Recently my Norton Anti-Virus (NAV) detected a virus coming through email. This
happened as my preview pane was open in the Inbox and it opened the virus email
automatically as soon as it was downloaded. The NAV could not repair the file so
I had to delete the infected file. I found to my utter horror that deleting the
file disabled my browser. It also disabled my CD writer. I had to save my data using
Iomega 250MB zip drive which fortunately worked but only in the slow SAFE mode of
Windows! Ultimately I had to Quick Restore my Compaq computer. It took me 2 days
to reload various programs and data! This could have been avoided if I had taken
a few simple precautions. I have written out these precautions as tips on how to
configure the email program so that you can prevent a disaster like mine.
Tips for configuring both Outlook Express (OE) and Microsoft Outlook (MSO) particularly
to block viruses hitting your computer automatically. These precautions will save
you a lot of trouble.
1.Switch off the preview panel in the INBOX. This prevents any virus getting
into your system by automatic opening in the preview pane. 2.Switch off the "include
this account when receiving mail or synchronizing" for every account you have. You
can do this by disabling (no tick mark) on this feature, which you will find by
menu chain: Tools, Accounts, account-name, properties, General. This will ensure
that the mail is not flowing-in automatically. 3.Before downloading mail, access
the mail on the net. Most of these webmail sites show the size of the files, which
unfortunately is not a feature with either OE or MSO. Any mail over 100KB is suspect
should be deleted. Also delete any junk mail. Only download and receive mail that
you want to save on your computer. 4.To download and receive mail, don't click on
Send/Receive on the mail Tool Bar, but go into Tools, and move the curser on "Send/Receive"
and move right to get a sub-menu where you select the precise account, with which
you want to send or receive. 5.Send by clicking on the small arrow next to "Send",
and selecting the precise account by which to send. The mail will wait in the Outbox
till you send through the Tools, Send/Receive menu as given in 3 above.
