Theos-Talk Archives (March 2003 Message tt00222)

With reference to the Worm/Virus attachment problem we had some weeks ago, 
here's some information that came in recently that may be of interest to 
Windows and Outlook Express users.

>Hello everyone,
>
>I would ask everyone to consider switching from using Outlook to another
>email client such as Eudora. Viruses are written for (target) and
>propagate mostly through Outlook. (Personally I have always used Eudora.)
>
>Below is a short article with explanations from Colby College
>http://www.colby.edu/info.tech/viruses/outlook.html
>
>Please don't make it easy for them and difficult for you ...
>Ulla
>
>>Virus Prevention: About Outlook and Outlook Express(Windows)
>>
>>You are free to use the email application you prefer- but Outlook Express
>>is NOT supported at Colby. EUDORA is our supported standard. Why is this?
>>
>>Outlook and Outlook Express are vulnerable to attack from viruses and
>>hackers through multiple security holes. Microsoft provides patches, but
>>their performance is less than optimum even when they are properly
installed.
>>
>>Case in Point: the Preview Pane
>>
>>This is the split screen that shows you the content of an email message
>>when you run the cursor over the message's name in the list of messages.
>>What you DON'T realize is that simply PREVIEWING an email in Outlook can
>>cause a virus infection on your computer if that email has a
>>virus-infected attachment. THAT BEARS REPEATING...if you use Outlook and
>>have the Preview Pane on you can be infected with a virus without even
>>opening the infected message!!!
>>
>>What happens then? The viral payload is activated, unbeknownst to you.
>>The virus looks into your email address book and starts spewing out
>>infected messages to everyone in it. The virus could also grab random
>>data from your hard drive- including things you'd prefer to keep private-
>>and include that information in the messages it sends out over the
Internet.
>>
>>Other Issues: patches and fixes applied to Outlook tend to have negative
>>effects on other installed software, particularly Word, Excel and
>>Powerpoint. You can find a (long) list of advisories on this at
>>http://search.microsoft.com - just type in "outlook known issues" in the
>>"search for" box.
>>
>>IF YOU STILL USE OUTLOOK, PLEASE TURN OFF THE PREVIEW PANE and DO NOT
>>OPEN ANY ATTACHMENTS YOU'RE NOT EXPECTING!!! Go to the View menu | Layout
>>|uncheck View Preview Pane.(Different versions of Outlook might have
>>slightly different instructions- refer to the application's Help files if
>>unclear.)
>>
>>FYI- You can see Microsoft's Outlook FAQ & support documents here:
>>Outlook 2000 | 2002 | Express
>>
>>
>>C) Colby College Information Technology Services 4200 Mayflower Hill
>>Drive Waterville, Maine 04901
>>contact wmrancou@colby.edu Last Modified: 01/13/03 02:34:16 PM