Thunderbird Spam Guide

This guide shows you how to use the Mozilla Thunderbird rules and how to deal with messages tagged as spam by the PlusNet spam filter.

1. Setting up Messages Filters
2. Setting Junk Controls
3. Adjusting Junk Settings

Setting up Message Filters

Note: The information below only applies if you are still receiving messages which PlusNet mark as [-SPAM-] into your Inbox. You can check if this is the case by looking at the 'Spam' tab in Manage My Mail.

1. Firstly, we need to create a folder for the spam emails to be moved into. Right-click on the Inbox and select New Folder:

2. Enter a name for the folder (this example shows it called Spam Folder) and click OK:

3. Click the Tools menu, then click Message Filters:

4. Select the folders the rule is to be applied to (ie Local Folders) and click the New button:

5. Now enter the rule, see the options below the image for details:

Give your new filter a relevant name Select Subject from the dropdown menu Select contains from the dropdown menu Enter [-SPAM-] in the text box Select Move Message to from the dropdown menu Select the folder to move the messages to Click the OK button

6. Ensure the new rule is showing as enabled for local folders:

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Setting Junk Controls

Now we are going to check the Junk Controls set in Thunderbird.

1. Click the Tools menu then click Options:

2. Click on the Privacy tab then select the Junk tab. Thunderbird has its own junk filter which you can train to identify emails which are junk, you can use this on top of the PlusNet spam filter to provide another layer of protection from spam emails.

You just need to choose if you want "junk" emails to be deleted when you flag them or moved into the Junk folder.

3. Thunderbird can also notify you if an email is possibly a scam email. Tick the box if this is an option you wish to enable.

Note: Sometimes emails from mailing lists and newsletters can be detected as spam emails when they are totally innocent.

4. Click the Anti-Virus tab and enable this option, this will improve how Thunderbird works with your own anti virus software.

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Mail Account Junk Settings

Thunderbird also allows you to specify junk settings for each separate email account you are running.

1. First, click the Tools menu then select the Account settings option:

2. See the text below the image for details on the fields you need to change:

Click the Junk Settings option for your account Enable the junk mail controls to allow Thunderbird to spam check your emails Choose if you want Thunderbird to automatically pass emails from people in your address book If you want to move suspected junk emails you can check this option and select either the standard Junk folder or your own folder. Click OK to finish.

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This page last updated 17th July 2007

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