Email Security: Bulk Mail Filtering

The campus secure email gateway identifies messages that appear to be bulk mail (such as newsletters and advertisements). This article explains how to use the bulk rating feature to automatically route these messages to your Junk folder or manually route them to a folder you choose.

Overview

Bulk mail, often referred to as "graymail", includes newsletters, marketing materials, and advertisements. While these messages are typically sent to large groups and are not necessarily malicious, they can fill your inbox.

Managing bulk mail is unique because one person’s "spam" may be another person’s "subscribed update." While legitimate senders provide unsubscribe links, less reputable senders may use those links to verify your email address. Using the campus filtering tools allows you to manage these messages safely based on information from our email gateway.

Bulk Email - Management Options

Option 1: Automated Filtering (Recommended)

You can choose to have all messages identified as "Bulk" automatically routed to your Junk folder by joining the bulk-mail-filter Manifest group.

To Enable: Click here to join the Manifest group.

Note: This is a global setting. It may cause legitimate newsletters you enjoy to be filtered into your Junk folder.

Option 2: Manual Filtering (DIY Approach)

If you prefer more granular control, you can create a custom Inbox rule in Microsoft 365. When the email gateway identifies a message as bulk, it attaches a specific email header: X-Wisc-Bulk: true.

To set up a manual rule:

Open Outlook on the Web and navigate to your Rules settings.
Create a new rule with the following condition:

Condition: "Message header includes"
Value: X-Wisc-Bulk: true

Define the action:

Action: "Move to" -> Select your preferred folder (e.g., "Junk Email" or "Bulk Mail").

Exceptions: You can add exceptions to this rule for specific senders or keywords to ensure important newsletters still reach your Inbox.

For detailed instructions on rules, see Microsoft’s guide to managing email messages by using rules.

Troubleshooting & Fine-Tuning

Important messages are going to my Junk folder

If legitimate mail is being caught by the bulk filter, try these solutions:

Safe Senders List: Add the sender's address to your Safe Senders List in Outlook. This is the most effective way to override the filter for a specific sender.
Rule Exceptions: If you are using the manual (Option 2) method, add an exception to your Inbox rule for that specific sender.
Opt-Out: If the filter is consistently catching too much legitimate mail, you can opt-out of automated filtering here.

The filter is not working for me

If you find that bulk filtering is not meeting your needs:

For Automated Filtering: You can opt-out of automated filtering here.
For Manual Filtering: Simply disable or delete the Inbox rule you created in Outlook.