Your Family's Guide to Email Using Outlook Express

Email Safety for your Computer and Family

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Email is dangerous to your computer because of viruses. Outlook Express is well-known to virus writers and most of the viruses written are written with Outlook Express and Outlook in mind. There are steps that you can take to protect yourself.

Email Safety - Use A Virus Program and Update It
Install Antivirus software There is also a free virus software available from Grisoft if you can't afford the best protection available. You might as well not bother installing a program if you don't update it regularly. By regularly I mean at the minimum - weekly. New viruses are found ever day and if the software is not updated it will not catch them.

Email Safety - Do Use the Message Preview Pane
It may be convenient to use the preview pane to read your messages but this is dangerous because viruses can automatically launch in the preview pane. Turn off the preview pane by clicking View then Layout and uncheck Show preview pane.

Email Safety - Opening Attachments
Be extremely cautious when opening attachments. Most viruses send an attachment to every person in your address book, so chances you will get a virus from a friend. When in doubt don't open it. You can even set a rule to automatically delete messages with attachments so that your kids don't accidently open them. You will just have to check the deleted items folder to make sure it wasn't something important.

Email Safety - Security Features You Need to Turn On
You should increase your security settings within Outlook Express. Click Tools the Options then click the Security Tab. Select your security zone as "Restricted site zone (more secure)". If you are using Outlook Express 6.0 you can also check "Warn me when other applications try to send mail as me".

Email Safety - Be Aware of Using Your Full Name
Often people set up their email when they first get a computer and forget it. What is the name you are substituting with every email you send? Do you remember? Here is how to check: Click Tools, Accounts and then highlight the account and click Properties. Under properties you will see "name" under the general tab. That name goes to every person that you send an email to. Your kids (and you) shouldn't be communicating with strangers and sending you full name because a stranger could end up on your doorstep with just your last name and the state you live in.

Page 1 - Introduction
Page 2 - Filter for Multiple Email Addresses
Page 3 - Filter to Folders
Page 4 - More Rules
Page 5 - Delete Spam
Page 6 - Block Senders
Page 7 - Email Safety

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