Delete mail messages that contain auto executing viruses

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If, as I do, you use the Notes mail client at home, viruses like W32.Magistr.39921@mm and W32.Badtrans.B@mm can be a real problem. If they get into your mail file, you can't delete the email message that contains them. If they slip past the server anti virus software at work, you have the same problem. Unfortunately there is nothing you can do in the Notes client that prevents them from executing - this is a real weakness in the present implementation of the ECL.

If you mark the infected message for deletion, when you press F9 to delete it, the virus executes. Fortunately, software like the Norton Anti Virus will catch it, and prevent it from damaging your PC. (These days I am paranoid about keeping my anti virus software up to date.) The real problem is that you can't delete the infected mail message through the Notes client front end.

One solution is writing some code to delete the infected message via the Notes back-end. But that is a lot of work, even if you are a good Notes developer. Not wanting to waste so much

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time, I discovered a much easier way to delete the infected mail via the back end, and that is via the web browser. This technique works for both local and server mailboxes, and also for the standard R5 mail template, and the iNotes mail template.

Code

1) Ensure that you have the ACL rights to delete a message from the web browser. For a local client you can turn replication off, give "Anonymous" manager rights with delete. (Remember to reset the ACL rights when you are done!). If you get prompted to log into your local client, your ACL rights are not correctly set for this procedure.

2) Open the In-box in the web browser. Click on any message in the inbox, and then use Actions... Preview in web browser...

3) Delete the infected mail message.

4) Empty the trash (this is the step that actually removes the infected message from the mail file.)

5) Close the browser, and you are done.

That's all there is to it. I hope this saves you from wasting the time I spent solving the problem.

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