I have read that o.x. is a cheap + vulnerable program. It came installed on
my pc -xp sp3.
Is it safe to use ?
O. x.? Do you mean Outlook Express? If so, note that it's usually
abbreviated "OE."
Outlook Express cheap? It's not cheap, it's free. It's part of
Windows.
Vulnerable? To what? If you use it wisely, it's perfectly safe, just
as is any other E-mail or newsgroup client. If you use it foolishly,
you will be vulnerable.
For example, any such program can deliver messages to you that come
with attachments. If you open all those attachments, you will very
likely get yourself infected with a virus. Attachments are risky,
regardless of whether you use OE or some other program. You often see
advice not to open attachments from people you don't know. I think
that that's one of the most dangerous pieces of advice you see around,
because it implies that it's safe to do the opposite--open attachments
from friends and relatives. But many viruses spread by sending
themselves to everyone in the infected party's address book, so
attachments received from friends are perhaps the *most* risky to
open.
Even if the attachment legitimately comes from a friend, it can
contain a virus. I'm not suggesting that a friend is likely to send
you a virus on purpose, but if the friend is infected without
realizing it, any attachment he sends you is likely to also be
infected.
