Foiling E-Mail Viruses

E-mail is your computer's gateway to the rest of the world, and this gateway is what makes your e-mail one of the prime vectors for the distribution of computer viruses and other evils. Fortunately, Windows Mail provides options that can help you detect and prevent the introduction of viruses onto your computer.

Protect Yourself and Others

In Windows Mail, choose Options from the Tools menu, and click the Security tab of the Options dialog box.

Select the Restricted Sites Zone (More Secure) option if it isn't already selected.

Select this check box, if it isn't already selected, for protection from programs already on your computer that might use your e-mail to infect other computers.

Select this check box, if it isn't already selected, to enable inspection of the file type of an attachment and to block any attachment that could contain a virus.

Select this check box, if it isn't already selected, to stop your message from requesting additional material from an external server.

On the Read tab, select this check box if you want to prevent any hidden code in HTML-formatted messages from gaining access to your computer, provided you don't mind losing the formatting of HTML messages. Click OK.

Tip

To create even more secure e-mail, you can digitally sign and encrypt your messages, and provide that digital ID to those who'll be receiving your secure mail. To obtain a digital ID, click the Get Digital ID button on the Security tab of the Options dialog box.

See Also

"Creating Trusted Contacts" on the facing page for information about exchanging contact details that can include your digital ID.