Safer E-mail Reading Without The Preview Pane

The very first thing to do when you are using an e-mail client is to disable the Preview Pane (Message Pane for Thunderbird users). Many users use the Preview Pane because it provides a quick way of reading your mail without cluttering your desktop with a bunch of windows. But you sacrifice security for luxury when you use the Preview Pane.

The Preview Pane treats e-mails exactly the same way as if you opened them. This means that dangerous scripts can be executed the moment you click on a message. To disable the preview pane in Outlook Express follow these steps.

• Click on the "View" menu and then click on "Layout"
• Look for the Preview Pane section and un-tick "Show preview pane".

For Mozilla Thunderbird users, simply press F8 on your keyboard to disable the Message Pane. This shows again that Thunderbird is the way to go.