How important is email scanning if...

According to a Microsoft representative, email scanning is not needed if the email doesn't have an attachment. Is that true? You can't get infected by an email that doesn't have a link or attachment?

If it has a link, it is up to you to know what to do.

 

It's true That an infected attachment once opened by you infects you, but I was under the impression that if you open any infected e-mail it will infect you. True?

 

Does an HTML email count as an attachment or not?

If not, then yes you need email scanning.

 

Email scanning is imporatant regardless of what someone from MS told you. I could well imagine who this was. Were you surfing the MS News server and found this statement there ?
It's FUD leave you email scanning on.

 

There was at least one exploit several years ago that meant malware in emails could execute without the user launching it. Leave it on, imho.

 

Oh, I had no intention of turning it off, just wondering what others have to say on this issue. Yes, I remember something in the past about a worm or whatever that could infect by just downloading the email or clicking on it, forgot which.

Microsoft has officially launched MSE (Microsoft Security Essentials) that is a free AV/anti malware software. Getting something free from Microsoft is kind of a surprise.

In all the years I've had NOD32 installed, never once have I been infected with anything.

 

My question was never whether or not to use email scanning, the question was stated in my first post above:

"According to a Microsoft representative, email scanning is not needed if the email doesn't have an attachment. Is that true? You can't get infected by an email that doesn't have a link or attachment?"

 

OK, thanks!

 

I guess it also depends on the browser or email program you are using. If you get email in Opera or TheBat, just receiving the email does not do anything.

 

I intend to use Windows Live Mail and integrate the email from my ISP account. All mail received will be to my ISP account and viewed through Windows Live Mail.

I use Firefox as a browser but that wouldn't have any effect on WLM.

 

For the most part, no. Most e-mail hosting companies and corporations do server-level e-mail scanning in any case.

 

I would say scanning email is more important than the de facto real-time file system scanning.

There is some options in advanced options which on my machine are turned off that specify whether or not plain text and rtf text content should be scanned, but with these off all my email still gets signed as scanned by nod32.

If you have html email formatted in your email client and especially if you expect attachments then defenitly keep it on.