Tip #3666 - A Simple Whitelist
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Q:
I've looked over your tip on creating an e-mail whitelist several times,
but I still cannot get it to work. Do you have any other more "simple"
instructions or what can I do differently? Please help!
A:
It's kind of a coincidence that you asked this, because I just had a customer
call the other day and they were having the same exact problem. While
on the phone with them, I started reading through the tip we have in our
archives on making your own e-mail whitelist and after doing so, I have
to say, I agree with you wholeheartedly. It is a little confusing and
to be honest, there's no good reason for it.
Creating a whitelist
is not very hard at all. The process is really pretty simple. So, I'm
going to help all of you out today and give you a much less confusing
version of how to do this. At least I'm going to try! Now, before I go
any further, I want to make sure everyone understands what a whitelist
is. A whitelist is basically a list of e-mail addresses that one would
like to accept e-mails from in their Inbox. Creating a whitelist ensures
that you'll always get the e-mails you want to receive. You know, all
those important messages from your family members and all the fun forwards
from your friends, etc. The whitelist also helps to keep out all the e-mails
you don't want to get, like spam and advertisements.
Alright, so to create
your own e-mail whitelist, follow these simple instructions. (Note:
This tip is only for Outlook Express users).
1.) Open Outlook Express
and go to Tools, Message Rules, Mail.
From there, click the New button.
2.) A New
Mail Rule box will open up and in the first box, checkmark the
option that says "Where the From line contains people."
The people it's referring to are your friends, family, etc.
3.) In the second
box, checkmark the option that says "Move it to the specified
folder." This is what your screen should look like so far:
4.) Now, in the third
box, just click on the blue link that says "contains people."
5.) A new window will
open up and from there, click on the Address Book button.
This will bring up all of the contacts you already have saved in your
address book. Go through your list and find the addresses you want to
accept for your whitelist. When you're ready, highlight an address and
hit the From button. That will automatically move that
address over to your "accepted" list on the right side. Do the
same thing until you have all the addresses you want in that far right
box. I found that it's easier to go through and add them one by one, because
that way, you're sure not to miss anyone or add someone you don't want.
When you're all finished with that, click OK twice. The
addresses you chose will then show up in the new message rule box.
6.) Next, click on
the blue link that says "specified."
7.) Once there, click
on the New Folder button. Then give your new folder a
name. I chose to name mine "Whitelist," but you can name it
anything you want. For example, "Friends" or "Accepted."
When you're done, click OK twice more.
8.) Now, in the fourth
box, delete the text that reads "New Mail Rule"
and type in the name of the new folder you just created. (Again, mine
is called "Whitelist"). Click OK again to finish
the process. Just to give you an example, your message rule should look
something like the image below (that is, before you click OK for the last
time).
9.) You will then
be taken back to the original Message Rules box and you'll be able to
see your new whitelist included there. Make sure it's checkmarked as well.
If it's not, it won't be applied to the e-mail messages you receive. When
everything is set the way you want it to be, click OK
one more time and you'll be all ready to use your new whitelist!
10.) Your new folder
will also show up on the left side of your Outlook Express window, along
with all your other folders (Inbox, Outbox, etc). So, when you check your
e-mail again, the messages you receive from the addresses you added will
be in that new folder. Just open that folder and you'll be able to see
all the e-mails you actually want to read.
Now, making a whitelist
will help filter out the good from the bad when it comes to your e-mails,
but you may also want to create other message rules to keep your e-mail
filtered out as much as possible. You can read here
for some endless message rule possibilities. Also, when you're creating
your whitelist, make sure you add WorldStart to that list (under the address
of steve@worldstart.com). That way, you'll receive our newsletters and
e-mails from us with no problems whatsoever. You gotta love that!
I hope this whole
whitelist thing comes a little easier to you this time. Good luck and
happy whitelisting, my friends!
~ Erin
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