Microsoft fixes Outlook filtering glitch after users reported a torrent of spam
Sometime in the last few days, something went seriously wrong with the spam filtering in Microsoft's Outlook email service.
Users began reporting that spam was no longer being filtered and inboxes were being flooded with spam emails.
โWhy are all my spam emails getting into my inbox? It started two days ago,โ asked an Outlook user for Microsoft's own account. Community Forum. An "independent consultant" responded that the problem could be related to user error, suggesting that an email in the spam folder might have been replied to, leading to an avalanche of spam.
But many more Outlook users chimed in, reporting much the same thing: that Outlook's spam filters had basically kicked the bucket.
โI have the same problem, spam doesn't go to the spam folder and I get hundreds of spam emails a day,โ wrote one user.
"The same problem. I am receiving so much that my inbox is useless at the moment. I pay a subscription,โ wrote another. "I'm not sure if that matters or not."
However, while Microsoft hasn't made an official comment on what was going on, it has mentioned the problem on the Outlook status page.
Microsoft reports that "everything is working," but acknowledges that there are was a problem. According to Microsoft, users were not only seeing spam and phishing emails in their inboxes, but also might have experienced "performance issues, such as browsing delays and message latency."
The issue appears to have taken 12 hours to fix, with Microsoft "analyzing system logs to isolate the source of this issue and reviewing options to remedy the impact" as of yesterday (Feb 20), before finally reporting the issue. as resolved.
โWe have identified the origin of the problem and have taken steps to solve itโ, Microsoft wrote on its service status page. โOur telemetry service shows that the issue has been fixed and we will continue to monitor this telemetry to ensure the issue remains mitigated.โ
What the problem might have been remains a mystery, but we've reached out to Microsoft for comment.
david hollingworth
David Hollingworth has been writing about technology for over 20 years and has worked for a variety of print and online titles in his career. He likes to get familiar with cyber security, especially when it lets him talk about Lego.
