Spam Filtering

Comprehensive spam email filtering that helps identify unwanted or dangerous content.

Organize Mail Flow
Improve Email Filtering
Protect Your Inbox

Common Questions about Email Filtering

What does our email filter do?

Using email filters can help manage and organize the flow of your inbox based on criteria applied to the received message. Using these criteria, the filter holds or delivers emails based on sender, content in the subject or body, or other known data such as the sending source or originating IP.

A second level of email security filters messages after scanning attached files and embedded links. If it detects any suspicious or malicious through its algorithms, the message will be held.

The most positive effect of email filtering is reducing the amount of noise users receive from the internet by allowing them to control exactly which messages are allowed to enter their email inbox.

What happens when you mark an email as spam?

A spam message may be a legitimate communication in another context or depending on who you ask. This makes defining spam filters more difficult when it’s not easy to define what it is. All spam filters suffer from this blurred definition of spam.

Users have the opportunity to mark messages in their inbox as spam, even if they have made it through the filters in their current settings. Marking the email allows algorithms to learn from the data contained within the email. Accumulating this data helps the security filters prevent similar messages from making it through in the future.

Unfortunately, those seeking to exploit your email security know these processes as well and are changing their approach. A good email filter should also take the users into consideration. How is the user using their email? Business communications are different from bulk emails, which also differs from regular personal email. Of the 3, business email security is of the highest priority and should not be left to the simple “learning?” algorithms of free filters included with other services.

Do I need to replace the Office 365 spam filter?

No. Office 365’s spam filter is useful as the bare minimum security running behind the other measures you will put in place. Microsoft delivers held emails to a Junk Email folder which is part of a user’s mailbox. This is very close to the user’s primary inbox and makes it more likely they will access a spam message in error. That’s a risk that’s worth eliminating.

Office 365’s spam filter is also prone to false positives as well. Some emails are flagged as suspicious even though they are legitimate. This has happened with Microsoft Xbox and Dynamics emails ending up in the Junk Email folder. Messages from Microsoft itself being filtered!

In order to shore up where Office 365 falls short, users should focus on 2 additional measures of security. The Spam or Junk folder should be held outside the primary mailbox to prevent cross-contamination. Second, users should be able to manage their controls and filters on a granular level, and not just in Outlook itself.

Does G-Suite need a spam filter?

Yes. Google is another popular option for business users who can use all their tools in a browser or on the smartphone app. While the spam filters are robust, they still fail to keep the email away from the user’s mailbox and it isn’t easy to make adjustments to the filters and controls.

Within the web browser for Google, the Spam folder is actually quite prominent. The possibility that a user will accidentally open a message or click a link to an unwanted action is high.

Adjusting the controls to allow certain messages is also tedious. In order to add to the allowlist, users must first create a contact. This extra step seems unnecessary, especially if the user would later remove the contact from the allowlist.

Most of the filters are generalized and it can be difficult for business users to finely control their inbox.

M3 Networks works with you and your users to determine the best security measures for you to safely communicate online. While these questions are common to many customers, the solutions we provide are customized to you and your business. Reach out to our team today to learn how we can protect you and your business!

Meet with M3 for your FREE Consult

Whether you’re facing an immediate IT crisis or proactively managing a cyber security risk, a 30-minute call with our IT strategist can change everything. Let’s talk!

Call Now

Schedule a Consultation

Ask a Question

What Our Clients Are Saying About M3 Networks

Back to All Managed Services