Removing my email address from Outlook's junk filters

[Nebulous]

I use Outlook heavily, but never the Junk Mail filter. I have my own small
business (consultancy) and have recently discovered that serveral people
haven't seen messages from me because my messages are filtered by their
Outlook Junk Mail Filter.

As far as I can tell, there's nothing consistent or troubling about the
content that would trip a content filter, so I'm assuming MS uses some sort
of SPAM database.

How can I correct this? I'm certainly no spammer or anything close to it.
Just a small business guy doing mostly local business as a management
consultant.

At one point in the past, I discovered that my website had been flagged by
WebSense as Adult Content, so many people couldn't get to it. I contacted
them, they investigated, and then apologetically recategorized it. Not sure
what I could possibly be doing that would cause me these headaches.

Anyway, I wonder if some common source caused WebSense and MS to block me.

Again, what should I do? This could cost me a lot of $$ in lost business.

Regards,

~N

 

[Diane Poremsky [MVP]]

I don't think websense has anything to do with it. The people you send to
will need to put your address on their safe list.

I've had mail moved to junk mail because it was too short.

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]

Outlook & Exchange Solutions Center: http://www.slipstick.com/

Outlook Tips by email:
mailto:[email protected]

EMO - a weekly newsletter about Outlook and Exchange:
mailto:[email protected]

Poll: What version of Exchange server do you use?
http://forums.slipstick.com/showthread.php?t=33803

 

[Nebulous]

Diane and Brian -

Thank you both for your replies. The problem is, I may be writing an email
to a new prospect -- such as someone I met at a networking event that day, a
person that someone referred me to, etc. So, I can't always (or even usually)
ensure that someone I'm emailing has me in their safe list. In a business
like mine, that's a rather difficult thing to have to do -- ask everyone you
ever email whether they have Outlook and, if so, do they use Junk Filtering
and, if so, would they please add my addrss to their safe senders list (if
they know how).

Does Outlook only use Baysian filtering, or does it also use a SPAM database
to block certain addresses?

~N

I don't think websense has anything to do with it. The people you send to
will need to put your address on their safe list.

I've had mail moved to junk mail because it was too short.

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]

Outlook & Exchange Solutions Center: http://www.slipstick.com/

Outlook Tips by email:
mailto:[email protected]

EMO - a weekly newsletter about Outlook and Exchange:
mailto:[email protected]

Poll: What version of Exchange server do you use?
http://forums.slipstick.com/showthread.php?t=33803

I use Outlook heavily, but never the Junk Mail filter. I have my own small
business (consultancy) and have recently discovered that serveral people
haven't seen messages from me because my messages are filtered by their
Outlook Junk Mail Filter.

As far as I can tell, there's nothing consistent or troubling about the
content that would trip a content filter, so I'm assuming MS uses some
sort
of SPAM database.

How can I correct this? I'm certainly no spammer or anything close to it.
Just a small business guy doing mostly local business as a management
consultant.

At one point in the past, I discovered that my website had been flagged by
WebSense as Adult Content, so many people couldn't get to it. I contacted
them, they investigated, and then apologetically recategorized it. Not
sure
what I could possibly be doing that would cause me these headaches.

Anyway, I wonder if some common source caused WebSense and MS to block me.

Again, what should I do? This could cost me a lot of $$ in lost business.

Regards,

~N

 

[Diane Poremsky [MVP]]

It uses bayesian in the automatic filters, users can filter by address or
domain. They don't publish what they use in the filter but I don't think its
your problems. Filtering on addresses is pointless - spammers will move on
to a new address.

Make sure the message is not short - use a decent paragraph. Don't overdo
images. Try to avoid spammy words - while its easy to guess certain drugs &
body parts are spammy, its harder with marketing terms. Send test messages
to yourself to see what might get through.

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]

Outlook & Exchange Solutions Center: http://www.slipstick.com/

Outlook Tips by email:
mailto:[email protected]

EMO - a weekly newsletter about Outlook and Exchange:
mailto:[email protected]

Poll: What version of Exchange server do you use?
http://forums.slipstick.com/showthread.php?t=33803

Diane and Brian -

Thank you both for your replies. The problem is, I may be writing an email
to a new prospect -- such as someone I met at a networking event that day,
a
person that someone referred me to, etc. So, I can't always (or even
usually)
ensure that someone I'm emailing has me in their safe list. In a business
like mine, that's a rather difficult thing to have to do -- ask everyone
you
ever email whether they have Outlook and, if so, do they use Junk
Filtering
and, if so, would they please add my addrss to their safe senders list (if
they know how).

