outlook express question

[back alley]

if i have the 'preview pane' open in my outlook express, when i hi-light an email, it shows in the preview pane.

is this the same as opening the email?

i'm wondering about viruses etc.

joe

 

[wlewisiii]

With lookout, er, Outlook of any variety I've used/supported it is opening it. If there is any of the newer virii in it, then the preview will act as if the mail was opened. I'd suggest a web based mail like gmail instead of anything that is actually windows based.

If you want a gmail invite let me know.

William

 

[back alley]

i have a gmail account too, and about hundred to give away if anyone wants one!

i have been lucky staying with microsoft so far anyway.

i have good virus protection but i'd better close the preview anyway, to be safe(er).

joe

 

[jano]

turn off preview pane to be on the safe side. I know lots of people don't like doing that, but it'll reduce the chance of getting an accidental virus/worm/trojan/malware/etc considerably. If you like, consider getting the spambayes plugin, too, if you don't already have it 🙂

 

[back alley]

consider getting the spambayes plugin...

tell me more please...

 

[OldNick]

I also use Outlook Express with the preview pane open and have never seen a virus show up on that account. I NEVER open an attachment unless it is expected. Most problems stem from clicking on attachments or embedded addresses.

Jim N.

 

[kmack]

I have been using Mozilla Thunderbird on Windows for a while (my mac is in the shop). You can set it to not load images (a source of some kinds of viruses in windows) and it will not open attachments.

 

[jano]

Edit... the program needs some workarounds to work with outlookexpress. Sorry, Joe, didn't realize that!

consider getting the spambayes plugin...

tell me more please...

It's for spam, but it filters out most virus and trojan crap, too.

http://spambayes.sourceforge.net/

What kevin there said about tbird is also good.. it's a nice email client, and also has decent spam filtering built in (almost as good as spam bayes).

 

[kaiyen]

The only exploit that involved simple indexing (ie - simply viewing a file) was the one involving windows media files about 3 or 4 months ago. It was also the first zero-day exploit that we had seen - where people took advantage of the exploit the same day it was announced.

Otherwise, you still have to click and launch applications in order to infect your machine. Or install something that contains spyware or other malware.

allan