Help and Support

Here's some information about our email spam filter.

1. What is spam?
2. Why do I get spam?
3. What is spam filtering?
4. How do I turn the spam filter on?
5. How do I turn the spam filter off?
6. What is the Spam folder?
7. What if I already have a folder called Spam in my Webmail account?
8. What happens to the email in my Spam folder?
9. Why are some legitimate emails occasionally filtered into my Spam folder?
10. Will the Spam folder appear in Outlook Express?
11. What is the Friend's List?
12. Are the contacts in my address book automatically included in the Friend's List?
13. How much does it cost?
14. What should I do if I am using existing anti-spam software?

What is spam?

Spam is another word for unsolicited junk email.

Spam is also known as Unsolicited Commercial Email (UCE) which is advertising material sent and received by email without the recipient requesting the information. In the same way you might receive junk mail through your letterbox, spam is junk mail that arrives on your computer.

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Why do I get spam?

Spammers send unsolicited email to promote their products or services - it's the same concept as junk mail delivered to your house. Since the Internet is so vast and sending email is very inexpensive, spammers can afford to send millions of emails without needing to restrict their mailing lists.

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What is spam filtering?

Our spam filtering system automatically detects and filters unsolicited email into a dedicated spam folder within Webmail. The spam filter ensures that only your legitimate personal and professional emails are delivered to your Inbox.

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How do I turn the spam filter on?

To activate the spam filter you will need to login to Webmail (https://webmail.johnlewisbroadband.com/). Once logged in, click on Settings and then spam filter. The second option is the spam filter option. By default this is set to spam filter off. To turn it on, select spam filter on.

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How do I turn the spam filter off?

To deactivate the spam filter you will need to login to Webmail (https://webmail.johnlewisbroadband.com/). Once logged in, click on Settings and then spam filter. The second option is the spam filter option. If it is currently on, spam filter on will be selected. To turn it off, select spam filter off.

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What is the spam folder?

A folder called spam will automatically appear in your Webmail account once you have activated the spam filter and received your first piece of junk email. It will not appear as soon as you have activated the spam filter option.

When the spam filter is on, messages that are detected as spam are automatically routed to the spam folder - this reduces the amount of junk mail you receive in your Inbox or when downloading emails to your machine.

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What if I already have a folder called spam in my Webmail account?

A new folder will not be created. We will automatically filter any unwanted or junk email directly to the folder you have named spam. If your existing spam folder is being used for legitimate email messages, please create a new folder that is not titled spam.

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What happens to the email in my spam folder?

Messages will remain in your spam folder for you to view and delete manually. Alternatively, you can select to have the messages in your spam folder, which are older than 30, 21, 14, 7 or 2 days, automatically deleted. You will need to set this option as it is set to NEVER by default. The option is found in the spam filter settings page.

We recommend that you empty your spam folder regularly as these messages will count toward your email storage quota if not deleted.

We will notify you by email when your mailbox reaches 75% of the storage quota. Please use Webmail to delete any messages you no longer need and remember to check your spam folder too.

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Why are some legitimate emails occasionally filtered into my spam folder?

Whilst we make every effort to deliver your legitimate personal and professional email messages directly to your Inbox, we cannot guarantee that the spam filter service will be 100% effective.

If you have a legitimate email which is being filtered into the spam folder simply add that person's email address to your contacts folder in Webmail, or add it to your Friend's List using the spam Filter settings in Webmail.

See: What is the Friend's List? (below)

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Will the spam folder appear in Outlook Express?

No. The spam folder will only appear in your Webmail account, however, you can continue to use Outlook Express as you would normally.

Webmail allows you to send and receive email using any Internet connection, anywhere in the world using a web browser.

To review the contents of your spam folder you will need to login to Webmail. The spam folder will automatically appear once you have activated the spam filter and received your first piece of junk email.

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What is the Friend's List?

The Friend's List is a way of enhancing the spam filter service. You can specify email addresses and domain names that you wish to receive email from. Email from an address in your Friend's List will always be delivered to your Inbox, even it is does turn out to be spam. This is a useful feature if legitimate emails are being filtered into your spam folder.

Note: All your contacts in the address book in Webmail are automatically included in the Friend's List.

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Are the contacts in my address book automatically included in the Friend's List?

Yes. All the contacts in your Webmail address book are automatically included in the Friend's List.

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How much does it cost?

The service costs nothing, it just needs to be activated.

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What should I do if I am using existing anti-spam software?

We recommend that you turn off your existing anti-spam software to avoid confusion. However, you can activate the spam filter and use it in parallel with your existing anti-spam software if you wish.

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