Protecting Against Viruses
Everyone has heard about viruses, those malicious software elements that infect and harm computer systems. Viruses range from the merely annoying to the truly disastrous, but they all have one thing in common—you do not want them on your system! Because viruses often spread by means of e-mail, Outlook provides you with some defenses against them.
It’s important to understand that Outlook itself does not have any anti-virus capabilities. An anti-virus program is specialized to detect and remove viruses and will have a way to automatically download the latest virus definitions so that it can stay up-to-date. Symantec, Zone Alarm, and McAfee are three of the better-known publishers of anti-virus software. Most systems have anti-virus software installed, and part of protecting yourself against viruses that come with e-mail is to make sure that your anti-virus program is configured properly. Specifically, you should set the anti-virus program’s options so that it always scans incoming e-mail and attachments for viruses before they get to Outlook. It’s also advisable to set the program to scan outgoing e-mail and attachments in order to prevent you from inadvertently spreading a virus that you have been infected with through other means (such as a floppy disk).
On-demand e-mail scan
If you have an Outlook-compatible anti-virus program installed, you will find two virus-related commands on Outlook’s Tools menu:
Scan for Viruses: Opens your anti-virus program ...
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