Outlook Express Protection

[barefoot_tom]

I have a question about email protection with Outlook Express. The help file states "if you are using Avast 4.5 or newer and your operating system is Windows 2000.....you don't have to do any special settings, even for other email clients." It then goes into a discussion of the Mail Protection Wizard. I follow the instructions "Start, Programs, Avast, Mail Protection Wizard" but there is no Mail Protection Wizard. Should I assume that the mail protection wizard refers to pre 4.5 versions? I'm concerned because a friend using Avast (perhaps an earlier version) has some wierd numbers like 127.0.0 or something like that for his incoming and outgoing mail servers. Mine have not been changed. Am I protected? Thanks!

[Eddy]

If you read the help carefully, you will see that it says that there is no mail protection wizzard if you are on a NT based system.

To see if you are protected, send yourself the eicar test file.

[Lisandro]

Has some wierd numbers like 127.0.0 or something like that for his incoming and outgoing mail servers. Mine have not been changed. Am I protected? Thanks!

Yes, if you have Windows 2k\XP you don't have to use anything different for the pop3/smtp servers to be protected.
If you have 98\Me, well, you have to redirect the traffic to the localhost (or 127.0.0.1) to be scanned... They are not 'weird' numbers 

[barefoot_tom]

Thanks! I must have missed that line in the help file. I did play with the eicar test file and I got the virus warning when I attempted to download it. That's good, though that didn't test my email protection. Then, I saved the file and attempted to attach it to an email and send it to myself. Again, I got the virus warning because it was scanning outgoing email. Very good. Then I disabled outgoing virus scanning and sent it to myself with the "virus" attachment and it never showed up. Maybe my ISP intercepted it because emails without the attachment would arrive but with the attachment they never arrived.

Tom

[Lisandro]

Maybe my ISP intercepted it because emails without the attachment would arrive but with the attachment they never arrived.

Most probably this is what is happenning...

Anyway, you can test the security of your email system here: http://www.gfi.com/emailsecuritytest/