Is the Reading Pane dangerous?

[design on Maui]

A couple of support techs have told us that the Reading Pane in Outlook is a
way that viruses can enter our computers. Normally, I have picture preview
turned off and only show pictures when I know the sender. Is the Reading
Pane dangerous?
Thank you,
John

 

[Roady [MVP]]

No, in fact, actually opening the email to read its contents is (a little
bit) more dangerous due to the level of code execution that can take place.
However, there is no known exploit on this.

There is no way to automatically launch anything (file, script, attachment,
etc...) by using the Preview Pane so it's safe to use.

 

[neo [mvp outlook]]

You didn't mention what version of Outlook you are using, but if it is
Outlook 2003 or 2007, then your support techs are nuts.