Windows Live OneCare Can Eat Your Email

FutureDomain writes in to point us to a blog sponsored by PC Magazine, reporting about another problem with Windows Live OneCare. Apparently, it sometimes deletes the entire Outlook or Outlook Express .PST mailbox when it finds a virus in one of the messages. The only solution is to tell OneCare to exclude the entire Outlook mailbox. This is the software that came in last in antivirus tests. The trail of tears is ongoing over on the Microsoft forums.

Re:trail of tears?

[OiToTheWorld]

No, because losing your mail is TOTALLY similar to the forced relocation of the Cherokee people you insensitive clod!

Re:trail of tears?

[ColaMan]

There's 119 posts on that thread. It's a trail of something, most likely pissed-off users.
I smell an opportunity..... Quick! Someone post some linux evangelism there!

Linux users! Let's show some solidarity

[adnonsense]

Don't just sit there feeling smug! Every now and again, when you have a free moment, delete your mbox file, or the directory where the mail client of your preference stores its data. That'll go a long way towards helping Windows users to stop seeing us as arrogant and aloof and let them know we share their pain.

(And if you're really feeling altruistic, knock up a shell script which turns your machine into a spam-spewing zombie).

It's The Lt. Ripley Virus Scanner

[Anonymous Coward]

Nuke the mailbox from orbit, it's the only way to be sure.

Re:trail of tears?

[Anonymous Coward]

Fine. It's really more of a holocaust going on over at the Microsoft forums.

Boda Bing...

[coastin]

Ahh, nice a inbox ya got dere, it'd be a shame if somethin was to happen to it!

Re:trail of tears?

[kennygraham]

Do you honestly think that losing your email is anywhere near on par with being forcably relocated from the land your ancestors had lived on for centuries to be moved to Oklahoma?

Yes. Now I'll have to pay full price for viagra. I consider the two to be on par.

OneCare?

[ozbird]

OneCare - from the same onomatopoeic geniuses that thought up the "Wang Cares" campaign?

Re:Running theme with Microsoft's "security"?

[FSWKU]

"You are moving your mouse cursor. Cancel or allow?"

While still incredibly annoying, at least it's a SLIGHT step up from what we used to have. "Your mouse cursor has moved. Windows must be restarted for the change to take effect."

Re:Linux users! Let's show some solidarity

[c]

> when you have a free moment, delete your mbox file
> ...
> knock up a shell script which turns your machine into a spam-spewing zombie

See, that's the problem with Linux. You have to do all that extra work to get functionality which just plain works under Windows.

c.

Re:trail of tears?

[Anonymous Coward]

Say what you want about MS, I don't think they have started to tread near the "genocide" area yet.

I see you haven't tried to upgrade to Vista yet.

not a problem

[AlgorithMan]

not a problem
OneCare doesn't ever find virusses anyways - so this is just a theoretical danger ;-)
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,129521-c,antivir us/article.html [pcworld.com]

OneCare has detected malware!

[BadEvilYoda]

Delete entire inbox, Cancel or Allow?

~Cancel~

Delete entire inbox, Cancel or Allow?

~Cancel!~

Delete entire inbox, Cancel or Allow?

~Cancel!~

~Cancel Failed, deleting inbox~