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Handling Unwanted Messages in Outlook & OWA

There are several different kinds of unwanted messages: messages that are no longer relevant (but that at one point you did want), messages that you may have at one time wanted but cannot seem to be removed from their mailing list, and unsolicited (spam) messages. How you handle them depends on which type they are.

Messages that are no longer relevant

For mailing lists you signed up for that you know are coming from legitimate sources you should be able to use the unsubscribe button/link in their email to remove yourself from their mailing list. Usually when you unsubscribe yourself you will get a message from the company confirming that you have been removed and advising how long it will take to remove you from their mailing list. Most companies will take at least two weeks to remove your email address from their list.

How to handle unwanted messages using the Outlook application

Messages that are no longer relevant, that you have unsubscribed from, but that continue to be delivered to you

Occasionally the ability to unsubscribe from a company’s mailing list will not work. Even unsubscribing multiple times will not address the problem.

To rid yourself of these types of messages when you receive an email from the sender:

  1. Click on the message to highlight it in Outlook.
  2. From the toolbar select Junk –> Block Senders.Web page snippet training out junk mail
  3. Click the OK button in the dialog box that appears.Web page snippet training out junk mail

The sender has been added to your Blocked Senders list.

Manually edit email block list using the Outlook application

You can also edit your blocked list and add and remove email addresses.

  1. Click to highlight the message.
  2. From the toolbar select Junk –> Junk E-mail Options.Web page snippet training out junk mail
  3. Click the Blocked Senders tab.
  4. Select Add to add an email address to be blocked.
  5. Select Remove to remove an email address from the block list.Web page snippet training out junk mail
  6. Type the email address to be Added or Removed from the list in the pop-up and click OK.Web page snippet training out junk mail

How to handle unwanted messages using Outlook Web Access

Manually edit Outlook email block list using Outlook Web Access (OWA).

  1. Click the gear in the top right corner and select Options from the menu.Web page snippet training out junk mail
  2. From the options menu on the left hand side of the screen, select Mail -> Accounts -> Block or Allow.Web page snippet training out junk mail
  3. Type in the address you want to block, then click the + symbol.Web page snippet training out junk mail