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> I recall hearing from this list about BAT email. From
> what I recall, I remember hearing good things about
> it. I am using Outlook Express right now and no
> problems with it and I am just wondering what
> advantages the BAT program has over OE. If it is much
> better, then I would consider switching.
LookOut Depress is, by far, the worst source of viruses on the net.
It's full of nifty cool features. It's whizzy. It's easy to use.
It's the default mailer for every Windoze box on the planet.
And it's riddled with security holes you could drive a truck through.
It's also the biggest target around -- lots of easy holes to exploit
AND millions of naive users -- so it's the most popular "working
environment" for most virus writers.
I would hazard a guess that 98% of the viruses out there are targeted
at Outlook. Certainly the most virulent ones all come from Outlook.
There are others that target IE, some that target Eudora, and some
that even target Linux and Macs, but most of them are aimed directly
at Outlook Express.
ANY mailer is 100x more secure than Outlook, just because they don't
have the same holes that the viruses shoot for. (They all have
holes, but if the viruses don't aim at those holes, they probably
won't hit them.)
Some mailers, notably TheBat!, have security as a primary design
criterion. TheBat! is specifically designed to have as few holes as
possible AND to warn you about possible problems.
I know a lot of people like TheBat!. I tried it and didn't
particularly care for it, but that's a personal preference issue. My
mailer (Pegasus) might not be quite as secure as TheBat!, but I'm
used to it and I like it. And in 5 years of use, all WITHOUT an
antivirus tool until a few months ago, I never ONCE got infected with
a worm or virus. Why? Because I wasn't using OE and I exercised a
bit of caution and common sense. (I.e. don't execute attachments
unless you're VERY sure what they are.)
TheBat!: http://www.ritlabs.com/the_bat/ $35 for personal use
Pegasus: http://www.pmail.com/ free
Eudora: http://www.eudora.com/ (warning: free version is adware)
Gary
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