. The Anti-Spam Toolkit Spam, the junk that now makes up more than 80 percent of email, is a problem that's only getting worse. Luckily, you, along with Mail's advanced spam filters | . The Anti-Spam Toolkit Spam the junk that now makes up more than 80 percent of email is a problem that s only getting worse. Luckily you along with Mail s advanced spam filters can make it better at least for your email accounts. . Using the Junk Mail Filter You ll see the effects of Mail s spam filter the first time you check your mail A certain swath of message titles appears in color. These are the messages that Mail considers junk. Note Out of the box Mail doesn t apply its spam-targeting features to people whose addresses are in your address book to people you ve emailed recently or to messages sent to you by name rather than just by email address. You can adjust these settings in Mail Preferences Junk Mail tab. During your first couple of weeks with Mail your job is to supervise Mail s coloring job. That is if you get spam that Mail misses click the message and then click the Junk button at the top of its window identified in Figure 19-5 or the Junk icon on the toolbar. On the other hand if Mail flags legitimate mail as spam slap it gently on the wrist by clicking the Not Junk button. Over time Mail gets better and better at filtering your mail it even does surprisingly well against the new breed of image only spam. The trouble with this so-called Training mode is that you re still left with the task of trashing the spam yourself saving you no time whatsoever. Once Mail has perfected its filtering skills to your satisfaction though open Mail s preferences click Junk Mail and click Move it to the Junk mailbox. From now on Mail automatically files what it deems junk into a Junk mailbox where it s much easier to scan and delete the messages en masse. Tip Don t miss the Trust Junk Mail headers set by your Internet Service Provider option in the Junk Mail pane of the preference window. If you turn on that checkbox Mail takes your ISP s word that certain messages are spam giving you a double layer of spam protection. . More Anti-Spam Tips The Junk
