Using SpamGuard
| Getting Started | Working With the Spam Mail Folder | Training the Filter |
Getting Started With SpamGuard
We all hate spam. Spam, if you don’t
know, is any message or posting, regardless of its content, that
is sent to multiple recipients who haven’t specifically requested
the message. Other common terms for spam include junk mail, UCE
(unsolicited commercial email), and UBE (unsolicited bulk email).
The most effective way to prevent spam from entering your Yahoo! Mail Inbox
is to use SpamGuard. 
The SpamGuard tool uses filters that automatically send suspected spam to a special mail folder called Spam.
When SpamGuard is turned off, Yahoo! Mail delivers all incoming email, including spam, to your Inbox (and, if you’ve created your own filters, to other folders). When it’s turned on, SpamGuard identifies suspect messages and routes them to your Spam folder, where you can review them.
Here’s How
In the upper-right corner of your Yahoo! Mail page, click the Options link, then select Mail Options from the menu.
The Mail Options page opens.
Click the Spam link on the left.
The spam options open on the right side of the page. A check in front of the Automatically send suspected spam to my Spam folder option indicates that SpamGuard is enabled.
To turn SpamGuard off, click to deselect this option.
Select the length of time you want Yahoo! to save messages in the Spam folder on the Empty Spam folder menu.
Click the Save Changes button to save your settings.
What’s Next
SpamGuard becomes even more effective as you use it because you train it to recognize what you consider to be junk mail.
Words to Know
- Filter: a set of rules that Yahoo! Mail uses to direct an incoming message to a particular folder.
- Folder: a container that holds individual elements specific to the context; for example, email messages in Yahoo! Mail.
- Spam folder: a permanent folder containing messages that you or Spamguard consider spam.
Popups
- Protecting Yourself From Spam provides some useful time.
- Using Multiple Yahoo! Email Addresses shows you how to use disposable addresses (a Yahoo! Mail Plus feature).