Outlook 2007 - Junk Mail Filter

In Windows Vista, there is no Outlook Express. Instead Microsoft renamed it to Windows Mail. However, if you get or have Microsoft Office 2007 Pro you will have Outlook.

Outlook has it's own junk email filter. It is a little more extensive. You can even add third party email filter to Outlook. Considering the vast amount of virus infections that come through email, it would be a good idea.

I use Avast along with Outlook's filter and Windows Defender. This works quite well for me.

Windows Mail - Phishing

Phishing spelled with PH is where you get an email where the sender wants to buy something or click on a link in the email. In other words the email mail is a hook. If you bit then you may not lose your life, but you bank account will be definitely smaller.

Fortunately, there is a large data base of some of these scams. Windows Mail is connected with that phishing filter. You can elect to have the known phishing email moved to a junk email box where you can review them before deleting them.

Reviewing what is in your junk email box is good. Just in case a business you do business with gets classified as bad, by some disgruntled customer.

Windows Mail - International

Even if you do not regularly send or get email from other countries, this filter will help cut down on the amount of junk email you get.

It has long been known that Russia and Nigeria are the two biggest sources of spam or phishing email. This is where you can disallow email from certain countries from putting email in your inbox.

Top-Level Domain's refer to blocking email from countries that you would have no reason to receive email.

I periodically receive an email from a bank in England. When I investigate it the email originates from Russia. So to keep from getting that type of email again, I block any email that orginates in Russia.

Blocked Encoding List refers to email from people who use other languages. If you do not want to receive email from people of other languages who use special character of that language, would be a good thing. This will prevent some malicious program being placed on your computer.

Windows Mail -Block LIst

The next tab in our look at Windows Mail is Block Senders. In this window you can block email from certain email addresses.

By left clicking on the Add button you can at email address which you do not want to receive email. This is nice when you get reoccurring email from a certain email address.

I have noticed that spammer will send their junk from a certain email until a large number of people have blocked, then they switch to another email address. By putting that first email on a Block Sender list you get temporary relief.

Windows Mail - Safe Sender

One way of keeping spam away from your computer is by left clicking on Tools in the menu. Then go down to Junk email options. At the top of the next window that opens left click on the second tab, that reads Safe Senders.

It is here you can put in email address you only want to receive email. On warning here. Make sure you have on this list anyone who says they want to send you email. If you don't it will be bounced back to them.

Windows Mail - Junk Mail

In the first three months of 2008, it has been reported that 92.3% of all email we receive is spam. How is a person to filter out the good email from the junk. It is not wonder that some good email gets deleted.

I know that I have covered the email filter options, Windows Mail. But in light of the latest report about junk email, I feel it is important to go over this subject again. This week we will review, along with going into more detail. On April 29, Vista Is Here To Stay will be dedicated to email and filtering out the junk.

For today, open Windows Mail. Go to Tools and left click on Junk Email Options. The first tab gives you general, basic options for filtering your email.

Search - Outlook 2007

I believe that Microsoft has really rivaled Google when it comes to search personal computer search. I may sound like a Microsoft fan, but it all boils down to having tools at my figure tips.

In Outlook 2007, in the top right is a search box. While I am at my email inbox, I typed kim, because I am looking for email from Kim Komando. My reading pane pops up with all the email I have received from any kim's. In this case Kim Komando is the only one in which I received email.

My search for kim is highlighted in yellow, thus letting me know that there is where my search criteria appears.
Like the old saying a picture is worth a thousand words, I have put a screen shot of that search below.

Windows Contacts

Who needs Outlook? Microsoft has given you all the features that are in Outlook in Windows Vista. There are not bundled together, but they are there to use.

From the Start Orb to the All Program, then left click on Windows Contacts. Here is all you need in an address book on your computer. It is simple and straight forward.

I would like to point out a couple of things.

1. In the left column Contacts is a sub folder of your user accounts settings
2. Along the top on the right side is a search window. This search will help you find a contact if you have a 100 or more and can't remember how you got them listed.
3. The colored bar below is basically all you will need for organizing your contacts.
   

