Outlook Express

Outlook Express ( OE abbr, in the Microsoft Support Knowledge Base also OLEXP ) is an e- mail client and news reader from Microsoft that came with the Windows operating system until the release of Windows Vista and is therefore also used by many users. Despite the name similarity is related to the Internet Explorer program independent from Groupware Outlook program. Replaced it was with the release of Windows Vista by Windows Mail. In Windows 7, Windows Mail is no longer included. Instead, Microsoft provides the successor to Windows Live Mail as part of Windows Live Essentials available for download.

Functions

The functionality of Outlook Express is designed for typical residential use. It has no groupware and unified messaging capabilities, it has, unlike Outlook news features. It supports the following protocols: SMTP, POP3, IMAP4, and NNTP, and HTTP Mail ( one -based WebDAV / HTTP version to access the free e-mail accounts from Lycos and Hotmail).

History

Outlook Express was released in October 1997 in version 4 along with the Internet Explorer 4 for Windows - ie at a time in which the browser war raged fiercely. Outlook Express went out of Microsoft Internet Mail and News program produced (hence, the program file of Outlook Express itself nor msimn.exe the name in version 6.0). Included were both Outlook Express and Internet Explorer in Windows 98

In March 1999, along with the Internet Explorer 5 was also a version 5 of Outlook Express published, in addition to a changed file format (. Dbx instead. Mbx. Idx and. Nch ) a few feature enhancements, but also many in the subsequent years not or very late fixed bugs brought. This version was also shipped with Windows 98 Second Edition.

July 2000 appeared the IE/OE-5.5-Linie ( included in Windows Millennium Edition). This line is still the last one that can be installed on Windows 95.

Outlook Express 6 was released along with the Internet Explorer 6 simultaneously with Windows XP in August / September 2001 without fundamental points would have changed in functionality and problems.

The OE 5.5 and OE 6 lines have now been updated with the appropriate service pack for Internet Explorer and / or Windows 2000 and Windows XP. A slightly improved version of Outlook Express was particularly yet published 6 together with the Service Pack 2 for Windows XP, mainly some new safety features brought (such as the ability to download images in HTML e -mails to block ).

Up to version 9 Mac OS, there was also a free version of Outlook Express for the Macintosh, which, however, with the Windows version to the name otherwise has very little in common, since this variant as much better to e- mail and holds Usenet standards.

Security

Outlook Express is always a target for computer worms, since the hacker on the one hand by the diffusion rate provides a relatively large attack surface and Outlook Express has many insecure default settings, especially in earlier versions. These allow the exploitation of security flaws which go back largely to the use of Internet Explorer to display messages.

Since IE / OE 5.5 SP2 (2001), the default settings have been set more restrictive. Thus, the " Restricted sites zone " is used to display messages since then, which is by default stop running Active Scripting and ActiveX. With IE / OE 6 SP1 ( 2002) gave a further recommended option catchment, is what HTML messages as plain text messages, and thus each active ingredient is in derogation in the display of a message ( " Tools - Options - Read - All messages as read plain text "). However, in this case the displayed message will continue to resort to Internet Explorer to display. In the representation of links, umlauts and special characters it can depending on the used coding (eg, deviation from "UTF- 8") give problems without specifying a MIME alternate text in the email is an "empty" message without text. With the release of Service Pack 2 for Windows XP ( August 2004) Outlook Express no longer used with activated " all messages read as plain text " option to Internet Explorer, but relies on the Rich Text Control to display these messages. However did not change the display issues in this mode. At the same time more security features have been introduced, which prevent from loading images in HTML messages in the HTML view for example.

Outlook Express as a newsreader

Many OE users are new to the Usenet and often do not know in general terms and standards. Outlook Express helps users. So the user in OE must first via "Tools | Text Only Settings Options | Send | | News ," select " MIME, text encoding: no " selected to allow 8 -bit characters such as umlauts in the reader as such can be seen. In addition, OE tends et al to produce Kammquoting when replying to postings, even if the SP2 for Windows XP " format = flowed " introduction held. Create Reasonably comfortable remedy, however, third party programs such as "OE QuoteFix ", " Morver " or the "OE Power Tools ".

For these errors results in the jocular on Usenet called " Oh dear " for Outlook Express ( the exclamation, oh dear ' is typically used with a lighter mishap ). On the positive side the Unicode capabilities and dealing with character sets are in Outlook Express ( such as MIME was activated manually).