Scanning Email With An Anti-Virus Program

[D. Spencer Hines]

People keep saying we must stop scanning email with an anti-virus program --
both incoming and outgoing.

I have been scanning my email with an anti-virus program for years --
currently Norton Internet Security.

No Problems At All With Outlook Express -- nor with Outlook.

And the programs doesn't run slower either.

NOW...

Why can't the folks who design and develop Windows Live Mail be smart enough
to design a program for us that has the same robust, flexible nature as OE?

Why have they designed a program that is so ruddy weak and fragile it can't
interact with a program that scans incoming and outgoing emails?

Because they are dumber and less technically competent than the Good Folks
who designed Outlook Express?
--
D. Spencer Hines
Lux et Veritas et Libertas
Vires et Honor
Veni, Vidi, Calcitravi Asinum


Make sure your antivirus is not configured to scan email. See
http://thundercloud.net/infoave/tutorials/email-scanning/index.htm

 

[Michael Santovec]

If anything, WLM is less likely to have problems with e-mail scanning
than OE. Its message store is much more robust than OE's.

And many people do use e-mail scanning without any problems.

But the issue boils down to 2 things.

#1) Anti-virus scanning of e-mail ON THE CLIENT during send/receive does
NOT provide any more security than the normal background anti-virus
scanning that occurs as files are opened.

#2) Anti-virus scanning of e-mail ON THE CLIENT during send/receive does
SOMETIMES cause problems. It may cause the Send/Receive to fail or it
may lead to corruption of the message store.

Taking 1 and 2 together leads to the conclusion that e-mail scanning
doesn't make any sense ON THE CLIENT during send/receive.

It does make a lot of sense ON THE MAIL SERVER where it works well.

 

[D. Spencer Hines]

Thank you kindly...

That's a succinct, intelligent answer.

Is anti-virus scanning of e-mail in fact done on ALL the MSN servers -- so
that doing it on the client is redundant?

 

[Diane Poremsky [MVP]]

This involves Outlook how?

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]
Need Help with Common Tasks? http://www.outlook-tips.net/beginner/
Outlook 2007: http://www.slipstick.com/outlook/ol2007/

Outlook Tips by email:
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You can access this newsgroup by visiting
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[D. Spencer Hines]

The same messages -- both emails and newsgroup messages -- are scanned in
Outlook as in OE, WM and WLM.

 

[K. Orland]

That's a question I wouldn't want to answer on their behalf.

I also think another issue in the email scanning question/problem/discussion
is a direct result of so many users polling for mail far too frequently to
allow AV to adequately perform its task. Since the real time scanner would
catch whatever it's updated for, why scan email and risk send/receive
problems?

In addition, actively scanning incoming and outgoing email forces AV to act
as a proxy between the mail server and Outlook which adds another step into
the process. The more complicated you make something the more errors you are
likely to incur.

 

[D. Spencer Hines]

Yes...

Good Points All.

But if MSN [or some other ISP] is NOT doing the scanning at the server --
because of some screw up by a careless technician on a weekend or holiday --
then I want to be doing it at the client.

And I never know when that technician is going to screw up...

So, better to scan all the time.

 

[D. Spencer Hines]

Vide infra pro interscriptibus.
--
DSH
Lux et Veritas et Libertas
Vires et Honor

Those who provided it with a message store that falls over and corrupts at
the drop of a hat?

Nope... I've never had any problems with the OE Message Store. But then I
delete and compact frequently and always have. Many folks don't have the
Good Sense to do that.

I would like to see OE with the WLM message store.

YES...

EXCELLENT IDEA.

Once that's proven the other bells, whistles, titivation etc. may be
developed and added.
RIGHT!

Oh unfortunately it'll need the spell check too because they broke it with
Occife 2007

YES... OF COURSE.

 

[FromTheRafters]

The redundancy is in the fact that the client's scanner that scans
the incoming e-mail is the same engine that would scan at the
filesystem level anyway. The only time such a feature would be
of use is against an exploit attacking a vulnerability in the e-mail
client itself (or any e-mail vector attack that doesn't use a 'file').

 

[Peter Foldes]

You are starting the same sh*t as 4-5 years ago. You are trolling and this has been
answered to YOU

YES TO YOU 100 times if not more. You get fun out of repeating these questions from
year to year.

Get a life and get lost you troll

 

[Peter Foldes]

You were doing the MS Knowledge Base game a few years back. Now you are doing this .
Troll and always will be a troll

--
Peter

Please Reply to Newsgroup for the benefit of others
Requests for assistance by email can not and will not be acknowledged.

Yes...

Good Points All.

But if MSN [or some other ISP] is NOT doing the scanning at the server -- because
of some screw up by a careless technician on a weekend or holiday -- then I want
to be doing it at the client.

And I never know when that technician is going to screw up...

So, better to scan all the time.
--
DSH
Lux et Veritas et Libertas
Vires et Honor

That's a question I wouldn't want to answer on their behalf.

I also think another issue in the email scanning question/problem/discussion
is a direct result of so many users polling for mail far too frequently to
allow AV to adequately perform its task. Since the real time scanner would
catch whatever it's updated for, why scan email and risk send/receive
problems?

In addition, actively scanning incoming and outgoing email forces AV to act
as a proxy between the mail server and Outlook which adds another step into
the process. The more complicated you make something the more errors you are
likely to incur.

 

[D. Spencer Hines]

Nonsense.

WLM didn't even EXIST 4-5 years ago.

Neither did many of the viruses and worms we have to contend with today.

'Nuff Said.

 

[D. Spencer Hines]

Foldes thinks a TROLL is anyone who asks a question he can't answer or which
EMBARRASSES him.

 

[Peter Foldes]

No it did not exist. But OE and Outlook and the Microsoft Knowledge Base did. You
know exactly what I am saying and you are still a Troll .
The saying goes something like this. "Different strokes on different days"

 

[D. Spencer Hines]

Foldes is offended and hurls the pejorative "TROLL" whenever:

1. He's stumped.

2. He's embarrassed.

3. He just doesn't like someone.

Par For The Course...

 

[Duncan McC]

People keep saying we must stop scanning email with an anti-virus program --
both incoming and outgoing.

I have been scanning my email with an anti-virus program for years --
currently Norton Internet Security.

No Problems At All With Outlook Express -- nor with Outlook.

And the programs doesn't run slower either.

It does, believe me. Perhaps you have a fast PC, or just don't notice
it. There are many users that have had many problems caused by AV s/w
(including Nortons NIS and 360).

Just because you have had no problems, does not mean they don't exist -
and thousands of users have had such problems around the world.