untangling_the_web

DID: 4046925
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Email Concerns
Email is without a doubt the biggest source of security vulnerabilities on the Internet.
All the qualities that make email so attractive to users-its speed, ease of use,
inexpensiveness, and almost universal presence-also make it the perfect medium
for spreading malicious software (malware). All the major virus, worm, and Trojan
horse attacks have employed email to infiltrate networks worldwide. Therefore, email
security is of the utmost importance to every user.
I recommend these two excellent webpages on email security that deal with all of the
issues addressed in section and more.
Security Focus: "Securing Privacy: E-mail Issues"
http://www.securityfocus.com/infocus/1579
A Quick Guide to Email Security
http://www.zzee.com/enh/email security.html
Move Outlook and Outlook Express to the Restricted Zone187
One of the conveniences and one of the weaknesses of Outlook and Outlook
Express are their intimate relationship with the Internet Explorer browser. If you use
either Microsoft product for emau.ttis critical that you make sure they are moved to
the Restricted sites zone of the Internet from their default location in the Internet
Zone. Why? Because malware is often spread via email, so you need to be sure
your security settings for your email reader are set very high.
By default, the Restricted sites zone is assigned the High security level. If you assign
a site to the Restricted sites zone, it will be allowed to perform only minimal, very
safe operations. However, I recommend you do not rely upon the zone slider being
set to High; instead choose the Custom option for manual settings. It is not hard to
do. Make sure your Restricted Zone settings are set to disable all Java, JavaScript,
and ActiveX controls because these are the most frequent sources of security
problems in email.
These are the generally accepted settings for the Restricted sites zone.
187 Windows XP Service Pack 2 includes security upgrades to Outlook 2003 that are not covered
here. Please see "Microsoft Outlook 2003 Security Tips" for more information.
[PDF] (14 November 2006).
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