This is probably a really stupid question given all the things I should know about viruses, etc. by now. But, can you get a virus simply by OPENING an email, or do you have to actually download something or hit a link that's embedded in it? Thanks.

It's not a stupid question at all. I believe yes you can get a virus just by previewing a message or opening it. There's some hidden script in there that can be activated once you open a message. They do suggest not using the preview pane in OE for that reason.

It is possible for a computer to be infected simply by clicking on an email, or even, as the person who posted above me observed, by using "preview". That's why I continue to use the older version of Yahoo web mail, because the newer version automatically opens the email in preview--you don't have a choice.

You may get a lot of those emails that people forward around all the time--like the ones that have jokes or funny pictures in em, right? The email will like have a million names that it's been forwarded to and you have to scroll WAYYYY down the page just to get to the joke or picture, or whatever.

In particular, those are the types of emails that you should not open. If you have friends or family members who are always passing those around, tell them to stop. These emails get forwarded from one place to another, to another, to another, picking up viruses all along the way. You think it's ok because it was a friend who sent it to you, so you look at it. Big mistake.

By the time an email makes the rounds a few times, it's BOUND to have something in it. As well, a lot of antivirus programs do not automatically scan your web mail unless you tell them to.

So that's not a stupid question at all, lol! I hope this helps. yours in Chaos, Scarlett