Is there really no way of permanently deleting virusses?

[Licensed to Quill]

I have now managed to get most of my junk mail sent straight to my deleted
items folder and it is deleted whenever I exit outlook. I have even managed
(I still don't know how I did this as there is an article in the MS
Knowledge Base which says you cant do this and the feature doesn't work)
managed to get some of the more obvious spam permanently deleted as soon as
it arrives (I think this was done by way of sending them to some folder
OTHER than the deleted items folder from which they apparently CAN be
permanently and automatically deleted. AND making sure you do this FROM some
folder other than the deleted items folder?)

But how do I do this to messages which have virusses attached which are
identified as such? I really don't need to know how many similar virusses
were received every day and that Norton Anti-Virus marked them as such.
Can't I just set some rule up to arrange to permanently delete them withour
their ever ending up in any folder first?

 

[Diane Poremsky [MVP]]

Not really unless the AV software has such a setting (like delete if
infected) - it irritates me to no end that the AV software delivers it
instead of dropping it when they know full well the message and attachment
is bogus (based on the virus that it contains).

You can try a rule that looks for the name of the NAV replacement text file
in the header and deleting based on that.

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]
Author, Teach Yourself Outlook 2003 in 24 Hours
Coauthor, OneNote 2003 for Windows (Visual QuickStart Guide)
Author, Google and Other Search Engines (Visual QuickStart Guide)



Join OneNote Tips mailing list: http://www.onenote-tips.net/

 

[Licensed to Quill]

You can try a rule that looks for the name of the NAV replacement text file
in the header and deleting based on that.

--

Diane Poremsky

No, if it were that easy, EVERYONE who uses outlook would have done it by
now. I created a rule just for that and it just gives you the incorrect
error message that 'you do not have permission to do this' (put a message
into a folder and then immediately permanently delete it without having to
look at it) which I think is MS-Speak for not wanting you to think that 'we
screwed up in our programming and didn't think that anyone would ever want
to delete a virus'

What I can't believe is why MS wants us to see our virusses and won't take
suggestions (which they must have been given so many times that they have
stopped taking these suggestions from the public) that no one really needs
to know that there are virusses out there of which they are receiving (for
example) 200 copies of each every day in each mail box they possess..

The reason must be pretty strong?? Is it that they want you to know that
you have to buy an anti-virus program? Why don't they make the way you
create such a rule so difficult that only computer-savvy users who would
obviously have anti-virus installed would know how to do it?

Given how difficult it is to track down these virusses, the more insidious
answer, unfortunately, might be the only rational one: That this obvious
failing is evidence that they are creating these minor virusses to make
people THINK ABOUT going out and buying new computers with new operating
systems when their old ones become infected and so slow that they dont run
as quickly as advertised ones promise to do. After all, how many of the
more recent ones have had the effect of the really nasty ones which used to
wipe out your hard drive? Haven't the more recent ones been mostly of the
type which cause your computer to work incorrectly (e.g. continuous boot
loop). Isn't this the sort of thing someone trying to wreak havoc wouldn't
do but someone in the computer sales business might?

Well I have already obtained a Mac to try out and will now seriously think
about starting to use it. This business of having all my folders of all my
mail boxes fill up with virusses is starting to become annoying. Why is
there no right click feature on Macs if THEY started out getting everyone to
use mice?

 

[Diane Poremsky [MVP]]

No, if it were that easy, EVERYONE who uses outlook would have done it by

now. I created a rule just for that and it just gives you the incorrect
error message that 'you do not have permission to do this' (put a message
into a folder and then immediately permanently delete it without having to
look at it)

That error is not because of the rule - i use such a rule for attchments (it
misses about 30% because of how they are embedded). Why put it in a folder?
Just delete it.

What I can't believe is why MS wants us to see our virusses and won't take
suggestions

More the AV vendors fault. Why do they think we need ot see a disinfected
message sent by a virus? The ones infected by 99% of the viruses have no
redeeming value. Period. They should just delete it and go on and not change
the attachment to a text attachment. But they aren't listening -
unfortunately.

Is it that they want you to know that
you have to buy an anti-virus program? Why don't they make the way you
create such a rule so difficult that only computer-savvy users who would
obviously have anti-virus installed would know how to do it?

Because AV software does more than scan email... and too many people think
they are savvy when they aren't.