Happy Trails Computer Club |
| Preview Dubious Email |
|---|
|
If you're suspicious about a message but
decide not to delete it immediately, you
can check it out further. Use a passive email
viewer to examine it before you actually
open it. In fact, you may be able to read
enough so that you don't need to open it.
Passive email viewers only display text. They cannot activate any malicious content in email messages. They're similar to Notepad, which is an example of a passive text editor. Passive viewers can't run macros, scripts, HTML or anything else that could attack your computer. They're unable to install viruses, worms or trojans, or reveal passwords, account numbers or email addresses. Outlook Express is not a passive viewer -- it's not immune to active content. Fortunately, there is a hidden passive viewer included within Outlook Express though. The next section tells how to use it. Using the Passive Viewer in Outlook Express:Practice this technique on a "known safe" email message first, and not the one that's suspect.(1) Right click the suspicious message in your list of messages. (2) Select "Properties" from the context menu, select the "Details" tab in the properties window, and finally click the "Message Source" button. (3) Maximize the "Message Source" window so you can examine the message fully. (Try this process on a safe message to learn how it works.) [illustrated example] Now examine the message to see if it is potentially dangerous. If it's just plain text -- no problem. If it contains strange words or a bunch of symbols you don't understand -- you should probably delete it. (You will be able read it well enough in the "Message Source" window to get the essence of the content.) Whatever you do, don't go back and open it in the normal way if you aren't sure about it. Preview using a passive text viewerSimply save the message to a folder on your hard drive -- one that you can find again. Then open a passive text viewer like Notepad, Write or WordPad. Open the message from the program. Use File > Open... in the program's menu. This may be easier for you than using the viewer in Outlook Express. Never open the file directly from Windows Explorer by double-clicking or right-clicking it.Preview at the mail server insteadIt's actually easier and safer to preview email on the server, before you download it with your regular email program. There are several good tools to do that with. I've used "Email Remover", "SimpleCheck", and my favorite is "MailWasher". These viewers let you look at the first 20 lines or so of a message. If you don't like the looks of it they will delete it at the server and you don't have to download the whole thing. These passive email readers work only with POP3, not Web mail.The message preview options of Email Remover are available when you "right-click" a message. In the screenshot below, notice that I selected a suspicious email to preview. After previewing it, I can decide if I want to delete it or not. If I leave the message selected after closing the preview, clicking "Next" will delete it from the server. When I next download my email, using my regular email client, that message will of course not be there. |
| "Always go to other people’s funerals, otherwise they won’t come to yours." -- Yogi Berra |
| club stuff |
|---|
| help |
| topics |
| computers |
| software |
| hardware |
| internet |
| security |