Greetings Dean & List
-----Original Message-----
From: PCSOFT - Personal Computer software discussion list
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Dean K. Kukral
Sent: Monday, October 22, 2007 12:40 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [PCSOFT] Danger of reading messages in Windows Mail "preview
screen"
A conversation with a friend has reminded me of a question that I have
had for a long time regarding email reading in Windows Mail (Vista term
for Outlook Express).
(1) Warnings exist that say to never "open" an email message from
someone you don't know (and there is even a potential problem with those
from people you do know).
(2) Email messages exist that contain active-x controls, which are said
to be dangerous.
Now, I use Windows Mail to view my email. It has a "preview pane" for
looking at email, but I am not sure of the difference between viewing
the preview pane and "opening" an email - I have always considered them
to be the same thing. And, there is not much that I can do if they
contain nasty active-x controls. (Other than use anti-malware
software.) Looking at the Vista Help, I see that "opening" the mail
means double-clicking on the mail and reading it in a different window.
Of course, I know enough not to open suspicious attachments, often
sending such things to the bit-bucket even at the risk of losing an
amusing joke or picture.
Is viewing an email in the Windows Mail preview pane the same as
"opening" the email from a malware danger point of view, or is opening
it actually more dangerous?
TIA
Dean Kukral
------------end original---------------
I'm not sure whether this will be helpful, but, "here goes". I, too, have
read that viewing HTML messages in ANY mail reader will expose one's
computer to 'malicious code', whether by just previewing or by fully
opening. I'm paranoid enough to live by this information. Since the new
Windows Mail is (as I see it) web-based, it would seem to me that this
advice would continue to apply, since it 'works in a browser'. In that
respect, whether viewing a message in a "preview pane" [in a browser app],
or viewing a message by double-clicking it [again, in a browser app], the
exposure would be, in effect, the same. All of this is my own opinion, and
other, more knowledgeable folks may have more wisdom to offer.
HTH,
Paul A. Shippert
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