Does Outlook only use Baysian filtering, or does it also use a SPAM
database
to block certain addresses?

~N

I don't think websense has anything to do with it. The people you send to
will need to put your address on their safe list.

I've had mail moved to junk mail because it was too short.

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]

Outlook & Exchange Solutions Center: http://www.slipstick.com/

Outlook Tips by email:
mailto:[email protected]

EMO - a weekly newsletter about Outlook and Exchange:
mailto:[email protected]

Poll: What version of Exchange server do you use?
http://forums.slipstick.com/showthread.php?t=33803

I use Outlook heavily, but never the Junk Mail filter. I have my own
small
business (consultancy) and have recently discovered that serveral
people
haven't seen messages from me because my messages are filtered by their
Outlook Junk Mail Filter.

As far as I can tell, there's nothing consistent or troubling about the
content that would trip a content filter, so I'm assuming MS uses some
sort
of SPAM database.

How can I correct this? I'm certainly no spammer or anything close to
it.
Just a small business guy doing mostly local business as a management
consultant.

At one point in the past, I discovered that my website had been flagged
by
WebSense as Adult Content, so many people couldn't get to it. I
contacted
them, they investigated, and then apologetically recategorized it. Not
sure
what I could possibly be doing that would cause me these headaches.

Anyway, I wonder if some common source caused WebSense and MS to block
me.

Again, what should I do? This could cost me a lot of $$ in lost
business.

Regards,

~N

 

[Nebulous]

Thanks again, Diane.

I *think* I'm pretty aware of how to make emails filter-friendly. These have
been content-rich email, with a solid greeting and signature. The only image
is one that I use in my signature (it's my business logo). I wouldn't think a
single in-line small image would o this. But I obviously have a lot to learn.

Sending it to myself wouldn't help because I don't use Outlook's junk
filter. I don't think it works well -- it has given me too many false hits
and has miss several that I thought were obvious. My email is hosted by
Gmail, and they do a much better job of managing it.

Oh well. Seems I'm stuck.

jb

It uses bayesian in the automatic filters, users can filter by address or
domain. They don't publish what they use in the filter but I don't think its
your problems. Filtering on addresses is pointless - spammers will move on
to a new address.

Make sure the message is not short - use a decent paragraph. Don't overdo
images. Try to avoid spammy words - while its easy to guess certain drugs &
body parts are spammy, its harder with marketing terms. Send test messages
to yourself to see what might get through.

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]

Outlook & Exchange Solutions Center: http://www.slipstick.com/

Outlook Tips by email:
mailto:[email protected]

EMO - a weekly newsletter about Outlook and Exchange:
mailto:[email protected]

Poll: What version of Exchange server do you use?
http://forums.slipstick.com/showthread.php?t=33803

Diane and Brian -

Thank you both for your replies. The problem is, I may be writing an email
to a new prospect -- such as someone I met at a networking event that day,
a
person that someone referred me to, etc. So, I can't always (or even
usually)
ensure that someone I'm emailing has me in their safe list. In a business
like mine, that's a rather difficult thing to have to do -- ask everyone
you
ever email whether they have Outlook and, if so, do they use Junk
Filtering
and, if so, would they please add my addrss to their safe senders list (if
they know how).

Does Outlook only use Baysian filtering, or does it also use a SPAM
database
to block certain addresses?

~N

I don't think websense has anything to do with it. The people you send to
will need to put your address on their safe list.

I've had mail moved to junk mail because it was too short.

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]

Outlook & Exchange Solutions Center: http://www.slipstick.com/

Outlook Tips by email:
mailto:[email protected]

EMO - a weekly newsletter about Outlook and Exchange:
mailto:[email protected]

Poll: What version of Exchange server do you use?
http://forums.slipstick.com/showthread.php?t=33803

I use Outlook heavily, but never the Junk Mail filter. I have my own
small
business (consultancy) and have recently discovered that serveral
people
haven't seen messages from me because my messages are filtered by their
Outlook Junk Mail Filter.

As far as I can tell, there's nothing consistent or troubling about the
content that would trip a content filter, so I'm assuming MS uses some
sort
of SPAM database.

