Computer newbies forum: email question

Answer Best answer as chosen by user Needssomehelp

********

by wodo - 7/27/12 7:37 PM

In Reply to: email question by Needssomehelp

i open spam/bulk messages every day. it's totally fine to take a look at them -- and discover that they are indeed spam or crap. as you surmised: DON'T OPEN THE ATTACHMENTS. You knew the answer from the start

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Careful!

by Gerdd - 7/28/12 1:48 AM

In Reply to: ******** by wodo

Unfortunately, an HTML formatted email can be as dangerous as an HTML based web page and can run malicious code on your machine without your knowledge. In fact, if you have a preview window open in your mail client that shows you the contents of the mail "under the cursor" that preview could be sufficient to do the damage. So turn off that preview!

So, you may want to ban all HTML formatted email (there is a setting for that in most mail clients, I suspect.) But then, today, most email is HTML formatted and you might not be able to keep up that policy.

Alternatively, I sometimes use a feature of Outlook Express - right click on the mail in the list and select properties, then click through to where you can inspect the mail source. This only displays the text or HTML contents of the message without executing any of it.

Now you have one of three possible situations:

1) you can clearly read a text or simple HTML message without any strange features. In that case you probably could have opened the mail without ptoblems.

2) you see somewhat complex HTML - unless you can read HTML faster than English, stay away! Delete this mail, and remember that even if it says it is from your best friend Fred, that may not be true! (Fred probably doesn't even know this mail is sent under his name ...)

3) what you see is all gobbledigook - again, stay away and delete! This is almost a 100% indication that this is malicious. Else why would anyone build an email message where even the main message body is encoded?

And as you said yourself - stay away from the attachments. Even expected attached files should be screened by your up to date virus scanner before you do anything with them.

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Problem is...

by billygard - 7/28/12 3:24 PM

In Reply to: Careful! by Gerdd

that the Apple Mail program won't let you turn off the preview window.
You can only resize it down to zero size. But that doesn't mean it's not being rendered does it?

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Answer Best answer as chosen by user Needssomehelp

-Just- opening is okay.

by mwooge - 7/27/12 9:43 PM

In Reply to: email question by Needssomehelp

JUST opening the email is okay, I've never had a problem with that.

However, do not open any attachement unless you KNOW it's legit. Also don't click on a link. Or anything else, unless you already know it's safe to do so.

Merely being sent by someone you know and trust does not mean the attacment is safe. Or even that it's really from that trusted person.

Last thing: make sure you have a good anti-virus program. One that scan emails before they're opened.

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Answer Best answer as chosen by user Needssomehelp

yes and no...

by porsche10x - 8/6/12 2:13 PM

In Reply to: email question by Needssomehelp

Most modern e-mail programs automatically disable links and graphics in messages from unknown senders. Such messages are displayed as text-only so they can be safely read. There should be a setting to enable or disable this feature.

Outlook Express (OE) is NOT a "modern" e-mail program and poses greater security risks. If you want to use OE's preview pane, then it would be wise to disable HTML viewing: In tools - options - read tab - click on "read all messages in plain text". When you know a message is safe, you can enable HTML for that message; click view - "message in HTML" or type shift-alt-H.

Regarding the previous suggestion about right-clicking an e-mail to check its properties, be aware that if you're using OE and you have both HTML and the preview pane enabled, then just right-clicking an e-mail will STILL open it, so that's not safe to do.

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