More Secure Way To Get Email

[sp0om]

I've been using Mozilla Thunderbird, and I've been happy using it until this morning. I ran a quick system virus scan and I found not one, but four trojans on my computer. This may not seem too terrible, but I reformatted my hard drive last monday. So, I'm trying to find out the most secure way to access my email and I think the best way to do it would be to just use web mail. Are there any options? The webmail interface is aweful, but it is more secure...

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[XOR != OR]

I've been using Mozilla Thunderbird, and I've been happy using it until this morning. I ran a quick system virus scan and I found not one, but four trojans on my computer. This may not seem too terrible, but I reformatted my hard drive last monday. So, I'm trying to find out the most secure way to access my email and I think the best way to do it would be to just use web mail. Are there any options? The webmail interface is aweful, but it is more secure...

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

There is no guarantee it's more secure. My advice is figure out how you got those trojans and stop doing that. Then, either web or thunderbird will work for you.

 

[postgrep]

Try and use SSL if possible, does your mail server allow an MD5 digest for the password?

 

[BobSutan]

There is no guarantee it's more secure. My advice is figure out how you got those trojans and stop doing that. Then, either web or thunderbird will work for you.

Ditto. Regardless of how you got the infected files, stop running *infected* files. I could see if you're being hit by stuff being executed in a preview pane that getting email through a web interface may help, but that's usually not the case these days. Most virii come in the form of a file that the user runs, not knowing that its a malicious file.

For starters, you should always use an SSL based web client. MD5/SHA hashing is good too. But no amount of file/email transport protection will prevent a virus from doing its thing if users don't virus scan attachments first.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

I'm not sure if Mozilla, or any e-mail client, would necessary be the blame if you had "trojans". Mozilla is more secure than say...other common e-mail clients such as Outlook or Outlook Express...in that it won't allow some auto-execution of certain types of exploits like un-patched Outlook/Outlook Express would.

However...if running a scan found some trojans, I'd first look at beefing up your antivirus...to one that provides better http and e-mail port protection.

The trojans you found....we don't know how they got into your system, either through data transfer from your old install, or through web browsing, possibly yes through your e-mail, or...we don't know if you have a firewall on your system, or if you're behind a NAT router (hopefully). Computers plugged directly into their broadband modems are subject to infections rather quickly.

Advice for safer e-mail...have a quality web host serve your e-mail. The better quality ones will scan all of their clients e-mail on the mail servers before it reaches your POP inbox....scan for viruses, and filter out spam. The cheaper ones don't. As always...you get what you pay for.