Thunderbird 2.0 & Avast:  Can I auto-delete invected emails?

system · 2007-06-14T04:36:22.000Z

Hello to all!!

I just found Avast and I’m really impressed. I use Thunderbird 2.0 and Avast seems to be catching all of the infected emails that get through our other defenses. I would like to set AVast up so that it will simply delete the infected emails instead of sounding the siren and pause the download while waiting for an me to give it permission to delete the infected email. How can I do this?

Thanks & have a great day,
PJ

DavidR · 2007-06-14T12:53:01.000Z

You don’t say what version of avast you are using. These automated options are only available in the Pro version. This is a limitation of the Home (free) version that it has interactive input requirement, there have to be differences in the Home/Pro version and this is one of them, the programmers have to eat ;D

You only have a limited option in the Home (free) version, to send the infected file to the virus Chest (silent mode, with general answer no, see below). Effectively an infected email sent to the chest is history as there is ‘no’ way to restore it as avast can’t insert it into a folder.

My own feeling on this is you should use the default interactive action. This way you know exactly what is going on with your system. If you are getting so many warnings, that you want to automate this process, I believe you should review your security practice - filter emails at source, delete from server rather than download them, review the sites they visit, etc.

See the avast help file, Resident Protection: Internet Maild Provider Settings - “Advanced” Page.
Click on Internet Mail and then on Customize.
Go to Advanced tab and select Silent Mode and the General answer No.

Leave the file in the chest for a few weeks (it can do no harm from there) to ensure no adverse effect from being moved to the chest (shouldn’t be as it is an email). Then delete it from the chest, although emails could theoretically they wouldn’t have an adverse effect and since you can’t restore it you could just periodically delete them.

system · 2007-06-14T21:21:08.000Z

Sorry – yes, it’s the Home (free) version. Eating - a nasty habit, don’t you think? ;D Actually, Avast has only been on my PC for 3 days now, so basically, I’m still evaluating. So far, I like!!

My problem isn’t that I’m getting a lot of infected emails, but rather that I get everything sent to my domain. My email host isn’t filtering anything so if the interactive question pops up at 9 AM and I can’t respond to it until I get home from work around 5 PM, several thousand spam messages could pile up. I am working on setting up my own email server, but that’s in the evaluation stage too. Perhaps I’ll get that finished in a few weeks, but meanwhile…

I’ll try your suggestion and see how it goes. I’m sure that if I really like Avast I’ll spring for the Pro version. After all – years ago I purchased a license for Mozilla’s original Netscape Version 0.9 because I liked it better than MSIE back then (and still is!!!) ;).

Thanks again for your reply!!

Have a great day,
PJ

Lisandro · 2007-06-14T21:41:43.000Z

Welcome PossumJohn.
Feel free to come back any time you need help or share experiences.
Oh, about the Pro version, you won’t regret

DavidR · 2007-06-14T22:04:51.000Z

No problem, glad I could help, let us know how you get on.
You could always download the avast pro trial version which should give you 60 days unrestricted use, so you would be able to trial the automated options.

Welcome to the forums.

system · 2007-06-15T02:45:23.000Z

Thanks to all for the warm welcome to the forums. And thanks for not pointing out me fat-fingering of the word “infected” :-[ I’ve got a VERY hectic schedule for the next couple of weeks. I think I’ll download the Pro trial when things ease up a bit and I have more time to “play”.

Just as an aside – I was a firm supporter of McAfee and have used it almost exclusively for over 10 years. But, I kept having problems with my Thunderbird email downloading where it would “freeze” up and stop the download after only 100-150 messages (mostly spam – gotta get that email server finished ::)). That would leave several thousand emails for me to sort through using Pine and no filters. I just knew that McAfee was the culprit. When my subscription expired over the weekend I went on an AV software hunt. I’m a firm believer in and supporter of Shareware and Try-Before-You-Buy so when I found Avast I knew that I had to give it a shot. As I said, I’m impressed so my next step is to put the Pro Trial through the hoops. And, getting the warm welcome to forums is wonderful too.

I’ll try not to be a stranger.

Have a great evening,
PJ

Lisandro · 2007-06-15T13:17:47.000Z

PossumJohn post:6:

I think I’ll download the Pro trial when things ease up a bit and I have more time to “play”.
As I said, I’m impressed so my next step is to put the Pro Trial through the hoops. And, getting the warm welcome to forums is wonderful too.

The version you download is the Trial for 60 days. You’ll convert it to Home (free) if you register or to the Professional if you add its registration key.
avast is not perfect, and it could have issues with Thunderbird (you can search the forums). Although, I believe more in avast support than any other…

Announcements