Turn the Preview Pane Off In Your Email Program

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In Outlook and Outlook Express, there is a feature known as the "Preview Pane". This is an area of the screen where you can see the contents of an email as soon as you highlight the email by simply clicking once on it, and it is your worst enemy.

The Preview Pane option actually opens the email you click on immeidately, running whatever nasty scripts are contained within it!  This is an open invitation to viruses that say "come on in and trash my system".

This is VERY dangerous because many of today's email viruses will run when the email is opened without you double-clicking on an attachment or anything... it just runs when the email is opened! It's kind of like opening an envelope from your mailbox only to find that there is some mysterious white powder in it. Once it has been opened, the damage is done.

Worse yet, remember that just because an email comes from someone you know, it doesn't mean it is virus-free!  Most viruses send themselves to everybody you know.

If a virus infects your system it will typically send itself to everyone in your address book, which means that all of your friends get an email from you that contains the virus, and you never even know that the emails were sent on your behalf.

We cannot stress enough, the fact that many viruses can execute just by opening an email. You don't have to double-click on attachments to get infected by the new breed of email viruses/spywares.  When in doubt, don't even open, just delete. 

How did things get this way?  Human nature, actually. Because we want to send emails that "look nice" and have nice fonts and colors and maybe some pictures, Microsoft had to allow extraordinary things in emails. When the internet first came to be, you could only send plain text in an email.  No font options, or colors.

Unfortunately, the way Microsoft set things up, no only can you put pictures and nice fonts in your emails, but you can also put executable scripts (programs) in your emails and they will run when the recipient opens the email.

Some people saw this as an opportunity to send nasty, "unexpected" things (viruses) to other people and maybe get their "virus" mentioned on the news. Nowadays, it's
more about organized crime trying to steal money anywhere and anyhow they can.  Viruses and spywares are "quieter" now... secretly installing themselves on your system and sending your account and password information quietly back to the "home office" to be exploited when you least expect it.

So make sure that you have the best Antivirus and AntiSpyware softwares installed and active on your system(s).  And always keep them up to date.

That's where turning off the preview pane comes in.
If the preview pane is on, every email you highlight is actually opened so that it can be displayed in the preview pane... which means that all scripts in the email are also run, potentially to your shagrin.

Turn off your Preview Pane now!

Never, never, never turn on your email program's"Preview Pane".  If you can see the contents of emails the instant you single-click on them, then your Preview Pane option is turned on.

While this may be convenient, it is the same as opening the email (which can, in turn, run any embedded viruses in your emails).

By turning the preview option off, you gain the advantage of then having a chance to decide if you want to delete emails with suspicous subjects or senders' addresses without ever opening them.  Plus, you can tell if an email has an attachment if there is a paperclip icon next to it. More cause for suspicion.

The only inconvenience in turning off the preview option (if you can call it that) is that
you have to double-click on emails in your inbox to actually open/view them.  

Here we are going to show you how to disable the Preview Pane in Outlook and Outlook Express.

If you use something other than Outlook or Outlook Express for your email, and would like instructions on disabling the preview pane, click on Help in your email program
and search for the word "Preview".  If you do not find the information there, email the
maker (Eudora, Netscape, TheBat, etc) for help in turning off your preview option.

Disabling Preview Pane in Outlook Express

Of the two Outlook versions, "Express" is the easiest in which to disable the Preview Pane.

1. Make sure your "Folder List" is visible on  the left hand side of the Outlook window.
  If it is not, click on the "View" menu and  then click on the "Layout..." option.  In the window that appears, put a checkmark  next to "Folder List" and then click on  "Apply" and "OK".

2. If you can now see your folder list (which  includes your "Deleted Items", "Drafts",  "Outbox", "Inbox" and any folders you have  created under the "Inbox") you are ready
  for the next step.

3. Click on the "Inbox" folder in  the Folder List. If the Preview Pane (usually  in the lower right quadrant of your screen)  is visible, then click on the "View" menu  option and then on the "Layout..." menu item.  In the window that appears, REMOVE the  checkmark next to the "Show Preview Pane"  option.  Then, click on "Apply" and "OK".

Now that your preview pane is disabled, this means that you will now need to double-click on an email to have it open up in its own window.

This is a very good thing, however, because it gives you the chance to decide  whether you want to open the mail in the first place.  

If any email is suspect (or just plain junk mail), all you have to do to delete it without ever opeinng it, is click once on the email to highlight it, then hit your "Del" key to delete it.

Don't forget to empty your "Deleted Items" folder once in a while!

Disabling Preview Pane in Outlook

1. If you do not see your folder list along the  left hand side of your Outlook window, click  the "View" menu item and then the "Folder List"  option. This is a toggle setting, which means  that each time you do this you turn the folder  list on or off.

2. If you can now see your folder list (which  includes your "Deleted Items", "Drafts", "Inbox"  and any folders you have created under the  "Inbox") you are ready for the next step.

3. Click on the "Deleted Items" folder in  the Folder List. If the Preview Pane (usually
  in the lower right quadrant of your screen)  is visible, then click on the "View" menu
  option and then on the "Preview Pane" menu item.  This also is a toggle setting. Clicking this repeatedly  will turn the Preview Pane on and off.

4. Repeat step 3 for each folder in your Folder List.  Do NOT do step 3 on the "Journal", "Note",  "Outbox", and "Tasks" folders. Do all others  below "Inbox", however.  For each folder where a preview pane shows up,  use the "View/Preview Pane" menu option to turn  the Preview Pane off for those folders.

Now that the Preview Pane is OFF:

Now that your preview pane is disabled, this means that you will now need to double-click on an email to have it open up in its own window.

This is a good thing because it gives you the chance to decide whether you want to open the mail in the first place.  

If any email is suspect (or just plain junk mail), all you have to do to delete it without ever opeinng it, is click once on the email to highlight it, then hit your "Del" key to
delete it.

Empty The Trash:

Don't forget to empty your "Deleted Items" folder once in a while!  Infected emails can also be hiding in your "Deleted Items" folder.

Summary:

While it is essential that you get the best Antivirus and AntiSpyware softwares installed on your system(s), you can further protect yourself from malicious emails by leaving your email program's preview pane turned off.  If you leave your preview pane on, then your email program opens each email (and runs whatever nasty payloads might be contained in them) in order to show you the contents of the emails in the preview pane area.  With the preview pane turned off, you can easily select and delete undesirable emails from your inbox without having to open them.