Don't want new mail automatically selected

[tabbster]

Using Vista Home and Windows Mail. Just d/l'd IE 8 and now in Windows Mail,
the new mail is automatically selected and shows up in the Preview Pane.
Before, I could select an old piece of mail and when new mail came in, it did
not get selected until I chose to do this. I want this feature back, but
don't know how to get it. The reason? It is my understanding that once a
piece of mail is in the preview screen, the sender (spam or otherwise
undesirable character), knows you have received it; or if in html format, it
can open a virus. I know I can turn off the Preview and do have a button on
the top menu to do this, but would prefer to not have to do this whenever
going into the email program. Also, is it true that by looking at the
Properties (instead of the Preview Pane) of an unopened email to view its
content, that you are safe from any virus embedded?

 

[Gary VanderMolen]

You are way too paranoid about email. I've been working with email
since before there was an Internet, and have never been adversely
affected. Just be cautious about opening unsolicited attachments,
and you should be OK. Your antivirus will usually save you if you happen
to make a mistake. Enjoy your computer, don't let it intimidate you.

 

[VistaRookie]

Turn off the Preview Pane permanently (WM->View->Layout),
then you can open emails in any order you like straight from
your inbox. I have never used Preview Pane.

Usually virus/malware is activated by clicking on an attachment.
Usually.

Yes, it is true that using Properties doesn't activate a virus or
web bug (invisible gifs).

 

[Sam Hobbs]

You can safely assume that Microsoft is more up-to-date than the people you
get your information from. If Microsoft software was as vulnerable as you
have the impression it is, you would definitely hear about it from very
reliable sources.

The main way that spammers know you are reading spam is by use of an image
in the message. This works if you view a HTML message using HTML format, and
most messages are in HTML format and most people view using HTML format.
However this is where Microsoft is ahead of your friends. Microsoft email
software such as Windows Mail have an option that causes images to not be
seen by default, and that disables the mechanism that spammers usually use
to know that you are viewing their message. Spammers put links in messages
to images that don't exist and the fact that the image does not exist
provides them an easy way to determine that you are viewing the message. I
could be a little more technical but I hope you don't need a technical
explanation.

So as long as you don't mess with the default security settings that
Microsoft provides for WM and IE and as long as you have a good antivirus
program, you can trust that there are enough technical people that won't
allow software to be as vulnerable as some people will say it is.

People tell wild stories. Someone told me that there has been a cure for
cancer for many years but Jewish doctors won't allow the medical people to
use it. It is easy to tell stories such as that but if you think about it
..... well I should get back to computer stuff.

 

[tabbster]

Thanks for your advice Sam. Actually, my information comes from an old
newsgroup item from years and years ago, probably back to Windows 95. It
seemed a good idea to be that careful. And so many folks (MS MVPs in other
groups) tell us to disable email scanning from our antivirus programs (advice
I do NOT take). And of course, I just don't want to view HTML in non-HTML
mode; that's no fun! So I guess if I want the neat way of viewing, I have to
put up with the inconvenience of using the Hide Preview Pane when scanning
incoming mail and using the "back door" to see it. I have been extremely
fortunate in that I've never had a virus attack from anywhere - email,
attachments, or web browsing and downloading. I keep my antivirus software
up-to-date and am very, very careful about the websites I visit. So......if
it's not broke, I'm not going to attempt any additional fix. But if there was
just a way to hold the selection to the last item viewed in Windows Mail,
like it always used to be, it sure would be easier for me.
Kathy

 

[Gary VanderMolen]

If you don't want to take advice from MS-MVPs, I'm not sure why you
are here. AFAIK, all the regular responders here advise disabling
antivirus email scanning.
The email scanning function is included in most AV products
because all the competitors include it, and it makes for another bullet
on the box for non-savvy buyers.

Even Symantec (Norton), the originator of the email scanning concept
admits that it is redundant and unnecessary:

"Is my computer still protected against viruses if I disable Email Scanning?
Disabling Email Scanning does not leave you unprotected against viruses
that are distributed as email attachments. Norton AntiVirus Auto-Protect
scans incoming files as they are saved to your hard drive, including email
and email attachments. Email Scanning is just another layer on top of this.
To make sure that Auto-Protect is providing the maximum protection, keep
Auto- Protect enabled and run LiveUpdate regularly to ensure that you have
the most recent virus definitions."

See http://tinyurl.com/bhsva or
http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPOR...88256c7500723cf0?OpenDocument&src=bar_sch_nam

 

[tabbster]

I apologize if I offended the MVPs. I really only wanted to know if there is
a way to keep the last read email selected when new mail arrives. I should
not have explained why, I guess. I appreciate (most) of the MVPs and their
dedication to the readers of the various groups, and learn a lot from them.
I've been using PCs since the DOS days and consider myself knowledgeable,
subscribing to various newsletters, etc. But it is very confusing (to me)
when in one paragraph I'm told I should disable my anti-virus software for
email, and in another paragraph am told that (Norton) will scan my email.
How does it do this if I've disabled it????? To what extent does MS Windows
Vista (or other versions) do this? I don't mean to be a smart-a##, I just
don't get it.

 

[Gary VanderMolen]

Antivirus programs have several different scanning modules. A specific
module is called into action when its service is required.
The real-time scanning module goes into action each time a file is
opened, saved, or written to. The email scanning module looks only
at incoming and outgoing emails. However, those same emails are
then acted upon by the real-time scanner also. So, you have unnecessary
redundancy. That redundancy is not all that bad in and of itself, but it
plays havoc when the email program is transmitting or receiving data
from a mail server. This URL explains why email scanning is bad:
http://thundercloud.net/infoave/tutorials/email-scanning/index.htm

 

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

Read this:
http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/nav.nsf/docid/2002111812533106

Or this: http://thundercloud.net/infoave/tutorials/email-scanning/index.htm

 

[Sam Hobbs]

It is not real clear what the antivirus programs do to protect us. They
often are forced to use undocumented techniques. So look at it this way. If
a virus or other malicious software were to come from anywhere other than
email, we would want the malware blocked regardless of where it came from.
So the same the same techniques used to protect us from other sources are
still protective when malware comes from email. At least that is the theory
and if it (very generic it) did not work then we would hear about it.

Email scanning probably was necessary years ago, but Microsoft has caught up
so that it is not necessary now.

 

[tabbster]

Thanks to everyone who responded. I think I "get it" now. I've turned off
the email scanning in McAfee. And now I can safely preview email in the
preview pane even tho I'm still not sure I'm not acknowledging spammers this
way. . .are you saying that if I turn off html before reading unknown
senders' mail, I am further protecting myself there from acknowledging their
mail?

Kathy

 

[Sam Hobbs]

Yes, setting the option so that you read all mail in plain-text format by
default will guarantee that nothing will happen that you don't want. You can
choose to view specific messages in HTML format when you are confident it is
safe. Viewing using HTML format will likely be safe but you don't want to do
that for messages you suspect could be harmful. Viewing images in HTML
format will provide the sender the ability to determine that you have read
the message, so you need to be aware of that. There are probably some
messages that will use the images in this manner that you don't mind them
doing that.