Q. What to do when Outlook Express Hangs Due To Virus Attack?
Ans: One of the main reasons for loss of emails in Outlook Express has been found to be due to virus attacks. These viruses can affect the email client, resulting in permanent loss of all your private and confidential emails. A virus received in an Outlook Express e-mail can only spread its infection when you open the associated attachment. Each time, when you try to open Outlook Express, it comes with 'Not Responding' status with two options to 'End Now' or 'cancel'. Clicking the 'End Now' option exits from Outlook Express.
Viruses can involve Outlook Express in several ways:
- A user opens a virus-infected attachment received via an Outlook express e-mail message. Because this is the most common way viruses spread, many system administrators block certain attachments at server or use the outlook express Email Security Update to block such attachments at the client.
- Messages exploiting certain vulnerabilities in HTML mail can force a malicious file attachment to run even if the user only views it in the preview pane or opens the message. Getting the latest patches for Internet Explorer provides protection.
- Because of Outlook's express easy-to-use programming model, viruses can propagate themselves by reading the Outlook express address books and sending new virus-infected messages to everyone found there. However, virus developers seem to be aware of the new security provisions in Outlook express, because the latest viruses have included their own SMTP engine to send messages, thus avoiding Outlook's express security prompts.
Such problems occur when you have not installed any anti-virus software to prevent against viruses. Trojan alert indicate that only a Firewall has been installed.
To protect your machine from becoming infected with a virus received via Outlook express, you should:
- Practice good anti-virus safety
- Tighten e-mail attachment security
- Update Outlook Express, Internet Explorer, and other Windows components
- Install the latest service packs and updates for your version of Outlook Express.