Windows Mail - Phishing Filter

Among all the email I get, periodically, I get an email from a bank that says my account information has been corrupted and I must click on the link to login and reset my financial information. What is the kicker is that I may not have an account with a specific bank. This is called Phishing.

This type of deceptive practice is designed to your identity by tricking you to disclosing valuable information. This information is like passwords, login, and credit card data. The email is designed to get you to a link in the email that will take you to fake website of that bank or financial institution.

Windows Mail has an intelligent filter that looks at email to detect many of these fraudulent links and to help protect you from this online deception.

You get to the Phishing Filter the same way you get the to the Junk Email option. The only difference is by left clicking on the tab on the top right that reads, Phishing. Then check the box in front of Protect my Inbox from messages with potential Phishing links.

Windows Mail - Junk Mail Filter

Nothing clogs the email inbox more than junk email, otherwise known as spam. Regardless of all the laws, and other legal action, spam continues to be to be a serious problem. It forces you to wade through a long list of unwanted and sometimes offensive messages, just to find the email you want to read.

In a effort reduce this problem, Windows Mail includes a built-in Junk Mail Filter that automatically screens email. Its' job is to identify and separate out junk e-mail. This filter needs you to train the filter what you consider to be junk and what is wanted. Windows Mail starts identifying and separating junk mail the first time you use it, without any need for special settings.

To access the Junk Email Filter open Windows Mail, left click on Tools then go down to Junk e-mail options. This will open a window that allows to set up your Junk Email Filter to your specific preferences.

Windows Mail - Importing Addressbook

The one thing we all can't do without is our email address book. When switching from an old computer to a new one this can be very frustrating especially if you have to type in all your whole address book into Window Mail.

Below is the how-to:

• After you have finished the export process from Outlook Express.
• Go to the Start Orb and All Programs
  
• Open Windows Mail, but make sure you run it as administrator
• In Windows Mail, go to the File menu, select Import and then Windows Contacts
• Go to the Import to Windows Contacts window, select the first option - CSV (Comma Separated Values) - and press the Import button
• Now you have to Browse to the file where you exported the Address Book from Outlook Express and then press Open When you are done press Next
• In the CSV Import window choose the fields you want to import. If you are not sure which fields to select, select all of them and press the Finish button

Now the Address Book has been moved from Outlook Express to Windows Mail.

Windows Mail - Overview

If you have been looking for Outlook Express on you Vista computer, you will not find it. No, you are not totally without a way to get your email other than through your web browser.

Before I go any further, I feel the need to do a little review when it comes to the different types of email. As far as the average computer user is concerned there is two different types of email.

1. Web Based Email - This is the most common type of email. Web based is simple and easy to use from any computer that has internet access. All you have to do is open Internet Explorer type in your email provider's domain name. Then login with your email address and password.
   
2. POP Email - POP (Post Office Protocol) downloads your email to your computers hard drive. You need what is called an email client. There is several different ones. The two most common are Outlook and Outlook Express.Outlook Express has been replace in Windows Vista, with Window Mail.
   

This new version of an email client has several new features. An overview of the changes is the that it is easier to use along with some built in security features.

Importing to Outlook 2007

I have come across a few people that are upgrading from Outlook Express to Outlook 2007. There is a work around this problem. I have put the instructions below:

Copy all the Outlook Express 6 to a .dbx files to the desktop on the Vista computer.

Open Windows Mail (built into Vista)

Left click on File, then down to Import, Messages, Outlook Express 6

After the files are imported into Windows Mail, open Outlook 2007

Left click on File, Import and Export to start the wizard

Select Import Internet Mail and Addresses and click Next

Select Outlook Express 4.x, 5.x, 6.x or Windows Mail.

Check both boxes to import mail and address book. Click Next

Choose how you want duplicate items to be handled, and then left click Finish

Now you can start using Outlook 2007.