Protecting Against Viruses
Everyone has heard about viruses, those malicious software elements that infect and harm computer systems. Viruses range from the merely annoying to the truly disastrous, but they all have one thing in common—you do not want them on your system! Because viruses often spread by means of e-mail, Outlook provides you with some defenses against them.
It’s important to understand that Outlook itself does not have any anti-virus capabilities. An anti-virus program is specialized to detect and remove viruses and will have a way to automatically download the latest virus definitions so that it can stay up-to-date. Symantec, Zone Alarm, and McAfee are three of the better-known publishers of anti-virus software. Most systems have anti-virus software installed, and part of protecting yourself against viruses that come with e-mail is to make sure that your anti-virus program is configured properly. Specifically, you should set the anti-virus program’s options so that it always scans incoming e-mail and attachments for viruses before they get to Outlook. It’s also advisable to set the program to scan outgoing e-mail and attachments in order to prevent you from inadvertently spreading a virus that you have been infected with through other means (such as a floppy disk).
On-demand e-mail scan
If you have an Outlook-compatible anti-virus program installed, you will find two virus-related commands on Outlook’s Tools menu:
Scan for Viruses: Opens your anti-virus program and performs an immediate virus scan of e-mail items according to the program options. Use this command when you are not sure that the anti-virus program’s automatic scanning is enough.
E-Mail Scan Properties: Opens your anti-virus program’s Options dialog box, in which you can specify the details of how the program scans e-mail items for viruses.
The details of how the virus scan works and how you set options depend on the specific anti-virus program that you have installed. Please refer to that program’s documentation for more information.
Reassuring E-Mail RecipientsPeople worry about getting viruses via e-mail, and I think it’s a good idea to reassure them that messages from you are safe. I include a brief note at the bottom of every e-mail that I send that states, “This e-mail message and any attachments have been scanned for viruses by XXX” (where XXX is the name of the anti-virus program that I use). |
Protection Against Phishing AttacksPhishing is a technique where you receive an e-mail that appears to be from a legitimate company that you do business with, perhaps an online payment service such as PayPal. The message asks you to click a link to go to the company’s Web site to renew your password or some such thing. Although the site looks legitimate, it is in fact a cleverly designed front that lets unscrupulous people get hold of your password. Outlook provides anti-phishing protections. |