Avoid Unwanted Emails on Hotmail

Nothing can be more frustrating than having an email inbox full of unwanted email and potential virus threats. Unfortunately, many people send spam and other vicious malware through email messages with illicit intent.

However, Hotmail email account owners have ways they can utilize to avoid and prevent unwanted email. Since Windows Live Hotmail is the most popular email service in the world, they too have a vested interest in preventing as many unnecessary email messages as they can. Thus, the creators at Hotmail have provided tools for users to block unwanted and unsolicited email.

Hotmail Filters and Reporting

Hotmail allows users to control their own filters using the "Filters and Reporting" feature found in the Options menu. Hotmail account users can choose a filter level of Low, Standard, or Exclusive to apply to incoming messages. Each level filters accordingly. The Low filter will send anything that is obviously spam to the junk email folder. Standard will send most junk email to the appropriate folder, while the Exclusive filter is the highest filter, allowing only the email addresses provided by the user to pass through to the inbox, while all other emails are sent to the junk folder.

Users can choose when junk email should be deleted. Junk mail can be deleted immediately after sign out, or "later" with an automatic deletion in 10 days.

Users can also choose whether they wish to notify Microsoft and report junk email. Reporting junk email can help the administrators continue to fight and prevent further spam from taking up space in their servers.

Hotmail "Safe" and "Blocked" Senders

The Hotmail email options also allow users to input specific emails and domains which are safe, create "white" lists of emails that should not be filtered as spam, and even create a list of blocked senders whose messages are automatically deleted. This can be helpful in preventing a single email from a trusted source from being blocked as spam.

Users of Hotmail have good tools available to help fight spam and other unwanted email. While Hotmail email filters do not surpass other webmail services, they are sufficient to keep unsolicited email from entering and clogging an inbox. With easy-to-use filter controls, any Hotmail account user should have no trouble adjusting or readjusting filters in a moment's notice.