How to Filter Spam Using ISP-Supplied Junk Mail Headers

You don't like spam, and most probably your Internet Service Provider does not either. Many run SpamAssassin or a similar spam filter on the mail server.

These spam filters are not perfect, but they can be a great help with the daily junk mail avalanche. Subtly, they add headers to the emails going through them, indicating whether they believe a message to be spam.

If your email client can filter on arbitrary header lines (unfortunately, Outlook Express for example does not), you can use these ISP-supplied headers for easy yet effective spam filtering.

Filter Spam Using ISP-Supplied Junk Mail Headers

To filter spam using ISP-supplied junk mail headers:

• Set up a rule in your email client that
  • moves incoming messages to the "Spam" folder
  • if the email header includes "X-Spam-Status: Yes".