FAQs about Junk and Quarantined Mails

Q1. What is a junk mail folder? Junk mail folder (jmf), which is also known as a spam folder, is a designated location/folder within your email client where unsolicited (or unwanted) messages are automatically delivered. The system does this to help keep your inbox tidy and allows you to focus on important and expected emails. 

Q2. How does the email Security System decide what goes into the junk mail folder? The security system uses various filtering algorithms and rules (that are built into a robust industry standard security solution) to determine if a message is junk mail. Some other common factors include the sender's reputation, specific keywords in the subject or body of the email, and whether the email is part of a mass mailing that has been detected as unsolicited. Additionally, you can manually report certain emails as junk to help train the security system. 

Q3. I am worried I might miss important emails if they end up in the junk mail or quarantine folder. What can I do? It is a good idea to periodically check your junk mail folder and your quarantine folder, to ensure no legitimate emails have mistakenly been delivered there. If you find an important email in your junk mail folder, you can mark it as "not junk" or add the sender to your contacts or safe senders list to prevent future emails from being filtered incorrectly. If a legitimate mail is found in your quarantine folder, request for it to be released and allow the sender. To check your Quarantine Folder, click this link: https://security.microsoft.com/quarantine?viewid=Email. If you don't have any emails caught in quarantine, all you will see is the notification that says: No data available. 

Q4. What do I do if I keep getting spam from the same sender? The new protection system will always work to prevent spam mails from delivering your inbox. You are also able to simply block specific senders by adding their email address to a blocked senders list within your email client. This will ensure that all future emails from that sender are sent directly to your Junk mail folder. To learn how to do this, go to the how to page by clicking this link: Block or unblock senders in Outlook - Microsoft Support

Q5. How do I ensure that mails of some senders reach my inbox? If you want mails from a sender to always end up in your inbox, you can add the email address of that sender to that safe senders list. By adding email addresses that you trust to the Safe Senders List, you instruct Outlook that messages from those sources are never to be considered as junk. If you have done this and mails from the sender still ends up in your junk mail folder, please contact IS Helpline. To learn how to add an address to your safe senders list, visit: Safe senders | Information Services

Q6. I accidentally marked an email as junk. What do I do? Do not worry. You can easily move the email back to your inbox and mark it as "not junk." Simply find the email in your junk mail folder, right-click on it (or use the appropriate action for your email client) and choose the option to mark it as "not junk" or move it to your inbox. 

Q7. How do I report a phishing email that ended up in my junk mail folder? If you receive a phishing email in your junk mail folder, it is important to report it to help protect yourself and others from potential scams. To report a phishing email, follow the Information Security guidance at:Learning to avoid phishing | Information Security. 

Q8. I sometimes find legitimate messages in my junk mail folder and spam mails in my inbox, what do I do? Legitimate emails will be delivered to your inbox while unsolicited mails will be delivered into your junk mail. On rare occasions, a legitimate mail may be categorised as spam and you may find a mail you believe is spam in your inbox, these are called false positive (good mail marked as bad) or a false negative (bad email allowed). When the above occurs, you can report the message to Microsoft, which will help the system to learn better and avoid such in the future. 

Q9. What is Microsoft Defender Quarantine?Microsoft Defender Quarantine is a security feature that is configured with email to protect users from emails detected as harmful and spam. The quarantine service automatically holds suspect emails in quarantine until the user is able to review them and decide whether delete or allow them to be delivered to their inbox (by requesting them to be released). Please note that some release messages will end up in the user's junk mail folder. For more information on actions you can take on quarantined emails visit: Take Action on Quarantined Mails. | Information Services

Q10. What's the difference between quarantine and the junk email folder?Junk mail folder (jmf) is mainly intended to hold emails that categorised as unsolicited (like spam emails), while the quarantine area is meant to hold back emails detected as harmful (malicious emails) with the intention of preventing them from ever reaching your inbox. Occasionally, emails that are not harmful could end up in quarantine. Please note that Microsoft is always working to improve their detection techniques. Its a good idea to regularly check both your quarantine and your jmf. 

Q11. I have delegated some access to my PA (from my Outlook) for managing my mails for me. Can they see my Quarantined messages? For someone who has delegated access to a mailbox, such as a PA, they will not be able to access the quarantine folder for the person who has delegated the access to them. Quarantine folders are specific to the individual mailbox owner, and delegated access does not extend to the quarantine folder. Microsoft is always working hard to ensure that legitimate emails are not quarantined. Please note that the rate of false positives is so low that most users can go their whole time at the University without having any valid mail caught in quarantine. It is however your responsibility to regularly check the quarantine, especially if you are expecting an email. 

Q12. Can members or delegates see messages that are Quarantined for Shared Mailboxes? Yes. Members or delegates who are given Full Access permissions to the shared mailbox can view and manage quarantined messages for that mailbox. To check if an email has been quarantined, click this link: https://security.microsoft.com/quarantine?viewid=Email to open the quarantine area, click on the filter button and type the email address of the shared mailbox in the recipient address box and click apply. This will search and display any mail that has been quarantined for that shared mailbox. Please note that the first delegate to act on the quarantined message decides what happens to the message for everyone who uses the shared mailbox, so it is a good idea to assign a delegate that will manage quarantine for a shared mailbox.

Q13. Why am seeing warning messages appear at the top of my emails? These warning messages are "Safety Tips", a feature that adds a warning to emails from senders a user doesn't frequently receive messages from. to learn more about this safety tips please visit: First Contact Safety Tips | Information Services