Securing Your Email Client

Properly securing your email client to protect it against harmful infections, such as worms and Trojans, starts with you. Every single computer connected to the internet is at some risk of contracting an infection. The level of risk is determined by a number of factors, but one huge one is user activity. If you use great caution and know what to avoid online, your chances ok keeping your computer virus free are exponentially increased.
Another important step is making sure you have quality and up to date antivirus software running on your system. Even the most experience computer users are still at risk of accidentally receiving some sort of malware online.

So, why is additional security for Outlook and Outlook Express even necessary? Well, email is still by far the most common way that malware is distributed. Computer worms in particular take advantage of Microsoft Outlook by resending itself to everyone in the address book of the infected computer. This triggers a chain reaction that spreads the infection incredibly rapidly. Lack of email security is among one of the biggest problems in the battle against computer viruses and other types of malware. Lets take a look at what you can do to enhance the security of MS Outlook and Outlook Express.

Disable HTML
Although it can make emails look more attractive, it definitely has its drawbacks. For instance, many spammers include tracking codes within the HTML of their emails to get information about you. If there records indicate that you opened a piece of spam mail, it will likely result in you receiving even more spam in the future. HTML may also be used to manipulate links within the email so the spammer may direct you somewhere different then where the link suggests. Worst of all, active content can be used within HTML-rendered email that can cause attachments to download automatically, posing a significant risk if the attachment happens to contain a virus or some other type of malware.

Disabling HTML in Microsoft Outlook Express:

In Outlook Express, select Tools > Options
Select the Read tab and select ‘Read all messages in plain text’
Click the Send tab. Under ‘Mail Sending Format’, select “Plain text”
Click “Apply”, then “OK”.

To change email ‘read’ settings to plain text in Microsoft Outlook 2003:

Click Tools > Options
Select Preferences > Email Options
Select “Read all standard mail in plain text”
Click OK

In Microsoft Outlook 2007:

Click Tools > Trust Center
Choose E-mail Security
Select “Read all standard mail in plain text”
Click OK.

MS Outlook 2002 can also be changed to only read emails in plain text, but it will require a registry edit to do so. It is highly recommended that you upgrade to either Outlook 2003 or Outlook 2007.
To further secure Outlook and Outlook Express, you should disable all ActiveX and Java in the Restricted Sites zone. This can be done in Internet Explorer using the following menu items:
Tools > Internet Options > Security > Restricted Sites > Custom Level
Set the restrictions to ‘Custom Level’ and go through all of the options for scripting of Java or ActiveX.
After making these adjustments, youíll need to add Outlook or Outlook Express (whichever you’re currently using) to this zone. From within Outlook/Outlook Express, choose Tools > Options > Security, and then select the Restricted Zone.
As a final step in securing your mail client, make sure your operating system is up to date. Receiving regular updates from Windows will ensure that you have the best possible protection.

Tags: email, email security, outlook, trojans, worms

This entry was posted on Sunday, September 14th, 2008 at 4:15 am and is filed under Tips & Suggestions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.