e mailing question please

can an infection on a computer prevent it from sending mails from within outlook express?

it might be possible - but I have not heard of one doing so - so very unlikely.

If the malware was to hit the routines that handle outgoing mail then yes .... I can't see why it's not possible.

In the case of adware/spyware, the reason for nfecting people's computers is for dodgy financial gain. Thus there would be no incentive to stop outgoing email from working.

In the case of a worm, the exact opposite is true - an infected PC can become a spam relay or a means by which the worm disseminates itself.

However, any running malware can slow a PC down and possibly crash it - and this in and of itself could affect its ability to send email.

Haven’t tried this but it might be worth a look:

Deep inside Outlook Express there’s a handy little utility that can be invaluable for tracking down faults, especially when it comes to OE not sending mail.

http://www.pctoptips.co.uk/toptips/tt02net.html

There’s a few more OE tips as well if you scroll down the page.

What I'd like is an OE plug-in that creates a new message rule, "Where the From address is in the Windows Address Book" or "Where the From address is in the named text file of email addresses" ...

Then you could "move it to the specified folder" and "stop processing more rules".

That way, you'd be able to filter any email coming from a known contact into your Inbox and then apply more rules to the remainder, thus forming an effective spam filter.

Yes, you can select all the addresses from your address book and "OR" them together into a rule, but that's clumsy when you add a new email address .... you've also got to update the rule.

But alas! It looks like OE is difficult (impossible) to write plugins for without a paid SDK, and anyway, what does exist is superseded by Microsoft Mail in Vista anyway.

Angus - try K9.

http://keir.net/k9.html

Thanks Chris ..... will give that a look!

although it cannot read your contacts list - it does have a "whitelist" a "blacklist" and a knowledge based system to learn what is spam - in your way - and what is not.

Try using Thunderbird.

You can tell it to allow mail for any entry in your address book, whilst its junk filters will run on all other e-mails.

many thanks for the replies to this

I have been following a discussion elsewhere in which the individual was suddenly unable to mail out from within OE ; I had thought that he might have been infected by SOMETHING

angoid; I notice your points;

angoid

If the malware was to hit the routines that handle outgoing mail then yes .... I can't see why it's not possible.

I had suggested they seek guidance on the possiblity of infection but they seemed adamant that infection could not possibly be the culprit

that discussion has now taken off in a different direction but maybe an infection was the cause of the original problem

many thanks for the above contributions

Hi P;3 ....

Yes, discussions do wander and I think it was mainly my fault that this one did ... sorry

If someone is adamant that it's not possible, then you won't convince them unfortunately. It reminds me of the story of the man who thought he was dead ..... when his friends tried to convince him that dead men dont bleed and then proceeded to cut his finger to draw blood, he exclaimed, "My goodness!! Dead men do bleed after all!"

You can lead a horse to water......

"Angoid" wrote:Hi P;3 ....

Yes, discussions do wander and I think it was mainly my fault that this one did ... sorry :oops:

If someone is adamant that it's not possible, then you won't convince them unfortunately. It reminds me of the story of the man who thought he was dead ..... when his friends tried to convince him that dead men dont bleed and then proceeded to cut his finger to draw blood, he exclaimed, "My goodness!! Dead men do bleed after all!"

You can lead a horse to water......

angoid, in my view no way has this discussion "gone off tiopic" and , in my view, if the original discussion elsewhere had agreed to submit a log then something might have been located that may have saved an awful lot of hassle and aggravation


however, as you say "you can lead a horse to water but...."

as I am sure most people on here, and especially within the Uni, will agree that an infection can lurk in a very hidden and devious place and it can take some digging and forraging out to find it with perhaps the only symptom being a misbehaving program

P;3, that was my point exactly ..... just because something is possible doesn't necessarily mean it's likely.

The question here was whether this is possible, not whether it is likely. Personally, I think it's unlikely (except as a side effect of whatever the infection is) but that doesn't make it impossible.

But will the said horse partake of that Dyhodrogen Monoxide (very dangerous substance, that!)?

I use WLMail desktop beta and find it very efficient. It is also minimizable to the tray and has lot of other faetures.

"Angoid" wrote:P;3, that was my point exactly ..... just because something is possible doesn't necessarily mean it's likely.

The question here was whether this is possible, not whether it is likely. Personally, I think it's unlikely (except as a side effect of whatever the infection is) but that doesn't make it impossible.

But will the said horse partake of that Dyhodrogen Monoxide (very dangerous substance, that!)?

unfortunately the horse copped out of the possiblility of taking the appropriate medicine , but would have been nice to exclude the presence of an infection causing the problem

that discussion has now gone off on another direction , and decisions made by the pc user that render a log analysis now of pointless useage;

but such an analysis at the right time might have shed some light as to where the fault might be