Security with Outlook 2003 SP2

The Junk E-mail Filter evaluates each incoming e-mail message for suspicious or fraudulent content and characteristics associated with spam and phishing e-mail, and processes it accordingly:

• Fraudulent messages are sent to the Junk E-mail folder, which automatically converts messages to the safer plain-text format and disables all links in the message. This includes messages that have been falsified ("spoofed") to appear to come from a legitimate source.
• Suspicious messages remain in the Inbox, but the links in the message are disabled and you'll see a warning. This includes messages with links to suspected phishing Web sites, which are designed to resemble legitimate sites.

You can always enable links that have been disabled, or stop the filtering features entirely, but this is not recommended.

Note: You must install the Junk E-mail Filter 2005 before you can use the new Phishing Protection Feature. (Earlier versions of the Junk E-mail Filter don't work with the Phishing Protection Feature).

After you install both of the new features, the Phishing Protection Feature in Outlook 2003 SP2 is turned on by default.

Moving messages out of the Junk E-mail folder

If the Junk E-mail Filter designates an e-mail message as junk, and you decide to move the message back to your Inbox, it is processed as follows:

• Messages marked as suspicious are restored to their original format with links turned on.
• Messages marked as fraudulent are restored to their original format, but links remain disabled. If you are confident the link is not from a phishing site, you can still copy the link and paste it into your address bar to follow it.

If you want to re-enable links, click the Turn on Links command in the InfoBar.

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Safe Senders Lists

To help the Junk E-mail Filter and Phishing Protection Feature better process your e-mail, you can determine senders (for instance, someone@example.com) or domains (for instance, @example.com) that you consider to be always safe. The Filter will still disable suspicious links in these messages, but it will not move them into the Junk E-mail folder.

Important: It is not a good idea to include well-known banks, credit card companies, or e-commerce senders or domains in your Safe Senders Lists, because these senders' addresses are the ones most commonly spoofed by phishers.

To add a sender or domain to the Safe Senders List

• Select the message in question, click Actions, point to Junk E-mail, and then click Add Sender to Safe Senders List or Add Sender's Domain (@example.com) to Safe Senders List on the menu that opens.
• If the message is in your Junk E-mail folder, it is moved to your Inbox. Disabled links will remain disabled, but the original message format is restored.