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Clark Howard's Tips

E-mail viruses enter through Outlook

June 8, 2005

Corporations are always worried about computer viruses affecting their computers.

It can slow down computers and shut down entire systems, which eats up lots of precious time and money.

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A lot of corporate types point to outside or 3rd party e-mail programs that let in viruses.

But the reality is that Microsoft Outlook, the dominate e-mail program in corporate America, is the chief entry point for hackers who want to infect your computer system.

Walt Mossberg, the chief technology writer for the Wall Street Journal, recently tested G-mail, GoogleÕs free e-mail service and said it was fine. He also said Yahoo and Hotmail are less susceptible to viruses.

So if you use Outlook at your workplace, make sure you disable the feature that automatically opens attachments when you click on an e-mail.

Mossberg also said computer users should use Firefox or another alternative browser instead of Explorer, which has very little protection against viruses.

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