Spam and Phishing Emails have been troubling users for a very long time, but nowadays, spammers are getting more advanced in their approach, and you never know when you will walk straight into a spam or phishing email. Fortunately, In Windows Mail and Outlook.com, you can save yourself from Spam and Phishing emails, and this article talks precisely about that only. This article will tell you how to block spam and phishing emails in Windows Mail App and Outlook.com. Please make sure that you read this article till the end.
Why Block Spam And Phishing Emails?
Spam and Phishing emails significantly threaten your device, data, and privacy. A Spam email can contain malicious files, false advertisements, obscene imagery, trackers, and whatnot. You don’t want spam and phishing emails cluttering your inbox when email accounts are widely used for official purposes. On the other hand, phishing emails disguise themselves as important emails with links to websites designed to steal your data.
You won’t be able to distinguish between a phishing email and a real one. Phishing emails are designed to make you enter your credentials and other confidential information on websites where the data is directly sent to the scammer. Blocking such emails will not only protect your device and privacy but also save you time and help you boost your productivity.
How to Block Spam and Phishing Emails in Windows Mail App and Outlook.com
How To Block Spam And Phishing Emails In Windows Mail?
It isn’t much you can do to prevent yourself from spam and phishing emails in Windows Mail. To prevent spam and phishing emails in the Windows Mail app, you can mark a specific mail from the spam sender as junk, and all the upcoming emails from that sender will be sent to the junk folder. Here’s how to do it:
- Open Windows Mail Application.
- Once opened, open a specific spam email from the sender.
- In the top right corner, click on the triple-dot icon, and then click on Mark as Junk.
- Once marked as junk, all the upcoming emails from the sender will be sent to the junk folder automatically.
- To access the junk folder, click on the triple line icon in the corner, which will open a menu. In the Folders section of the menu on the left pane, click on More, then select Junk to open the junk folder.
Windows Mail app is an email client and not an email service provider. So it can’t offer you greater control over blocking spam and phishing emails as it cannot change the email service provider’s settings. However, you can prevent spam and phishing emails to a greater extent on Outlook.com. Let’s proceed with our next section for that.
How To Block Spam And Phishing Emails In Outlook.com?
There are three ways you can prevent receiving spam or phishing emails in your inbox, which are pretty compelling. Here they are:
- By Blocking The Sender
- Create A Rule In Outlook
- Use Safe Senders Or Blocked Senders List
Let’s have a detailed look at these methods.
1] Blocking A Sender In Outlook.com
Blocking a sender in Outlook.com will ultimately restrict the sender from sending you bulk emails, and they won’t know that you’ve blocked them. The emails the sender will send you won’t reach you in any way, and you won’t be able to view them, so keep that in mind. Here’s how to do it:
- Open Outlook.com and ensure you are logged in to the respective email account.
- Once in, open a specific mail from the sender. Now, you’ll see a triple dot icon in the top right corner above the Mail view area. Click on it.
- Select Block from the triple dot menu, then select the Block Sender option.
If you want to block multiple senders, select specific emails from all the senders you wish to block, and then perform all the above-listed steps.
2] Creating A Rule In Outlook.com To Prevent Spam And Phishing
You can create a rule in Outlook to prevent your inbox from receiving spam and phishing emails. Rules in Outlook.com are preset instructions that execute when a particular event occurs. It means that you can instruct your Outlook inbox to delete the mail every time one is received containing a spam term in the subject. Here’s how to do it:
- Open Outlook.com and ensure you are logged in to the respective email account.
- Head to Settings from the top right corner (Gear icon). Then select the View all Outlook settings option.
- Once the setting window opens, head over to the Rules section from the left pane, then click on Add a new rule option.
- Now, type in a new name for your rule. After that, select a condition. You can select from various condition categories. i.e., people, my name is, subject, keyword, marked with, the message includes, message size, received, and all messages.
- If you wish to prevent spam from coming from a specific sender, selecting the From option from the People category in conditions is recommended.
- Now, select an action from various action categories, i.e., organize, mark message, route.
- To prevent yourself from spam, it is recommended to either select the Delete option from Organize category or Mark as junk option from the Mark message category.
Now, setting a rule will act every time the said condition occurs. With our recommended rule setup, you’ll be able to delete or directly send all the emails from a specific sender to a junk folder.
3] Use Blocked Senders And Domains List
The block senders and domains list works like the first method but provides a faster way to block multiple spammers without selecting them. You can even block an entire domain. Here’s how to do it:
- Open Outlook.com and ensure you are logged in to the respective email account.
- Open Outlook settings from the top right corner by clicking the gear icon, then selecting the View all Outlook settings option.
- In All settings, head over to the Junk Email section. Now, you’ll see a Blocked senders and domains section. Click on the add button below it.
- Now, proceed by typing in the addresses of spammers. Enter the domain name if you wish to block senders from an entire domain.
Conclusion:
Well, this was all for our article on how to block spam and phishing emails in the Windows mail app and Outlook.com. If you wish to prevent spam from reaching your inbox first, ensure that your email address is shared with trusted sites only.
You can also create an alternate email address for unimportant conversations and sign up on websites. A lot of spam can be reduced by unsubscribing to newsletters and mail lists and checking the privacy policy before submitting details. We hope you found the article to be insightful. Please make sure you share it with everyone.
You can learn about phishing by reading an article on Pharming, a new form of phishing, and more on the Security Category.
Is It Safe To Open A Spam Email?
It is generally safe to open a spam email on your computer. Spam emails are generally filled with trackers, so your activity can be tracked when you open the email. To ensure your device is not harmed during this, don’t download any files attached to the email, and refrain from clicking on any links. Most email services also prevent images from being downloaded in such emails.
How To Prevent My Email From Receiving Spam?
To prevent your email from receiving spam, you can mask your email address. You can also unsubscribe from multiple newsletters and mail lists using online tools such as Unroll Me. Always ensure you share your email address with sites you trust.
