forwarding filters and creating and managing vacation message filters.

These filters for forward, vacation or message filtering take effect for all your IMAP email programs (Webmail, Thunderbird IMAP, Mutt). The filters are processed before your mail is delivered to a mail reading program. You may also enter additional filters in Thunderbird to take effect after the mail is delivered to Thunderbird. Filters in Thunderbird will only work for that program, so saving messages to a certain specially named folder will only show up in IMAP after that program has been opened and the filter applied (which is usually set to run on the Inbox at opening).

Help Desk Services has done BLive interactive instruction sessions on creating a PMX message filter. This power point presentation also covers the steps listed in this helpsheet for that filter.

1. Creating Message Filters from those that are there by default:

• Acceptlist
• Rejectlist
• PureMessage - PMX SPAM filter, which is not active until You enable it
• Vacation
• Forward

Login into Webmail,
In the left hand panel,

• Click on the + to open the Options list
• Click on Filters

A. On the top menu Click on Acceptlist - addresses to allow through the filters.

• Fill in the complete addresses of senders each on a separate line, who might be marked as junk or SPAM and placed in Trash or junk folders that you want to receive in your Inbox
• Click Save
• Click Return to Rules List

B. On the top menu Click on Rejectlist - addresses NOT to be allowed through ever.

• Choose an action: the choices lessen in severity from deleting down to choosing a folder for review (i.e. Trash or Junk)
• Enter each complete address of senders to be blacklisted, each on a separate line
• Click Save
• Click Return to Rules List

C. PMX SPAM Removal:

On the top menu Click on Filter Rules

• Click on no. 3 PureMessage, our SPAM marking program
• Choose how to match the sender, subject, etc. and whether it "begins with" or "contains", etc.
• Type in exactly the match to the subject line or sender information
• Choose the action: to place in a folder (Junk by default), or delete, move to trash
• The number of # indicates the degree of SPAM, 9 # being the most
• You can choose to keep any message with more than (3)### out of your Inbox by enabling this filter
• Place a check in case sensitive
• Click the red   to enable PureMessage filter
• Click Save
• Click Return to Filters List

 

NOTE: Please remember to review Junk or rerouted SPAM messages to be sure that you want to delete all of them. "Acceptlist" filters for addresses for messages you do want to receive can be created to allow them to be received (newsletters, for ex. can be marked as SPAM). This will assure that they are filtered out before PureMessage is run on the Inbox.

Managing Message Filters and Creating New Filters other than the Defaults:

From the top menu, Click on Filter Rules

• Click on New Rule
• Type in a name for the rule
• As in PureMessage directions above, select match for subject, sender, etc.
• Type in match to this rule,
• Check case sensitive
• "Do this:" select the folder or action for these message to be moved to
• Click Save
• Click Return to Filters List

From the top menu Click on Filter Rules Viewing The Existing Rules:

Click either the green check to disable a filter or the to enable the filter. Some are enabled or disabled by default, which can be changed by clicking on the symbol for the desired action.

The order of the filters is important.

Click the blue arrows to move the filters up or down.

NOTE: The Filter Rules are executed in the order displayed here. Be sure to run through the filters in order to be sure messages are going where you expect. For example: if the puremessage filter that moves PMX messages to the junk folder is processed before the forward message, these messages will not get forwarded to your new address. Or, if a rejectlist rule is set before the other rules, those that follow will have no effect.

In Thunderbird for example, in order to see the new messages Webmail has placed in the filtered folders, it is necessary to right click on the folder, click on properties, and place a checkmark in check this folder for new messages. This is not set to do this by default.