Fear of Virus!

I know that everyone says that if you get an email from someone you don't know, don't open it, just delete it. Is it a true statement that as soon as you highlight the mail in your inbox, you are opening it....hence, inviting in a possible virus? If this is true, is there any way around that? I know I can lengthen the time that Express acknowledges a mail as being read after being highlighted, and I believe there is an option to leave the mail on the server???? Am I on the right track here or am I off base?

RPC

 

If you have a major concern that you may get a virus, you can use a website called www.mail2web.com that will let you look at the headers of email while it is still on the server.

You can then check what you don't even want to look at and throw it away without ever opening it or previewing it.

You also can look at your individual email and even print it out without even using outlook express or ms outlook, as the case may be.

From within outlook express, you can also just shut off preview messages from within the settings and not have to worry about activating any "bugs ".

 

I don't think you want to leave your messages on the server. Each server alots you so much space to store your mail. If you leave it on the server, pretty soon it will back up and the next thing you know ALL that mail you thought was gone will load BACK into your mailbox. It happened to me once. And, ONLY once!

Having a good virus checker like Norton AntiVirus that checks your mail BEFORE it hits your inbox and NOT having the preview pane checked are two good ways to keep the 'baddies' at bay.

Good luck.

 

I 100% agree Panda.

Especiallly with having an AV checker that checks the e-mail BEFORE it gets to the Inbox.

I also had the e-mail problem ONCE. Changed that setting very quickly.

 

An useful article...

Using Virus Protection Features in Outlook Express 6

 

No doubt a good, working and updated virus checker is a good thing and one way to go. I use that method myself.

Panda said, "I don't think you want to leave your messages on the server ". I suspect a more through reading of my post will show you that the mail2web connection allows you to look at and then remove what you want.

No one ever intended to suggest that you leave your mail on the server. Of course it will get full at some point. You do however, have the ability to remove and receive your email messages without them ever getting into your computer by going this route.

The other attractive aspect of mail2web is that you can access your email from any computer anywhere. I do frequently utilize the site to access my email during my travels.

I hope some of these options help you resolve your email virus concern.

 

Another option would be to create a filter which leaves any mail with attachments on the server and then use either the route described above or (if it's an option) your ISP's web-based mail interface to peek at those mails.

You should remember that your AVP is not infallible and that it is, therefore, back up the software solution with safe practices.

As an alternative to OE, you may wish to check out The Bat!. It is not free but offers a greater degree of security than OE.

If you intend to stick with OE, it is important than you follow the steps described in the previous post in order to improve security.

You may also wish to take a look at Script Sentry which is free, uses zero resources and runs nicely alongside any AVP.

 

Bob-NB.

At the time I had that problem, I didn't know how mail was stored or where it came from or anything! I was still pretty green when it came to e-mails. It was a BIG lesson and one that I remember to this day. Over 200 messages tried to download and it scared me when I saw all those old messages coming in. Since then I have learned how to access my ISP's mail page and I now know that when you download your mail from there, it will NOT download into your home computer. My ISP is CoreComm and they pretty much have the same features of other e-mail clients. Thanks for the reminders, though.

RPC ...

Are any of these tips helping you? Drop back in and let us know. We would REALLY love to hear from you again.

 

Explain

Panda,
I don't understand your last post. Is there a setting on your local ISP's mail page that you set, or is this the default, that mail doesn't download to your computer?

RPC

P.S. This BBS is very, very, helpful. You haven't failed to answer a question yet!!!

 

Not a reply for RPC but a question for Panda. In one of your posts, you mentioned "NOT having the preview pane checked" as added security to AV. What is the preview pane and how does it work? Thanks.

 

Answers For You

RPC

Open your OE. On the menu bar follow this path:
TOOLS/ACCOUNTS/PROPERTIES/ADVANCED. At the bottom is a category that says DELIVERY. Make sure that the box that says "Leave Copy of Message on Server " is UNchecked. This is how your main box at your server gets too full if you 'save' copies of each mail that comes in on it. If you think you might accidently trash some mail once in a while, then you can check the box and set up those options that you see listed. Like, keep mail at your server for so many days, or even just have the mail delete from the server when you empty it from your trash box. Your choice. But, the key is to actually moniter it. Hope this answered your question. I just realized something. You DO have Outlook Express, right?



Virginia

In OE follow this path: VIEW/LAYOUT. At the bottom where it says PREVIEW PANE, UNcheck the box that says "Show Preview Pane ". It really is much safer to not use this feature.

 

Yes, I do have Outlook Express, and will take your suggestions.

Thanks
RPC

 

I just set OE to use the Restricted Zones setting and kept the preview pane checked. If you use Restricted Zones, OE won't run scripts w/o asking you if it's OK. You can use Internet Properties to set how strict you want Restricted Zones to be, then you don't give up the convenience of the preview.

 

My 2 pennies worth.

Firstly as of this writing, there seems to be a new virus recently sprong. Not sure what it's called but it has something in it that says 'Look at my party pics' or something. It seems to come from a Yahoo email address. Anyway ..... dont open the attachments.

On another note, we must be sure what viruses are and how they come. They can ONLY come in executable files ...... which could be a program or even a macro for a word/wordperfect/excel file. Personally I dont have any virus protection installed cause they dont really work. Sure for viruses 3 months old ..... thats too late for me. So how to stop them. Well, dont open any attachements unless you are sure where they come from. Hey, let's face it ...... how many attachents (like programs), are your friends or family sending you. Now, when I say attachments, pics are fine .....they can not carry viruses because they are not 'executed' .. only viewed with existing software.

So now I will wait for the replies yelling at me

 

No yelling allowed in here!

Those tips have always been a good 'rule of thumb', but I know for a fact that, even though you know who sent you stuff, it doesn't always mean it's safe. If the person who sent you stuff doesn't have a virus checker, or a good one, then they can get the virus and not know it, and then send it to you without realizing it. It's happened to me before. I used to have McAfee and my friend hadn't updated his in ages. Mine was current. He sent me a virus, but mine caught it. You just never know.

Do all that you can to keep your computer safe, and then just have fun using it.

Good luck, all.

 

Good point Panda

Personally I dont have any virus protection installed cause they dont really work. Sure for viruses 3 months old ..... thats too late for me.

Not good reasoning. VIRUS PROTECTION DOES WORK.

But only as good as the user sets it up and keeps it updated.

MOST AV deffinitions are updated every few days. And some almost daily. Norton is one of the latter. 3 AV deff updates within a week. And all for the newer stuff.

A good AV program setup properly to check e-mail will stop a Virus BEFORE it gets to the Inbox and/ot the machine.