Avoid High Risk Outlook! Stop those Luvworm Blues!
Written: May 08 '00 (Updated Jul 31 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Really comprehensive Tools!
Cons: No auto-detection of virus laden attachments!
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| Schinjay's Full Review: Microsoft Outlook Express |
My daddy used to tell me, “Burn me once, shame on you. Burn me twice, shame on me.” I usually got a dose of this witty little ditty when I would burn my finger twice on the stove, or stub my toe again because I was running around barefoot. “See,” he’d always follow up with, “I told you so.”
I wish he were around to say it loud and clear to all of the Microsoft Outlook users around the world that helped spread those lovely “Luv” worms to us all last week. Thank you. Thank you. May I have another, please sir?
It All Stems From Outlook
In case you haven’t noticed, all these pesky “Melissa” and “I Luv You” worms are given continued life by only one program, and that’s Microsoft Outlook.
And these aren’t automatic, robot type worms crawling around our email. They can’t infect your system unless you are gullible enough to open the attachment they bring along with them. So the best way to protect yourself is to never open anything from anyone you don’t know.
I heard a story about some high powered executive that nixed a bunch of “Luv” notes from his e-mail directory, but the opened one of them that was from Dow Jones. Now, just who did he think he knew at Dow Jones? Ha! Told you so!
The “Melissa” worms from early 2000 mailed themselves to the first 50 e-mail addresses in a poor infected sap’s Outlook address book. This latest loverly version mails out love notes to everybody in your address book. We wouldn’t want anyone to feel left out, would we?
This wormmy version also attaches itself to files with about a dozen different extensions, including .jpg and mp3. Can you say, “Never going to get rid of this”?
Outlook does not have adequate built-in security features and is so tightly integrated with the Windows operating system that it makes a perfect target for these guys pumping out these little viral gifts for us.
As of this moment Microsoft has shown no inclination to provide any kind of immediate fix for this glaring problem. And this is one of their flagship programs! Oh, they claim they are working hand-in-hand with antivirus eggheads, but don’t plan on putting out any fixes anytime soon. What a swell bunch of guys!
Protect yourself
If you insist on using Outlook as a client, do all that you can to protect yourself in this worm-infested environment we live in. Use a good firewall defense to keep unwanted visitors out of your system. Make sure to use some kind of antivirus shield to protect your mail server. Download the latest virus definitions for your antivirus program and scan your system daily to detect anything that might get by your front line defenses.
Computer Gods only help those that help themselves
The way I see it, Outlook represents a giant security hole in whatever system it resides on, and the only way to totally avoid that hole is to use another e-mail client. It’s as simple as that. I don’t use it, and I don’t have a worry in the world regarding these worm attacks.
There are plenty of other e-mail clients out there to choose from, and so far the Internet worms are not bothering them. That’s because Outlook is so prevalent, they don’t need to look elsewhere for food yet. Use an alternate e-mail client like Eudora, GroupWise, Broadcast, Campaign, or Lotus Notes.
Take steps now to keep these nasty worms out of your system. Arm yourself with the appropriate system shields mentioned above, or just avoid the high risk of Outlook entirely by changing your e-mail client. That is the best way to avoid those “Luvworm” blues today, and everyday.
That's my epinion! Mahalo for stopping by!
Recommended:
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Epinions.com ID:
Schinjay
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Member: Steve Schindler
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Reviews written: 37
Trusted by: 57 members
About Me:
Steve Schindler writes his informative and humorous "Schindler's Cyber List" for epinions.com.
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