Outlook Express for e-mail - Safe?

I recently switched to Comcast and I have been using their Webmail setup for my e-mails. It's okay, but it's cumbersome to use. Several years ago I used Outlook Express and I liked it a lot. Now that I'm wiser about security, I wonder if it is safe to use now?

 

It is much more secure if you have updated to SP2. By default it blocks downloading many different attachments that could be a virus. It also blocks images downloading from other servers. You can still send and recieve pictures.

You will hear a lot about THUNDERBIRD but I prefer Outlook Express myself.

 

Thanks Ailric,

I have an old computer and I'm still using 98SE, but I have all the patches and my IE settings pretty tight. I keep my AV updated and have all the other recommended safeguards installed.

greyfox

 

Hey Greyfox,

If you don't open every attachment without thinking (this goes for all e-mail clients), you should be fine.

I also recommend this:
Norton Noscript
http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/win.script.hosting.html
It's a tiny program that disables scripting. Many viruses are spread by scripts.

 

Thanks for the advice Ailric. If there's one thing I don't do any more is open attachments without thinking.

 

Hi Greyfox - I have been using Outlook Express for several years now. I have it configured so that I receive no spam, no viruses, and everything working just "tickey-poo". OE has many useful features and is a very good secretary - one only needs to learn how to use it to it's fullest capacity.
I have procrastinated in downloading SP2 but will soon. Even so, with SP1 and WinXP, I am well protected by having a good anti-virus program, firewall, activeX controls disabled, anti-spyware installed. Be sure to receive mail in Plain Text and not HTML; close your preview pane when downloading mail and use Mail Rules. OE can also act as your computer answering machine when u are away for a weekend or vacation. Go for it!!

 

Hi GreyFox

I know it's not really a direct to your question, but
1/ yes, OE can be made more secure than its default settings would allow; but
2/ it must be born in mind that OE, just as Internet Explorer, are still much in-tegrated into the very nature of Windows, so the vulnerabilities of the os interact with OE's and IE's, and the other way around still is true too - a very important poiny IMHO;
3/ this second point is even more important with W98 family systems, because of the fact that it doesn't use NTFS-file systems as, say, WXP does;
4/ before making up your mind, you might want to have a look and test, for example, the free open-source email client Thunderbird (see www.mozilla.org), which has the upsides of OE whilst not having the downsides. Not trying to convince you in anyway, but always a good things to be able to make up one's mind in a larger context...

Hope you don't mind my posting here...

 

If you mention Win98, OE is no good. First: Win98 is not secure, but, hey, no big deal there. But all security enhancements Microsoft made to Internet Explorer and Outlook Express are not ported to Win98, they are there only for WinXP in SP2.

Best option is to move over to some more secure mail client.
Lots of alternatives over here

 

Thanks to all of you for your input. I have opinions on both sides of the issue and now the ultimate decision is mine.

greyfox

 

I have begun moving off the local box and using YahooPLUS for more and more of my email needs. I can receive all of my POP mail there and I can send mail out with any return email address associated with my POP accounts. They have a dizzying array of features for $19.95 a year. Including excellent spam filtering, calendar, file storage, email forwarding. You can do a lot with YahooPLUS. Much more than the free Yahoo Mail. When you want to archive all of your email, you can download all of it in one zip file. It can then be placed in Outlook Express, Eudora, etc. folders and opened like it was always .eml or whatever, or, place them in a "Mail Archive" folder and just read them as text files --- great feature. Also, YahooPLUS will soon be integrating a super webmail program they purchased last year called "OddPost." YahooPLUS is meeting more and more of my needs. I highly recommend it.

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