Secure your Outlook - @ Work - Microsoft Outlook; preventing viruses - Brief Article

T+D, April, 2002

Last month, I mentioned that Microsoft's Outlook is especially vulnerable to worms and other email viruses. One such vulnerability that has been noted is the preview pane. Certain viruses can infect Outlook without their transport messages being read but just previewed. To turn off the preview pane, go to Outlook's main menu, choose View, then press the Preview Pane button to unselect.

It's a small preventative measure, so don't let it give you a false sense of security. To really put the kibosh on viruses, you'll want to deactivate the Active Scripting option within Outlook. Scripting is a simplified form of the Visual Basic programming language, allowing for interactive objects and controls within your email.

The steps to deactivate active scripting are straightforward. From the main menu bar, choose Tools and then Options. Click on the Security tab and then the button marked Security.

Choose Restricted Sites from the Zone dropdown menu. Next, click on Zone Settings and OK. Click on Custom Level, scroll down to Scripting; under Active Scripting, select Disable. Click OK three times and you're done! That should significantly improve the security of Outlook. Of course, the safest measure s not to open any mysterious attachments.

William Powell is an associate editor of T D; wpowell@astd.com.

@Work covers Internet technology trends, news, and tips. Send comments, questions. and items of interest to atwork@astd.org.