The art of creating filtered and blocked lists for your inbox
The Art of Creating Filtered and Blocked Lists for Your Inbox
If you're like almost everyone in this digital age, you probably receive hundreds of emails every day from countless people, newsletters, and businesses. Unfortunately, not all of these emails are useful or relevant, and many of them are unwanted, unsolicited, or downright spammy. In fact, according to recent statistics, approximately 49.7% of all email traffic is spam.
This overwhelming amount of spam can be frustrating, time-consuming, and even dangerous, as many phishing, scam, or malware messages masquerade as legitimate emails. To protect yourself and your computer from these threats, as well as to increase your productivity and reduce your stress, you need to learn how to filter and block your inbox effectively.
Step 1: Identify the Types of Emails You Want to Filter or Block
The first step to creating a good filtered or blocked list is to identify the types of emails that you want to handle differently than the rest. Depending on your personal or professional needs and preferences, you might want to filter or block:
- Spam emails that use generic or misleading subject lines, sender names, or content to get your attention or trick you into clicking on a link, downloading an attachment, or giving away sensitive information.
- Phishing emails that pretend to be from a trustworthy source, such as your bank, your social media account, or your employer, but are actually designed to steal your login credentials, personal data, or money.
- Malware emails that contain viruses, trojans, or other malicious programs that can infect your computer or smartphone and steal or delete your files, or use your device for illegal activities.
- Unwanted emails that are not necessarily harmful but are annoying or irrelevant to you, such as newsletters, notifications, advertisements, or spammy messages from people you don't know or don't care about.
Once you have a clear idea of what kinds of emails you want to filter or block, you can proceed to the next step.
Step 2: Use Your Email Client or Service to Set Up Filters and Rules
The second step to creating a good filtered or blocked list is to use the built-in features of your email client or service to set up filters and rules that match your criteria. Depending on your email provider and application, you may have different options and interfaces to work with, but the general principles are similar.
Specifically, you can:
- Create a whitelist of trusted senders or domains that you want to see in your inbox, such as your family, friends, or colleagues, and exclude all other emails unless they pass certain criteria, such as containing a specific keyword, having a certain size or attachment, or coming from a specific IP address or country.
- Create a blacklist of unwanted senders or domains that you want to block or delete entirely, such as known spammers, phishers, or malware distributors, or anyone who violates your privacy or spam policy.
- Create a graylist of suspicious emails that you want to delay or quarantine until you can verify their legitimacy or safety, such as emails that use a foreign language, a non-standard format, or inconsistent headers or signatures.
- Create a notification or alert system that informs you whenever an important or urgent email arrives, such as from your boss, your doctor, or your bank, so that you don't miss or overlook it amidst the flood of lesser emails.
To set up these filters and rules, you usually need to access your email settings, preferences, or options, and navigate to the section that handles spam or filtering. There, you should find a list of available actions and conditions, and be able to add, edit, or remove them as needed.
Step 3: Test and Fine-Tune Your Filters and Rules
The third step to creating a good filtered or blocked list is to test and fine-tune your filters and rules to make sure they work as intended and don't interfere with your legitimate emails. The best way to do this is to observe your inbox for a few days or weeks, and see how your filters and rules handle different types of emails.
Specifically, you should:
- Check your spam folder or trash folder regularly to make sure that no important emails are getting filtered or blocked by mistake, and if you find any, add them to your whitelist or graylist accordingly.
- Monitor your inbox for any false positives, such as legitimate emails that end up in your spam or quarantine folder, and if you find any, remove the filters or rules that caused them or change their conditions or actions.
- Adjust your filters and rules periodically, based on your evolving needs and feedback, and don't be afraid to experiment with new criteria or actions that you think might be useful or effective.
Step 4: Educate Yourself and Others About Spam and Cybersecurity
The fourth and final step to creating a good filtered or blocked list is to educate yourself and others about spam and cybersecurity, and how to avoid or report them. Although filters and rules can take care of most unwanted emails, they are not foolproof, and some spam or threats may still slip through.
Therefore, you should:
- Learn how to recognize common signs of spam, phishing, or malware, such as misspellings, odd links, or urgent requests, and never click on them or reply to them.
- Use strong and unique passwords for your email accounts, and enable two-factor authentication if possible, to prevent hackers or scammers from guessing or stealing your login credentials.
- Update your email client or service regularly, and enable any security or privacy features that are available, such as spam filters, antivirus scans, or encryption.
- Report any suspicious or illegal emails to your email provider, your cybersecurity agency, or your local law enforcement, and help them track down and prosecute the offenders.
- Share your knowledge and experience with your friends, family, or coworkers, and encourage them to follow the same practices and precautions that you do, to create a safer and cleaner online environment for everyone.
By following these steps and creating a good filtered or blocked list for your inbox, you can not only reduce your stress and increase your productivity, but also protect yourself and others from the harmful effects of spam and cybercrime. It's a small but crucial step towards a better and more secure online world.