5: Stop Outlook from Automatically Downloading Files.
PROBLEM:
One day you check your e-mail. You download the messages, then scroll through the list to preview them, deciding which ones to read and which ones to delete. You're careful: you don't open the e-mails and you don't click on attachments. But suddenly ... you're infected!
How? You didn't click an attachment, and you didn't even open the message!
HERE'S HOW IT WORKS:
Some new virus files cleverly exploit a "crack in the wall" in some versions of Explorer. If you use Outlook and haven't installed a special Internet Explorer patch, then Outlook can automatically download files without your knowledge. All you have to do is scroll through the list of messages to "preview" without even opening it, and the attachment or embedded file runs all by itself. You're infected! (By the way, that patch won't always protect you; it depends on your installation.)
But there's a quick fix, straight from Microsoft:
SOLUTION:
Set up your machine to NOT automatically download files. This way, the virus still might trick Explorer and Outlook to try to automatically download a virus, but you've set up your security to stop it "dead in its tracks!"
HOW TO FIX IT:
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1) - In the bottom left corner of your screen click on Start, then Settings, then Control Panel.
2) - Double click on Internet Options.
3) - Click on the top tab called "Security."
4) - Click the button called "Custom Level..."
5) - Now you're looking at "Security Settings." Scroll down the list of options until you come to "Downloads."
6) - Under "File download" you'll see "Enable" and "Disable." You MUST select "Disable." Then click "OK."
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7) - Now you're back at "Internet Properties" and the "Security" tab. Click the "Apply" button, then click "OK."
8) - Close the Control Panel and any other windows that are open, and restart your computer.
Here's how it looks:
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RESULT:
Now your machine is set so that it won't automatically run a virus, because you told it to "Disable File Downloads." Don't worry, you can still download files from e-mail if you want to. You just have to click on them.
(Note: Yes, this is a fix for Internet Explorer, even though we're trying to fix Outlook. But Outlook needs Internet Explorer, even if you use Netscape for browsing the Web.)
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