Outlook whitelisting question

February 1, 2009 11:02 AM

I'm looking for a way to "white list" an outlook user's account so he only receives email from a few select friends.

Ideally, all email that is not on the white list would be diverted to his assistant by default. I don't want to create a separate user because I don't want multiple outlook calendars floating out there.

I'm not sure if Outlook or Exchange is capable of this natively, so if it's not, I'm open to suggestions of third-party software that may be up to the task.

posted by Optamystic to computers & internet (7 answers total)

Outlook or Exchange can handle this, depending upon the version. Also, this depends upon whether you are allowed to make changes to the Exchange server (or direct someone to make changes to said server). I think that in any case, the rules (if made via Outlook) would be considered server side, so at least no one would have to keep the Outlook client running somewhere.
posted by kellyblah at 11:22 AM on February 1, 2009

I think the best way to achieve this is through folders rather than any shenanigans involving whitelists, redirects, etc. Just create a rule on the account to move emails from X, Y, and Z to a specific folder. Teach Mr. Important to look in that folder for his correspondence.
posted by mkultra at 11:31 AM on February 1, 2009

Thanks for the suggestions. To clarify, Mr. Important has a Blackberry, and only wants to see e-mail from approved senders on the BB, so I don't think folders would work. The core of the problem is that his mail email address is [e-mail], so when random people have axes to grind, it's pretty easy for them to guess his email address. The result, as you can imagine, is less than ideal. Changing his email address is not an option.
posted by Optamystic at 11:51 AM on February 1, 2009

Do you want the whitelist for his entire account, or just for what appears on the BB?
posted by rhizome at 11:59 AM on February 1, 2009

Ok, you can set a rule on the Exchange server (so long as it is Exc2007) to bcc Assistant for every email sent to [e-mail]. Then, just set a rule in Mr Important's mailbox (via Outlook) to delete all emails UNLESS they are from whatever addresses that he wants to see emails from. You might actually be able to redirect via exc2007's transport rules, which would be even better, since you are trying to solve the issue of emails going to his blackberry.

Additionally, if this is only an annoyance on his blackberry, you may be able to set which emails are sent to it via the blackberry server. I haven't looked at blackberry in years, so I forget.
posted by kellyblah at 12:02 PM on February 1, 2009

I'd strongly advise against any scheme that involves automated deletion of emails.

I still think folders is the way to go- just go the opposite route. Create a rule in Exchange that moves all emails except those from specified addresses to a specific folder. Inbox stays clean, and the assistant can comb through the "bulk" folder as needed.
posted by mkultra at 1:23 PM on February 1, 2009

If you specifically want to do this on the Blackberry, and you're using BES you have two options:

1. On the blackberry itself, go to the Message icon, then go to Options. Choose Email Filters, then create a new filter for each valid From address you want to have show up. Change the Action to Forward.

2. This is a two-step process but is probably a lot friendlier than option 1. First set up a server-side filter rule in the user's Outlook client which places these desirable messages into a specific folder. You can either do a Copy To Folder or Move To Folder, whichever meets your needs best. The rule would specify the From addresses that you want in the whitelist. Now open Blackberry Manager on the BES. Select the user, then open the Service Access area. Select "Choos Folders for Redirection" from the list. Uncheck everything except the folder you created for your server-side filter.
posted by odinsdream at 1:37 PM on February 1, 2009