> i don't understand how just opening mail can download a virus
> to my computer.
In theory, it shouldn't be able to. But HTML and Java are basically limited
programming languages, so opening your email is allowing an unknown program
to run on your computer. They aren't supposed to allow anything that could
install a virus; but there are always bugs. And there are an amazing number
of very bright people out there with apparently nothing better to do than
find those bugs and a way to exploit them.
Another problem is that HTML (& Java) can pull in graphics from other
sources (often just a single pixel that goes unnoticed). That lets a
spammer know that there is a human reading your email address; which makes
the address more valuable to other spammers.
Then there is the accident factor. Some folks (me for example) are so
clumsy that sometimes we click where we didn't mean to.
-- Randall
** triumphs@autox.team.net **
Archive: http://www.team.net/archive
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