How can I correct this? I'm certainly no spammer or anything close to
it.
Just a small business guy doing mostly local business as a management
consultant.

At one point in the past, I discovered that my website had been flagged
by
WebSense as Adult Content, so many people couldn't get to it. I
contacted
them, they investigated, and then apologetically recategorized it. Not
sure
what I could possibly be doing that would cause me these headaches.

Anyway, I wonder if some common source caused WebSense and MS to block
me.

Again, what should I do? This could cost me a lot of $$ in lost
business.

Regards,

~N

 

[Diane Poremsky [MVP]]

I forget if the junk filter is per profile or per windows account - but the
solution is to a make profile that has it enabled. Get a pop account to
test with.

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]

Outlook & Exchange Solutions Center: http://www.slipstick.com/

Outlook Tips by email:
mailto:[email protected]

EMO - a weekly newsletter about Outlook and Exchange:
mailto:[email protected]

Poll: What version of Exchange server do you use?
http://forums.slipstick.com/showthread.php?t=33803

Thanks again, Diane.

I *think* I'm pretty aware of how to make emails filter-friendly. These
have
been content-rich email, with a solid greeting and signature. The only
image
is one that I use in my signature (it's my business logo). I wouldn't
think a
single in-line small image would o this. But I obviously have a lot to
learn.

Sending it to myself wouldn't help because I don't use Outlook's junk
filter. I don't think it works well -- it has given me too many false hits
and has miss several that I thought were obvious. My email is hosted by
Gmail, and they do a much better job of managing it.

Oh well. Seems I'm stuck.

jb

It uses bayesian in the automatic filters, users can filter by address or
domain. They don't publish what they use in the filter but I don't think
its
your problems. Filtering on addresses is pointless - spammers will move
on
to a new address.

Make sure the message is not short - use a decent paragraph. Don't overdo
images. Try to avoid spammy words - while its easy to guess certain
drugs &
body parts are spammy, its harder with marketing terms. Send test
messages
to yourself to see what might get through.

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]

Outlook & Exchange Solutions Center: http://www.slipstick.com/

Outlook Tips by email:
mailto:[email protected]

EMO - a weekly newsletter about Outlook and Exchange:
mailto:[email protected]

Poll: What version of Exchange server do you use?
http://forums.slipstick.com/showthread.php?t=33803

Diane and Brian -

Thank you both for your replies. The problem is, I may be writing an
email
to a new prospect -- such as someone I met at a networking event that
day,
a
person that someone referred me to, etc. So, I can't always (or even
usually)
ensure that someone I'm emailing has me in their safe list. In a
business
like mine, that's a rather difficult thing to have to do -- ask
everyone
you
ever email whether they have Outlook and, if so, do they use Junk
Filtering
and, if so, would they please add my addrss to their safe senders list
(if
they know how).

Does Outlook only use Baysian filtering, or does it also use a SPAM
database
to block certain addresses?

~N

:

I don't think websense has anything to do with it. The people you send
to
will need to put your address on their safe list.

I've had mail moved to junk mail because it was too short.

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]

Outlook & Exchange Solutions Center: http://www.slipstick.com/

Outlook Tips by email:
mailto:[email protected]

EMO - a weekly newsletter about Outlook and Exchange:
mailto:[email protected]

Poll: What version of Exchange server do you use?
http://forums.slipstick.com/showthread.php?t=33803

I use Outlook heavily, but never the Junk Mail filter. I have my own
small
business (consultancy) and have recently discovered that serveral
people
haven't seen messages from me because my messages are filtered by
their
Outlook Junk Mail Filter.

As far as I can tell, there's nothing consistent or troubling about
the
content that would trip a content filter, so I'm assuming MS uses
some
sort
of SPAM database.

How can I correct this? I'm certainly no spammer or anything close
to
it.
Just a small business guy doing mostly local business as a
management
consultant.

At one point in the past, I discovered that my website had been
flagged
by
WebSense as Adult Content, so many people couldn't get to it. I
contacted
them, they investigated, and then apologetically recategorized it.
Not
sure
what I could possibly be doing that would cause me these headaches.

Anyway, I wonder if some common source caused WebSense and MS to
block
me.

Again, what should I do? This could cost me a lot of $$ in lost
business.

Regards,

~N