Outlook Express keeps removing attachments from emails that I am receiving as they are potentially unsafe, even though I know that they are safe. How do I stop it doing this? I am sure there is a very simple way.
Click on Tools/ Options. In that box under the Security tab uncheck the box 'Do not allow attachments to be saved or opened that could potentially be a virus.
Is there a risk to this? Can't always be sure about the
origin of attachments. Have Norton and AdAwareSE
turned on and IE Firewall.
There is always a risk in allowing anything onto your PC. However if you have live virus and adware checking enabled then that will mitigate the risks somewhat. The firewall will not protect against dodgy attachments. I presume you meant XP and not IE firewall? If so bear in mind that this only protects against specified incoming traffic and will not alert you to attempts by applications (legitimate or otherwise) running on your PC to connect to the internet. Something like ZoneAlarm is much more full functional - even the free version - than the XP firewall. You need to generally adopt a cautious approach to email that may not be from known trusted parties (sometimes even if it looks like it does). You should disable automatic preview windows in email applications to prevent emails from being opened automatically in case doing so exposes you to risks or further spam. Use Google to search for more tutorials on how to keep your PC safe from problems.
Thanks for that reply ClubMan. Yes, I did mean XP Firewall.
I tried the earlier advice using Tools in O.E. but it reverted
back.
Thanks too to everyone for all the excellent IT advice here.
I now have more protection than the Federal Bank! Problem is I haven't the knowledge to use/interpret some of the tools findings. I mean Registry Keys and all that. Got that new trial Microsoft tool too and my PC is squeaky clean. But it's still very slow starting and closing down and has been for months; as well as recent messages about being low in virtual memory. I increased the default space used from the hard drive and maybe that has sorted that.
Have also unpinned a lot of programs from the Start Menu hoping that would speed it up but no change. And have never
knowingly had a virus on this P.C. Use Norton and AdAwareSe
Plus and XP Firewall not to mention all these tools that I read about here and downloaded. I'm very cautious with
emails and Norton does a good job removing the odd
unsolicited one with a complementary virus attached. Don't get spam either.
Since nothing drastic has happened, maybe it's time to give up and live with the painfully slow Start Up?
Since nothing drastic has happened, maybe it's time to give up and live with the painfully slow Start Up?
You need to read up a bit and understand how your PC works or else get somebody with technical expertise in order to figure out whether or not your PC has problems (e.g. mis configurations or infections that are causing it to underperform). Sometimes it's not even obvious after all that! I'm a full time software engineer myself and recently after installing Service Pack 4 on my home Windows 2000 PC found that it slowed to a crawl and I couldn't for the life of me figure out why leaving me with no option but to do a complete reinstallation to a new hard disk and retrieve any important files off the old hard disk. :\
I also have a slow start up, and even slower shut down. This happened after I installed a more up to date Norton antivirus. Someone told me it could be because Norton is checking every (programme) file before it allows it to open. Could this be correct and if so, how do I stop it?