Overview:
Spam is unsolicited email, similar in nature to junk advertisements sent to your mailbox. Spam messages are not the same as phish messages, which are malicious emails designed to steal your credentials or deliver malware.
- What steps has UI taken to reduce spam?
- How do I block unwanted messages?
- Should I report spam messages?
- How does this affect legitimate mass mailings from my group, department, or college?
- How does this affect external vendor messages sent to U of I addresses?
- What can I do to keep my email address safe?
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What steps has UI taken to reduce spam?
The University of Idaho uses a multi-tier filtering approach to reduce the amount of spam and phishing messages delivered to your Inbox. This is done through dedicated anti-spam, anti-phishing and anti-virus email filtering services which scan messages before they are delivered to your Microsoft mailbox.
How do I block unwanted messages?
In addition to the spam filtering steps OIT has taken above, you can create a personal list of blocked senders if you do not want to receive their messages. Outlook allows easy creation of rules to do this. To add an email address to your blocked sender list:
Outlook desktop client:
MacOS
If viewing in the application and not in a separate window:
- Right click on the message in the Inbox pane
- Click "Junk" then click "Block Sender"
OR
If the message is opened in a separate window:
- Click "Report Junk" in your toolbar of that window
- Find and click "Block" from the menu options
Windows
If viewing in the application and not in a separate window:
- Right click on the message in the "Focused" or "Other" pane
- Hover over "Junk" (towards the bottom of the menu) and click "Block Sender" in the menu that appears
OR
If the message is opened in a separate window:
- Click the 3-dot menu ••• in the upper right-hand corner of the current window
- Find and hover over "Junk" then click "Block Sender"
Outlook Web Access (OWA):
- Right click on the message in the "Focused" or "Other" pane
- Hover over "Security options" and click "Block" in the menu that appears
Should I report spam messages?
Note: if you are ever unsure if a message is spam or malicious phish, feel free to report the message to OIT for analysis.
If you receive an email you know to be spam, simply delete the message and/or block the sender if desired (see above). If the same spam message continues to reach your inbox, please report the message using the following options:
Outlook and OWA:
Report spam messages in your inbox by using the Report Message button in the Outlook desktop client, mobile app, or web-based OWA. A step by step guide for the Report Message button can be found at https://support.uidaho.edu/TDClient/KB/ArticleDet?ID=70.
Spam messages that are delivered to the "Junk Email" folder have already been filtered and should be handled with extra caution. They do not need to be reported.
Other email clients:
If you use an email client other than Outlook, send the message as an attachment to abuse@uidaho.edu. Please include full email with headers. The easiest way to do this is by opening a new message then clicking and dragging the spam email from your inbox into the new message.
Legitimate messages incorrectly identified as spam should also be reported using the methods outlined above.
How does this affect legitimate mass mailings from my group, department, or college?
Extra care needs to be taken if you are sending out mailings to a large number of users. It may be possible for legitimate messages to be blocked depending on how the messages are formatted, the text they contain and the number of recipients. Here are some steps we recommend to ensure your mailings are not affected:
- Make sure a copy of the message you send out is also delivered to your email account and/or others in your office. This is a good way to ensure the messages went through the system properly.
- If you have a very large number of recipients (over 500), contact your Communications & Marketing Manager for assistance.
- Report blocked legitimate messages to OIT.
How does this affect external vendor messages sent to U of I addresses?
External vendors must be approved by OIT and appropriately contracted otherwise they may not be bypass our spam filtering system. Please submit a service request through the Tech Support Portal here: https://support.uidaho.edu/TDClient/Requests/ServiceDet?ID=607.
What can I do to keep my email address safe?
- Do not provide your email address to any companies or webpages you do not trust. It is a good idea to read their “privacy statement” as well to see how your contact information will be used.
- Make sure your email address doesn’t appear on any web pages (e.g. search the web for your address).
- Block messages from unwanted spammers by following the instructions provided above.
- Delete spam messages without reading them. Many messages include web links to “phone home” to track active accounts.