Spam emails can be a major nuisance, cluttering your inbox and posing security risks. In this comprehensive guide, we will explore how to effectively filter spam emails in the desktop version of Outlook to streamline your email experience and enhance your cybersecurity.
Understanding the Importance of Spam Filtering
Spam emails are not just annoying; they can also carry malware, phishing scams, and other malicious content. By filtering out spam emails, you not only keep your inbox organised but also protect yourself from potential cyber threats.
Setting up Spam Filtering in Outlook
Step 1: Accessing the Junk Email Options
Open Outlook and navigate to the ‘Home’ tab. Click on ‘Junk’ in the Delete group and select ‘Junk E-mail Options’.
Step 2: Adjusting the Level of Protection
In the Junk E-mail Options window, you can choose the level of protection you want. ‘No Automatic Filtering’ allows all emails, while ‘Low’, ‘High’, and ‘Safe Lists Only’ offer varying degrees of filtering.
Step 3: Adding Senders to the Safe Senders List
To ensure you receive emails from specific senders, add them to the Safe Senders list. This can be done by clicking on the ‘Safe Senders’ tab and entering the email addresses or domains.
Advanced Spam Filtering Techniques
Using Rules to Filter Emails
Outlook allows you to create rules to automatically filter incoming emails based on specific criteria. This can be particularly useful for targeting certain types of spam emails.
Blocking Unwanted Senders
If you receive spam emails from specific senders, you can block them by right-clicking on the email, selecting ‘Junk’, and clicking ‘Block Sender’.
Regularly Reviewing the Junk Email Folder
It’s essential to check your Junk Email folder regularly to ensure legitimate emails are not mistakenly filtered. Outlook may occasionally mark legitimate emails as spam, so it’s important to review and mark them as ‘Not Junk’ if needed.
Conclusion
Filtering spam emails in the desktop version of Outlook is crucial for maintaining a clutter-free inbox and safeguarding your data. By following the steps outlined in this guide and utilising advanced filtering techniques, you can effectively manage spam emails and enhance your email security.

DrayTek Vigor 2962 2.5Gb Ethernet Dual-WAN Broadband Firewall Router, 200 VPN Tunnels, 20 VLANS, QOS, Remote Management, Load Balancing
High Performance Multi-WAN Router - The Vigor 2962 makes full use of FTTP Fibre Broadband at up to 2.2Gbps throughput for single or multi-WAN configurations. With Quality of Service, Firewall and Content Filtering.
Buy Now on Amazon
NETGEAR Orbi Mesh WiFi 6 System (RBK763S) , Mesh Router & 2 Extenders , Cover Every Room, Up To 6,000 Sq Ft , Improve WiFi Speeds up to 5.4 Gbps & 75 devices , Simple App Set Up
WiFI mesh coverage of up to 6,000 sq ft and up to 75 devices, With each satellite (sold separately) you can extend the range by up to 2,000 sq ft
Buy Now on Amazon
DrayTek Vigor 2865Lax-5G Ethernet Router, WiFi 6 AX3000 Wireless and 5G Failover, Integrated 5G Modem, 5+1 GbE LAN Ports with VLANs, VDSL
VDSL and Ethernet Load Balancer - Connect the Vigor 2865 to Superfast Fibre with the integrated VDSL modem. Use the Ethernet WAN with Cable and Ultrafast FTTP. Load Balance multiple connections to boost performance.
Buy Now on Amazon
TP-Link Archer BE550 Router WiFi 7 BE9300Mbps, Tri-Band WiFi Router, 2.5G Ports,USB Port,Maximized Coverage,VPN Router, Parental Control, HomeShield Security, Private IoT Network,Easy Setup,EasyMesh
Wi-Fi 7 Routers: With powerful Wi-Fi 7 performance, lightning-fast wired connections, and brand-new design
Buy Now on Amazon
QNAP TS-253A-4G 2 Bay NAS Enclosure with 4GB RAM - Black (GDPR Compliant)
NAS and iSCSI-SAN unified storage solution for server virtualization
Buy Now on Amazon
WD 16TB My Cloud EX2 Ultra 2-bay NAS - Network Attached Storage RAID, file sync, streaming, media server, with WD Red drives
Centralised network storage: Organise your entire media collection, photos and files in one central, network location
Buy Now on Amazon
Synology DX517 5 Bay Desktop Network Attached Storage Expansion Enclosure, Black
Online volume expansion
Buy Now on Amazon
QNAP TS-431XeU-8G 4 Bay Short-depth Rackmount NAS Enclosure with 10GbE SFP+ & 8GB RAM
The short depth design is suitable for installing in smaller racks or space-constrained locations
Buy Now on Amazon
Seagate 10 TB IronWolf NAS 3.5 Inch Hard Drive ST10000VN0008 (SATA 6 Gb/s/256 MB/7200 RPM)
Model Number: ST10000VN0008
Buy Now on Amazon
QNAP TS-673A-8G 6 Bay Desktop NAS Enclosure - 8GB RAM, AMD Ryzen Quad-core 2.2 GHz Processor - with 2.5GbE connectivity & supporting PCIe expansion
8GB DDR4 RAM (2 x SODIMM slots, max. 64GB, optional ECC RAM support)
Buy Now on Amazon
Synology DS1621+ 48TB 6 Bay Desktop NAS Solution, installed with 6 x 8TB Western Digital Red Plus Drives
Accelerated Performance: 174% higher 4K random read IOPS and 76% faster sequential write speeds compared to its predecessor
Buy Now on Amazon
Synology DS1823xs+ 8 Bay NAS Desktop: High-Performance Storage Solution
Powerful Performance - Over 3,100/2,600 MB/s sequential read/write throughput and over 173,100/80,800 random read/write IOPS2 support heavier applications
Buy Now on Amazon