2.5.10.8.4.2 Ensure 'Hide Junk Mail UI' is set to 'Disabled'

Information

This policy setting controls whether the Junk E-mail Filter is enabled in Outlook.

NOTE: This policy setting does not affect the configuration of the Microsoft Exchange Server Intelligent Message Filter (IMF), which provides server-level junk e-mail filtering.

The recommended state for this setting is: Disabled.

Rationale:

The Junk E-mail Filter in Outlook is designed to intercept the most obvious junk e-mail, or spam, and send it to users' Junk E-mail folders. The filter evaluates each incoming message based on several factors, including the time when the message was sent and the content of the message. The filter does not single out any particular sender or message type, but instead analyzes each message based on its content and structure to discover whether or not it is probably spam.

By default, the Junk E-mail Filter in Outlook is enabled. If this configuration is changed, users can receive large amounts of junk e-mail in their Inboxes, which could make it difficult for them to work with business-related e-mail messages.

Impact:

This setting enforces the default and should have no impact to users.

Solution

To establish the recommended configuration via GP, set the following UI path to Disabled:

User Configuration\Administrative Templates\Microsoft Outlook 2016\Outlook Options\Preferences\Junk E-mail\Hide Junk Mail UI

Default Value:

Disabled. (The Junk E-mail filter in Outlook is enabled.)

Additional Information:

The name of this setting is somewhat misleading, as enabling it turns off junk e-mail filtering in Outlook entirely, in addition to hiding the filtering controls from users. Use the 'Junk E-mail Protection level' setting to preset a filtering level and prevent users from changing it.

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/benchmarks/12129

Item Details

Category: SYSTEM AND INFORMATION INTEGRITY

References: 800-53|SI-8a.

Plugin: Windows

Control ID: e39299f0350e23d87738c01c22b0e415ae136ff1f396d7404919411702e90661