On 07:39 AM 06/21/2000, it would appear that [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> > Which brings me to another question. I don't open e-mails in outlook
> > or anything else on my mail server. Is there any way to kick off a
> > virus without actually opening it in Outlook, through web based mail,
> > or actually double clicking the file?
>
>In the "good ole days", it was nearly impossible to get a virus through
>E-mail. Someone would have to send you an attachment that had a virus,
>and you would have to open it.
>
>In the "almost good ole days", it was impossible to get a virus through
>E-mail unless you opened an executable file (.E_X_E or .C_O_M)
>
>Then, it was impossible to get a virus by reading an E-mail, you could
>only get it by opening an attachment (.D_O_C, .X_L_S, .B_A_T, and others
>could cause problems).
>
>Now, you can get a virus by opening any type of attachment, even a text
>attachment (unless you know your computer well enough to know that
>Microsoft hasn't played games with the file extentions). You CAN ALSO get
>a virus by READING an E-mail if you have a flawed E-mail client (I'm only
>aware of Outlook spreading viruses just by reading an E-mail). Same holds
>true with Outlook Express (not Outlook), WITHOUT reading the E-mail, if
>you have your "Preview Pane" open.
>
>As of today, it isn't possible to get the virus if the E-mail is just
>sitting on your server. But, you have to be darned careful. And just
>cause a virus can't spread in a certain way today, doesn't mean it can't
>be done in the future (Thanks, Microsoft!).
>
[underscores added above to avoid being filtered]
I get around the problem by using a very simple tool: A text editor. I
copy my virus.mbx file from the server to my local machine and open it in a
text editor (I use PFE). I then scan the file using the rules in my ima
file. I then deal with each message individually using the Imail mail
client which is configured to ask first and execute attachments (regardless
of extension) only if given permission to do so.
Tyran Ormond
LAN Technician/Programmer
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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