Downloading messages - overloaded?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Gary
  • Start date Start date
G

Gary

Running OL2003 SP1 (sans French grammar checker) with pst file about 1GB.
Had an old POP3 account that I needed to retrieve messages on, but
unfortunately that POP3 also contained 400 messages, all spam but for 20.
I really needed just 20 messages from this mailbox, so setup profile to
download messages. The "Leave messages on the Server" was NOT ticked.

After several hours of downloads, the same messages were being received over
and over, but the dates and times changed, it looked as if the messages were
never ending! The dates and times were from a few months back. When I
restarted Outlook2003 it started downloading messages at a different point
in time, but the same message headers were coming through. The junk email
filter btw picked up about 60%, the rest it passed through.

Then shut Outlook2003 off and used the same permissions in Outlook Express
to retrieve the mail from the same POP3 Outlook 2003 was using, and all 400
messages came down in a few minutes and stopped there and then like it
should. I retrieved the 20 messages I wanted and heaved the rest.

So why do the two apps behave differently when accessing the same POP
account? PC I use is behind Netgear FVS318 router to ADSL and don't run
exchange, XP Pro SP1. My main POP3 is from a different ISP than the one I
had the drama with if it makes any difference, and once again, the "leave
messages on the Server" is never enabled, and there is no LDAP server on our
internal network.

TIA

Gary
 
Any type of internet security related product installed that scans/protects
e-mail in real-time? (e.g. Norton, Panda, Trend, ZoneAlarm, .etc) If yes,
you might try disabling (or uninstalling/reinstalling w/out the e-mail
protection) to see if the duplication stops.

/neo

ps - because of the way Outlook 2003 implements the Junk Email engine, you
will see a decrease in performance if you are comparing against Outlook 2000
in Internet Mail Only mode or Outlook Express.
 
I have Symantec Client Security V9 running all the time with Internet Email
Auto protect to on. I can't disable this, as it filters incoming mail for
viruses, it's like leaving the door open to a prison if I switch it off!
 
I understand, but unfortunately the way some of it is implemented introduces
issues. (like duplicated messages because it causes timeouts [or race
conditions] in Outlook while dealing with an infected message(s).)
 
Gary said:
I have Symantec Client Security V9 running all the time with Internet
Email Auto protect to on. I can't disable this, as it filters
incoming mail for viruses, it's like leaving the door open to a
prison if I switch it off!
Click to expand...

Simply untrue. Your normal antivirus program should have an on-access or
real-time scanner as a component . The on-access scanner will alert you to
any viruses in your email should you try to open an infected file. Scanning
your incoming mail is redundant and can cause exactly the problem you saw.
 
You're correct, the real time scanner is always active, so why bother with
the POP3 filter.......unless you want to treat emails in a special method of
quarantine? I rather be rid of the message in the first place, and filter it
to oblivion.
 
Gary said:
You're correct, the real time scanner is always active, so why bother
with the POP3 filter.......unless you want to treat emails in a
special method of quarantine? I rather be rid of the message in the
first place, and filter it to oblivion.
Click to expand...

While it's a laudable goal to eliminate junk mail as early as possible
(elimination on the server is best), the reality is that in more cases than
not, mail scanners adversely affect the client-server communications. If
you goal is to receive mail, my opinion is that successful client-server
communications trumps inbound virus elimination.
 
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