I am very much an Avast newbie & just need to clarify what I’m reading about Avast & Mozilla Thunderbird. FYI-I was using AVG & was happy until their new version which started causing slowdowns/freezing with internet & other processes. A tech minded friend suggested Avast since I am not tech minded.
I’m using:
Avast 4.8 home (free edition)
Mozilla Thunderbird 2.0.0.16 (pop secure access of gmail accounts & 1 yahoo account)
So what I understand is that Avast cannot currently scan POP mail that is SSL or TSL encrypted. In order to be able to do this I would need to use a third program (Stunnel) to filter the mail through. And there are several posts as to how to configure the programs.
Questions:
Is email scanning really that necessary when obtaining Gmail & Yahoo mail using Thunderbird? I mean, doesn’t Google & Yahoo scan incoming mail for viruses already, so what I do on my end is a second level of defense? Or am I delusional on that front?
If I switch my POP access for the accounts in Thunderbird to unsecured, will Avast then be able to scan the mail? I have the secure access because that’s what the set-up faqs for each told me to do but I don’t really understand what the difference is.
Basically, I find the posts I’ve found on Avast, TB & Stunnel to be confusing as some mention a fourth program I would need & others don’t. So if I can get away without those & still be protected I’m all for it. I’m also confused because the help menu for Avast mentions a menu item called “Mail Protection Wizard” but I don’t have that in my menu.
Thank you very much for any assistance or directions to it.