How it works

This method works by identifying the unwanted emails from certain "keywords" in the subject line. You can filter these out by setting up a rule and sending them to the "Deleted Items" folder. Goody, you think, but wait; after they've been dumped successfully in the Deleted folder you can still see them if you just look in there. How do you stop the little ones from seeing this filth? Well, here's how. As well as setting the filter to weed out the nasty messages, you ask it to mark them as read then, by setting "Current View" to hide all read messages in that folder and furthermore set the mail client to "Empty Deleted Items Folder" on exit, they vanish for good.

How to do it

All that now remains is to set up the filters. So, this is what to do in Outlook Express

Open Outlook Express and go to the Inbox view. Click on Tools - Message Rules – Mail and a rule dialogue will open up.

Make a rule to filter out the filth

Tick "Where the Subject Line contains specific words" in section 1 and put ticks in "Move it to the specified Folder" and "Mark as Read" in section 2.

In section 3 click on the blue link "contains specific words" and a new dialogue appears inviting you to enter words. Put your list of words in here, one at a time. So, this is where you put the Viagra, sexy, babes, male, erection, loan, penis, larger, and any more of which you can think. The words are not case sensitive, so just use lower case. Say OK to the selection; you can always go back and add some more later on. Also in section 3, click the blue link "specified" folder. This opens a dialogue with Local Folders at the top. Click on the little + sign and open the tree, then select the "Deleted Items" folder and then OK.

Back at the original New Mail Rule dialogue go to section 4 and name your new rule to remind you of what it does, such as "Remove filth". Now click OK to activate the rule.

Tweak the filter for more effective use

From now on your incoming mail will pass through the filter before being seen, and messages will magically go to the Deleted Items folder if they meet the criteria. You may have to fine-tune this with different spellings and new words as they crop up. For example, you could enter just part of a word if you think that the senders will try to get round the filter by using silly spellings. If you entered “gra “ (note the space) it will catch “Cut Price Viagra in plain wrappers” and also “V**gra for you today”, but will leave “That budget proposal for 2003 was grand” alone for although it contains “gra” it does not contain that space To alter your rule or make a new one, then follow the same initial steps. This time you will see your existing rule(s) listed. Highlight the one you want to alter and click the "Modify" button and you will be back in the rule creation dialogue and you can add or delete rule elements or change words in your list.

Hide then dispose of the nasty things

Next we need to hide the "Read" messages in the Deleted Items folder. In the main Outlook Express window select the Deleted Items folder then click View - Current View and select "Hide Read Messages". If there were any in there they will vanish and a helpful message will be displayed that some messages may be hidden (the world is never perfect!).

Finally we want to empty all those nasty messages when we exit the programme so they will be gone forever. From the main Outlook Express window select Tools - Options and click the "Maintenance" tab. Now click the little box marked "Empty messages from the Deleted Items folder on exit" then the OK button. And that is your email client set up.

What happens when some nastiness slips through the filter?

Now, some days later you receive an unwanted mail and you decide that it is the sender you wish to block. Let's say that this message was sent by sexysadie@bimbo.com. You consider that this sender, and probably that domain as a whole will never have anything remotely interesting to say to you and you just want to block them all in the future. This is what you do. Highlight the message in the Inbox (no need to open it) and click Message - Create Rule from this message and it will give you the new rules box. In section 2 tick the boxes "Move to folder" and "Mark as read", and then in section 3 click the blue "contains sexysadie@bimbo.com" link and enter the domain name again in the top box so it reads "bimbo.com" and add this to the list. Then highlight "sexysadie@bimbo.com" and click the Remove button. You will need to specify the "Delelted Items" folder by clicking on the "specified" blue link, give the rule a sensible name rather than "New Rule #1", then click OK to create your new rule. This now means that anyone from that domain will be filtered out. If you had used the Message - Block Sender then only that particular person would have been blocked so that an identical message sent by sexysuzy@bimbo.com would still have got through.

You can view and modify your "Blocked Senders" list from the main Outlook Express window by clicking Tools - Message Rules - Blocked Sender List. If you wish, you can modify the address here to read “bimbo.com” to block the whole domain.

Be careful about blocking domains as, for example, depraved@hotmail.com might send you nasty stuff, but hundreds of thousands of others at hotmail.com may not, and actually want to send you genuine stuff!

Switch off that Preview Pane

Finally, it is a good idea to disable the preview pane so that naughty HTML junk can't run on your system. You will get the subject line and sender's name in the Inbox pane and provided that you do not open any suspect mail you will be safe. To disable the preview pane from the main Outlook Express Inbox window click View - Layout and remove the tick from the "Show Preview Pane" box and then OK.

Remember good email practice

NEVER open unexpected attachments, even if they appear to come from a trusted user. Send a mail back in plain text asking them to explain what the attachment is for and why you should open it. Request that the reply be sent in PLAIN TEXT. There really is never any need for HTML emails. They waste bandwidth and can harbour destructive code. If you have any doubt at all about an email, delete it unopened. The spammers just love to get your replies, however angry, as they then know for sure that they have hit a live mailbox. You have just advertised yourself for more spam. The spammers sell each other the lists of live email addresses; if you refuse to reply at all and refuse any requests for automatic "received" notes then they will eventually leave you alone.