Spam Filtering Landing Page

On the evening of Thursday, March 21, IS&T changed MIT’s email configuration so that messages marked as spam by Exchange Online Protection will no longer be held in quarantine. Spam is sent directly to the user's Junk folder. The following update on changes to MIT’s email and spam filtering service was sent to the MIT community on March 20, 2019: https://ist.mit.edu/news/email-service-update

On this page:

Overview

Spam filtering system for MIT's email service scans all incoming email messages before they are delivered to your mailbox. Known malware and phishing messages are not delivered. Messages that are flagged as spam are delivered to your Junk folder instead of being delivered to your inbox. You can use any mail client to review messages in your Junk folder, but only OWA and Outlook for Windows allow you to manage your block/allow lists. For more information on Spam filters for MIT email, see Spam Filtering.

Review Junk/Spam Messages

Sometimes legitimate messages wind up in your junk folder, so it's a good idea to review it regularly.

To review messages identified as Junk, simply go into your Junk folder. What it's called varies by what email client you're using.

Managing Your Junk Email

Using Outlook or OWA for your email provides integrated features for managing spam block/allow lists. You can easily block spam senders and allow desired ones to improve the accuracy of your spam filter.

Outlook Web Access

1. Go to http://owa.mit.edu
2. Click on the Junk E-mail folder.
3. Select a message in your Junk E-mail folder that is not spam.
4. Click on Not Junk
   
   
   Result: You will be prompted to decide if you want to always trust this sender.
   
   
   
   
5. Select your preferred option and click OK
   Result: Your message will be moved to the inbox and, if selected, the sender will be added to your Safe Senders list.

To manage your Safe Senders and and Blocked Senders, go to: Options > See All Options > Block or Allow

Outlook 2019 Windows

1. Open Outlook
2. Click on the Junk folder.
3. Select a message in your Junk E-mail folder that is not spam.
4. Click on the Junk Icon and select Not Junk
   Result: You will be prompted to decide if you want to always trust this sender.
   
   
   
   
5. Select your preferred option and click OK
   Result: Your message will be moved to the inbox and, if selected, the sender will be added to your Safe Senders list.
   
   You can use also this menu from your inbox to add senders to your block list to send their messages to Junk in the future.

In order to activate your block/allow list, you must have logged in to Outlook Web Access at least once.

To manage your Safe Senders and and Blocked Senders, go to: > Junk Email Options

Outlook 2019 MacOS

1. Select the message in your Junk folder that is not spam.
2. Click on the Junk Icon
   
   
3. Select Not Junk
   Result: The message will be moved to your inbox. Your block/allow lists will not be affected by this action.

You can use also this menu to add senders to your block list. You cannot add users to your Safe Senders list or manage your Safe Senders and Blocked Senders lists with Outlook 2019. We recommend using Outlook Web Access (OWA).

In order to activate your block/allow list, you must have logged in to Outlook Web Access at least once.

Other Email Clients

As of this time no other email clients allow you to manage your Safe Senders and and Blocked Senders lists. While you can move messages to/from the Junk folder and review the Junk folder, none of these actions will affect your Safe Senders and and Blocked Senders lists. To manage your Safe Senders and and Blocked Senders lists, we recommend using Outlook Web Access (OWA).

Forwarded and Split Email

Users who choose to have their email forwarded will have spam messages delivered to the forwarding address, where they will be handled according to the receiving system’s policies. For split accounts, spam messages will be delivered to both the Junk folder in MIT email and the forwarding address.

Messages that contain known malware or fishing attempts will not be delivered to the Junk folder nor forwarded.

For more technical information on email forwarding routing, see: Email Forwarding Configuration Update.

FAQs

• Spam Filtering Known Issues
• How do I manage my "blocked senders" or "allowed senders" list with MIT spam filtering?
• How long do spam messages stay in my junk folder?
• Why am I still getting mail from somebody I added to my blocked senders list?
• Why didn't I get a Spam Notification message today?
• Can I opt out of spam filtering?
• Email Delivery - Underlying Protocols

See Also

• Spam Filtering
• Microsoft's Overview of the Junk Email Filter
• Microsoft's Block or allow (junk email settings)

Have Questions or Still Need Help?

• Send email to servicedesk@mit.edu or call the MIT Computing Help Desk at 617.253.1101.