Incredimail?

[Nanook]

I have been using Incredimail for years now. I have never had any problems but Ijust got a disturbing email that has me wondering...

it said

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Hi there, I just had my computer cleaned and the
guy up at Best Buy told me that the viruses that were
destroying my computer were
caused by using that Incredimail. So I thought that
I'd send you this warning as the guy told me that I
should inform anyone whose using their download that
this could happen to you if you're still using this
resource.
</div></div>

Can anyone shed some light on this for me please?

[bee_bop]

Re: Incredimail?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Nanook</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I have been using Incredimail for years now. I have never had any problems but Ijust got a disturbing email that has me wondering...

it said

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Hi there, I just had my computer cleaned and the
guy up at Best Buy told me that the viruses that were
destroying my computer were
caused by using that Incredimail. So I thought that
I'd send you this warning as the guy told me that I
should inform anyone whose using their download that
this could happen to you if you're still using this
resource.
</div></div>

Can anyone shed some light on this for me please? </div></div>

Littleman says:
<span style="color: #660000">Incredimail is that web-based e-mail service that offers e-mails with graphical effects such as 3-d effects, and animations, etc. It is possible that some of these graphical effects could have embedded malware code in them, which could spread through a computer's hard-drive as you used it.

That's why some e-mail services suppress graphics, in received e-mail. If you have an anti-virus, and anti-spyware, solution, you could scan the e-mails, etc. for malware. Some anti-virus solutions, such as McAfee will do that automatically, as you receive an e-mail, and Hotmail.com also scans e-mail attachments using TrendMicro software.

Chances are nothing is wrong with the Incredimail service itself, maybe there is a case of mis-use, which can be reported to the web administer, etc, via their <span style="font-style: italic">contact</span> feature, if this actually happened.

Just be careful and scan e-mails, and attachments, and any suspicious, or unknown files, with anti-virus, and anti-spyware software. For sure, regular scans by these utility programs, will ensure fairly reliable operation of your computer, along with sensible use of your computer.</span>

[Nanook]

Re: Incredimail?

Thanks Littleman! I forgot I even asked this question! I've never had a problem and I so prefer it to the outlook express! I particularly like the stationary!

[Diplomat]

Re: Incredimail?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Littleman</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
<span style="color: #660000">Incredimail is that web-based e-mail service that offers e-mails with graphical effects such as 3-d effects, and animations, etc. It is possible that some of these graphical effects could have embedded malware code in them, which could spread through a computer's hard-drive as you used it.</span></div></div>
Web-based? I seem to recall it is application driven (an email client) and configured for the users' POP/SMTP servers. Plus according to the developers, it doesn't contain either adware or malware. I stopped using it years ago because it was, and still is, very resource intensive.

[bee_bop]

Re: Incredimail?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: CEW</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Littleman</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
<span style="color: #660000">Incredimail is that web-based e-mail service that offers e-mails with graphical effects such as 3-d effects, and animations, etc. It is possible that some of these graphical effects could have embedded malware code in them, which could spread through a computer's hard-drive as you used it.</span></div></div>
Web-based? I seem to recall it is application driven (an email client) and configured for the users' POP/SMTP servers. Plus according to the developers, it doesn't contain either adware or malware. I stopped using it years ago because it was, and still is, very resource intensive.
</div></div>

Littleman says:
<span style="color: #660000">CEW I know you are the head honcho here, or moderator, or something to that effect, so I don't want to bust your bubble, but...
I don't see what point you're trying to make other than asserting the above statements...

Web-based, web-portal, or stand-alone software, is not a big difference, since the web-portal is merely a front-end to the e-mail server, as in the case of Hotmail, or Lycos. The portal acts in place of a stand-alone e-mail client.
What I know application to mean from the Internet perspective, is one of the many protocols that support the Internet, such as Simple Mail Transport Protocol (SMTP), Post Office Protocol (POP), Internet Protocol (IP), or Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), to name a few. Sometimes we use terms loosely, or meanings vary among different groups of people, so no harm done.
<span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'">I have written a stand-alone e-mail client myself, which is no big deal with Java's JavaMail API, that makes writing an e-mail client very, very easy. Using telnet to read, and write e-mails, is also an e-mail client in principle, except that there are no graphics.</span></span>

It's also possible to put a virus, as an attachment into a picture file, although I didn't suggest that Incredimail had this problem...&quot;<span style="font-weight: bold">Chances are nothing is wrong with the Incredimail service itself</span>,...&quot; I also suggested that the Incredimail author(s) is the best person(s) to direct questions to, &quot;...<span style="font-weight: bold">a case of mis-use, which can be reported to the web administer</span>....&quot;
</span>

[Diplomat]

Re: Incredimail?

You're reading way too much into my initial question, and who I am on the site has no bearing on the issue. To the average user, saying web-based is a different kettle of fish than saying using an email client. With a background in computer programming, I'm only too aware that techies always seem to think everybody understand the language. The point I was making was that as an email client interfacing the mail servers, Incredimail cannot be a rouge application unless the developers added spyware/adware/malware to the code, so the initial complaint about viruses being caused by using it doesn't stand up.

[bee_bop]

Re: Incredimail?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: CEW</div><div class="ubbcode-body">You're reading way too much into my initial question, and who I am on the site has no bearing on the issue. To the average user, saying web-based is a different kettle of fish than saying using an email client. With a background in computer programming, I'm only too aware that techies always seem to think everybody understand the language. The point I was making was that as an email client interfacing the mail servers, Incredimail cannot be a rouge application unless the developers added spyware/adware/malware to the code, so the initial complaint about viruses being caused by using it doesn't stand up. </div></div>

Littleman says:
<span style="color: #660000">Just to add a little tid-bit, unless e-mail is <span style="font-style: italic">encrypted</span> anything is possible, and <span style="font-weight: bold">anti-virus/anti-spyware utilities are a good set of tools to keep handy</span>.

Consider that e-mails don't go directly from client to server, but rather from <span style="font-weight: bold">MTU</span> to <span style="font-weight: bold">MTU</span>, before finally reaching the <span style="font-weight: bold">destination server</span>, waiting there for the target client to retrieve. Also dynamic graphics are good places to hide malware, so a little caution is a good habit.</span>

[bee_bop]

Re: Incredimail?

<span style="color: #660000">Correction: e-mail goes from <span style="font-weight: bold">MTA</span> to <span style="font-weight: bold">MTA</span>, then to the final <span style="font-weight: bold">destination server</span>.</span>