Outlook Express question

erik · Post by **erik** » 19 Aug 2001 7:51 am

In Outlook Express when you receive an email it is listed in one frame then viewed below in another. I noticed that no matter what you do with the email in the "inbox" it automatically opens in the frame below. I went to setup and unclicked the box that permits email to automatically open. But when i move the mouse over the mail to right click and delete it it opens into the bottom frame. Why does this happen? Isn't this dangerous? Couldn't this lauch a virus upon opening? How do i stop this from happening? How do i delete mail from my inbox without it opening? On my WebTV i can delete mail without opening. Thanks for any advice.

I'm looking to disconnect my WebTV but not if i can't be sure i can protect my computer from from malicious attacks through email.

Thanks.[This message was edited by erik on 19 August 2001 at 08:55 AM.]

Jack Stoner · Post by **Jack Stoner** » 19 Aug 2001 7:58 am

If you have an up to date virus program and have it running all the time you are fairly safe from e-mail viruses. I run Norton Antivirus 2001 and it has an option for e-mail scan and it scans the e-mails as they are received before they are even displayed in Outlook/Outlook Express. I've received e-mails with viruses in them and I'll get a Quarantine alert before the message ever gets listed in Outlook and Norton also removes the virus file from the e-mail.

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 19 Aug 2001 8:13 am

Outlook Express does automatically display the email in the lower box, but don't most viruses come through attachments to emails? Be wary of attachments from people you don't know. Don't open them... just delete them. Some viruses randomly pick a name in your address book and appear as an attachment from someone you know.

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www.dougbsteel.com

Paul Graupp · Post by **Paul Graupp** » 19 Aug 2001 8:15 am

Jack; Would you have a link to Norton ? I'm using McAfee but everytime I try to update like everyone is reccomending, I get the dumb, dumb routine. Maybe I should change.

Thanks, Paul

Al Marcus · Post by **Al Marcus** » 19 Aug 2001 8:43 am

Me too Paul, I have McAfee and I am not too sure about it. They always have something new to sell. I would like to buy one program that works automatic.....al

Jack Stoner · Post by **Jack Stoner** » 19 Aug 2001 9:53 am

You have to buy Norton at store. But, there are weekly updates to it too, just like McAfee. New virus definitions and occasionally an update to the program.

But, I used McAfee since the old DOS days and when I went to Windows ME the version of McAfee I had caused windows problems, even with their updates that was supposed to fix it. I dumped McAfee and installed Norton Antivirus 2001 and the windows problems went away.

erik · Post by **erik** » 19 Aug 2001 10:33 am

My computer came with PC-cillin anti-virus. I went to their web site (www.pccillin.com) to check into an update. It's not very expensive for me. I haven't done it yet but i did take a free scan which showed nothing bad in my system... other than Windows. LOL

I find it odd that there is no way to delete a message without it being open. Of course WebTV is based on UNIX not Windows. Looks like *they* got it right.

Gene Jones · Post by **Gene Jones** » 19 Aug 2001 4:17 pm

My computer came with Norton, and I have kept it active by re-subscribing when due. I have 23 virus' in quarantine (items for which there is no cure) that Norton has intercepted and saved my computer from infection, and there have been others that Norton has "repaired" without damage.

Norton has undoubtedly saved me many times over the amount of it's cost. I would never operate my system without Norton's protection!

John Gretzinger · Post by **John Gretzinger** » 20 Aug 2001 2:21 pm

I've just recently been introduced to Panda anti-virus software and am so far very impressed.

Going back to my old days doing a lot of anti-virus stuff (tm) I was never very fond of either Norton or McAfee, and PC-cillin has always caused me problems in a corporate environment.

I wish AVP and F-Prot were shrink wrapped here in the states.

Oh yes, you might look in the View tab of Outlook Express and see if there is an option to change your view to Message with Preview. That may help. I use Outlook 2000 and there is a preview pane button that toggles the preview pane on and off.

jdg

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MSA D-10
'63 Gibson Hummingbird
16/15c Hammered Dulcimer

[This message was edited by John Gretzinger on 20 August 2001 at 03:24 PM.]

Frank · Post by **Frank** » 26 Aug 2001 2:25 am

Jack, how do you like "M E" as versis 98 or 95. I`m running It now and seem to lock up a lot more and have to boot out.

Jack Stoner · Post by **Jack Stoner** » 26 Aug 2001 6:38 am

ME is running much better than the previous versions for me.

However, ME requires minimum hardware (above what Microsoft says) or it won't run very good. Same with memory, 64 is absolute minimum for WIN ME and 128mb or more is really needed. That may be some of your problem.

Also, before I upgraded to WIN ME, I backed up my data files and then completely reloaded my PC from my PC vendor's recovery CD. This cleaned up the PC and got rid of a lot of "junk" software that I wasn't using and a lot of files and registry entries that were left over from old uninstalled software. After I got the initial disk image reloaded, I reinstalled my printer and scanner and the application software that I wanted. I then installed the WIN ME upgrade version.

The "cleanup" phase took about 3 hours and may seem like a hassle but it was worth it. I've had one client that upgraded without doing that and had a lot of problems. After I basically did the same thing to his PC that I did to mine, WIN ME ran fine. I've also seen some comments on some of the PC support boards that tend to go along with the "cleanup" theory.