The Safety of Plain Text; Yes, Even in Windows Mail and Outlook Express.
While this is not as rich a display as the messages formatted using HTML, plain text email radically erases many of the security problems that plague email users. Worms, viruses and privacy-invasion by images that automatically download get no chance to do their harm if you just open and look at a plain text email.
If want to thoroughly eradicate all problems that formatted emails bring, you can configure Windows Mail or Outlook Express to display all messages in plain text only by default.
Read All Mail in Plain Text in Windows Mail or Outlook Express
To see all mail in safe plain text by default in Windows Mail or Outlook Express:
- Select Tools | Options… from the menu.
- Go to the Read tab.
- Make sure Read all messages in plain text is checked.
- Click OK.
You can change the default font size for these plain text messages to read mail in larger or smaller print.
Read an Email with Full Formatting Still
If you ever come across an email or newsletter that is unreadable in plain text and would certainly gain from being displayed using its formatting, you can view any email in HTML easily.
(Updated April 2012)
