Forum Discussion

paul_johnson's avatar
paul_johnson
New Contributor
7 years ago

Inbox Filters Stop Working

I'm trying to make use of Inbox Filters on my enhanced email account. Cox support is terrible with regard to SPAM. I mean, the worst really. The support techs have zero knowledge.  They keep trying to get me to switch on SPAMBLOCKER, which is not a thing in enhanced. It's like I have t spend 10 minutes convincing them that once an accout has migrated to enhanced, you can't login in to classic anymore. 

I do have Settings - Inbox - Spam Filter set - Delete SPAM, but all kinds of spam continues to come through.

So, I'm using Settings - Inbox - Filters. Good idea, except that at some point, they just stop working. I d on't know if its some number of conditions or what, but they work for awhile, then stop.

I've gotten rather sophisticated.

I have a FROM filter, that uses "any condition" and a list of FROM conditions INCLUDE, that sends spam to a SPAM/FROM sub folder

Same thing for a SUBJECT filter

I even have an experimental one that tries to use ENVELOPE or HEADER CONTAINS, but I've never seen that one work.

For awhile I get spam delivered to the sub folders as the filter catches them, then they just stop.

Why?

filter
filtering
spam
  • Becky's avatar
    Becky
    Moderator
    7 years ago
    Hi Paul, what you are referring to is actually the new Cox Email platform. I haven't had any issues where a filter works for a period of time and then stops working. Pick one of your established filters that seems to have stopped working and modify the conditions slightly. Does the filter begin to work again? If not, delete the filter completely, and then set up a new filter with the same conditions as the one that stopped working. Does the filter begin to work again? -Becky, Cox Support Forums Moderator
    • paul_johnson's avatar
      paul_johnson
      New Contributor
      7 years ago

      My filters are pretty simple.

      SUBJECT contains CBD

      What's to modify? They just stop. For awhile, email that has CBD in the subject is filtered to spam, then it's not. Same for Lose Weight, KETO, and everything else.

      Somedays, CBD is filtered to my spam/from  folder and spam/subject folder, somedays straight to the old inbox.

      Same for FROM filters. I use simple, sometimes single word filters, like FROM CONTAINS "Weight." Works for a while then stops.

      It would also be Extremely Helpful if the contains commands could be case insensitive. But they are not. Also would be extremely if the contains commands worked on partial words like "financ" for; financial, financing, finances. But as far as I can tell, they don't do that either.

    • paul_johnson's avatar
      paul_johnson
      New Contributor
      7 years ago

      See, I have a filter that looks for Keto in the FROM, it works for a while, but the I have in my inbox now and email where the FROM includes Keto, same spelling, same capitalization.

      Why? Why do Cox Inbox Filters stop working?

    • paul_johnson's avatar
      paul_johnson
      New Contributor
      7 years ago

      Can you please, please please see if there are real limitations on the number of conditions allowed in a rule? 100? 1000?

      What about number of rules? 

      Somehow, for some reason, they stop working. They also tend to balk at saving after new conditions are added,maybe because they violate some unknown unwritten rule for maximum number of conditions.

  • LYNNIEJD's avatar
    LYNNIEJD
    New Contributor
    7 years ago

    Paul, you are not alone. I have the same problem. I spent over 4 hours trying to delete all this junk that suddenly came with the "new platform" for email. Not only do I have the same problem as you, but I also have a problem when deleting a group of emails I am finding they have returned. The screen will blink when deleting. They appear to be gone. Then the screen blinks again and they are back. I even check the number of emails I have when deleting and compare that to the number left after deleting...it's still the same because they have come back in very same order as well as the same dates. Since they switched to this "outsourcing" of email, it has been the worse that I have ever seen. And, the website is a joke. Finding things that used to be at my finger tips I now have to do a by-guess-by-gully to find things such as paying my bill. Whoever named categories didn't know what they were doing because for the most part they do not represent what one is looking for.

    It's not a good experience. The spam is the worse ever. We are stuck with it. I'll never find this page again. Ha ha...I was looking for something else....as usual!!

    Very disappointed.

    • paul_johnson's avatar
      paul_johnson
      New Contributor
      7 years ago

      Yes, the interface is very clunky. Sometimes, if you look, the little Refresh Icon is still spinning and most times items deleted or "junked" will end up no longer in your inbox. Sometimes they don't move out. I can always get them eventually!

      The thing about inbox filters not working is just plain irritating. It's the last line of defense, because Cox sure isn't doing anything about it. So, make filters. But what happens when they plain stop working for no reason? Last line of defense is gone... 😞

  • MSinAZ's avatar
    MSinAZ
    New Contributor III
    7 years ago

    Why can't Cox block these emails from EVER reaching our inbox OR spam mail? We are all receiving thousands upon thousands of spam containing certain key words in from and/or subject: CBD, KETO, CONCEALED CARRY, CANNABIS, MED, PHARM[use regex for anything after PHARM], MCDONALD'S GIFT, AMAZON GIFT, etc. 

    There is some major group of spammers using affiliate marketing partners and making millions of dollars by allowing their spam to get through to us! 

    Cox - where are you for your customers! This is basic spam filtering - when I tried to forward to cox spam report, you recognized is was spam and would not allow it to go OUT, so why can't you stop it from coming IN? Why do thousands of your customers have to set up the same filters over and over, when you know this is spam and could easily block it at the server level. Why do we have to set up our own filters for flagrant violaters that are sending millions upon millions of spam emails!

    • LYNNIEJD's avatar
      LYNNIEJD
      New Contributor
      7 years ago

      It is because Cox does not own the email client. They have contracted with this horrible company which apparently is over-riding anything we do. The email they had before was great...this is all rubbish. Some answers is to use outlook.  OMG do I want this junk now downloaded to my computer? Heck NO!  The ads that circulate to the right of the email are reading our information. How do I know that? It is because after the ad appears, I get an email advertisement from that very same company! There is an arrow we can push to "eliminate" it. Well, all it does is cover it up so you can see it, but it is still there running.

      The problems will not be resolved until they get rid of the company with which they entered into a provider contract. As I keep saying, Cox fixed something that did not need fixing!