Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Ian Hutchesson <mc2499 AT mclink.it>]

At 20.53 20/05/00 +0100, you wrote:
>I've tried to turn off HTML formatting for messages to the BH list from my
>new E-mailer (Outlook Express, which does not automatically open
>attachments). But it's hard to check if this works. Perhaps, Ian, you can
>confirm this for me.

Dear Peter and everyone,

You can understand why I avoid MS junk at every opportunity.

I don't use Outlook: I should remove it as waste space from my computer.
But looking at the interface, what happens when you choose
Tools/Options/Send? Isn't there a choice of "Mail Sending Format" between
HTML and Plain Text?

(I just tried to copy an HTML document to Outlook with "Plain Text" set as
above, and all the HTML formatting was removed in the pasting.)

>But I warn you all, you are probably not safe from catching a virus just
>because you use a less intelligent E-mailer, at least unless it is so dumb
>that it does not recognise attachments at all. 

You'll get the attachment. Your advised procedure is to delete any
attachment you didn't know about before it arrived. Seriously, unless you
know who sent it and what's in it, kill it, especially if it has a .exe,
.dll, .com, .doc, .dot, and probably .zip name extensions (and if you're an
Excel user, whatever the name extension for Excel is). You can go easier if
it is .txt, .bmp or any picture format.

Incidentally, I've heard of a new variety of virus which can take advantage
of bugs in the MS software and auto-install themselves. No need to open
attachments. This is called progress.

>You may be less likely than
>others to spread them further. But you are as likely to stop the
>proliferation of intelligent E-mailers with an appeal like this as the
>Luddites were to stop the progress of technology (with its side-effects of
>more effective weapons) by smashing machines.

Being a computer programmer, I know what I'm talking about. Software like
Netscape offered serious security. MS's approach was do anything to kill
Netscape and they did. The user pays the cost.

>If you want to be safe from viruses, there are two things you should do:
>never open attached documents unless you know what they are; and install a
>good virus checker program and keep it updated regularly.

Definitely.

But, if the manoeuvre I indicated above works to stop HTML formatting, it
would be much appreciated if one could use remove the option.


Thanks,


Ian