"Surferbar" virus>Outlook sucks>best browser/email client

Mephisto · #1 September 4th, 2003, 01:18 AM

I think you have to limit the rights of ActiveX to install scripts on your computer. You can change this at the internet security options. Let the system ask you if somthing is allowed to install itself on your PC and you should be fine (I hope...).

dogscoff · #2 September 4th, 2003, 01:23 AM

Hmm, well I'm pretty sure the code came in via some piece of spam in outlook express. Didn't even have to open it, just clicking it to delete it was enough. An activex box came up to tell me that something had been done and you can guess the rest.

Thanks for the response anyway.

I guess I could stay offline for a few days, wait for the rest of the world to get infected and the media to panic and start predicting the end of civilisation and maybe then microsoft will climb down off their moneypiles and actually think about releasing a patch to fix this vulnerability.

Otherwise, I may have to switch to a simpler email client- something that doesn't gormlessly open any and every bloody file emailed to it would be nice. Can you get PINE for winxp?

EDIT: Hadn't read Mephisto's response. Thanks, M.

[ September 03, 2003, 12:29: Message edited by: dogscoff ]

Thermodyne · #3 September 4th, 2003, 01:46 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by dogscoff:
Hmm, well I'm pretty sure the code came in via some piece of spam in outlook express. Didn't even have to open it, just clicking it to delete it was enough. An activex box came up to tell me that something had been done and you can guess the rest.

Thanks for the response anyway.

I guess I could stay offline for a few days, wait for the rest of the world to get infected and the media to panic and start predicting the end of civilisation and maybe then microsoft will climb down off their moneypiles and actually think about releasing a patch to fix this vulnerability.

Otherwise, I may have to switch to a simpler email client- something that doesn't gormlessly open any and every bloody file emailed to it would be nice. Can you get PINE for winxp?

EDIT: Hadn't read Mephisto's response. Thanks, M.

Do you have the preview window turned off and IE set to prompt for ActiveX ?

dogscoff · #4 September 3rd, 2003, 03:07 PM

No and no. *sigh* guess I'm going to have to live without the preview window if I want to avoid getting hit by this stupid thing.

Thermodyne · #5 September 3rd, 2003, 03:57 PM

Yep, such is life. Actually, the preview window is so vulnerable that MS should have removed it from the program. It is a long standing problem that MS has refused to address.

Alneyan · #6 September 3rd, 2003, 04:07 PM

Oh yes, the preview window is an invitation for viruses. Apart from that... I didn't know you could turn this "feature" off though. If you would like to use this kind of preview window, I'm afraid you will have to change your mail program. (Assuming they remain safe from viruses and/or not plagued with security holes)

geoschmo · #7 September 3rd, 2003, 04:10 PM

Yahoo webmail has a nice feature that let's me view an email without allowing the html stuff to show up unless I click a little "show html" button at the bottom of the email. That way I can read the text of the message before I decide if I want to view the images. Is that possible in outlook? Would that prevent this stuff from getting executed and run on your pc?

Geoschmo