VIRUS WARNING.

[johntywino]

I have just been sent a warning regarding opening an email "postcard from Hallmark" Apparently it opens a post card image which burns the whole hard disc "C" of the computer.. Microsoft say it's the most destructive EVER..Probably a con, but maybe not....Anyway I would think no-one on this site is daft enough to open these sort of emails!. Cheers, John.

[NazNomad]

They are, unfortunately, daft enough to believe the plethora of hoaxes sent to them by email. ;-)

[johntywino]

Oh THANKS naz!

[NazNomad]

These hoaxes tend to go full circle every couple of years ... expect to see it again sometime in 2012, lol

[jno]

Snopes rubbishes this particular warning but says yes, viruses can be sent round in this fashion

http://www.snopes.com...er/virus/postcard.asp

[boxtops]

I've seen that one several times before. I don't ever open emails I don't recognise anyway!

[tearinghair]

Please can you just remind me how to get rid of an email without opening it first?

[jno]

click on it in your inbox and drag to Trash or Delete or whatever your email provider calls it, or just click on Delete

[tearinghair]

Thanks, jno. I've had no problem doing that from the Spam folder, but when I try from the inbox in Outlook Express the message always seems to open first. But that's probably because the messages I've tried with have already been opened. I'll practise with one I don't want to read - seem to get dozens over the weekend.

[Mobius1]

The thing to bear in mind about this warning is that it's a chain letter/email. "Send it to all your friends and family to warn them too!"

And, if there is one steadfast fact about chain emails, it's that they're all a load of cobblers.

[Infomaniac]

If you have a preview pane you don't even have to open an email to read it.

[Buenchico]

Tearinghair:
If emails are opening automartically, when you open them in Outlook Express, you must have the preview pane activated. (Very silly!). Go to View > Layout. Click to remove the tick alongside 'Show preview pane'. Click 'Apply' and 'OK'

You can now highlight an email, and then delete it, without opening it. If you want to see what's inside it, but still without opening anything nasty contained in it, right-click on the header and select 'Properties', 'Details' and 'Message Source'.

Chris

[tearinghair]

Thanks Buenchico. Yes, the box was ticked. I have now unchecked it and sent a sample message to myself which I was able to delete without opening.
I have had this set-up for years and never knew that it could be changed. Lucky the computer hasn't been infected before now; obviously the much-maligned Norton antivirus has been doing something right!
Thanks again.