Courier has several features designed to make the program less vulnerable to Internet worms and virus infected files that are frequently spread via email.

Configurable Security Settings

You can customize the security settings used by Courier.

HTML email can contain scripts and other dangerous code which can cause damage to your computer's data and infect the computers of people you send email to. The safest way to view email is in plain text mode.

If you set Courier to use Plain Text as the default viewing mode, HTML messages will open in Plain Text mode. HTML messages that contain no Plain Text version will have a "tag stripped" plain text version created and displayed. You can always toggle to HTML viewing mode in the Preview Pane or in an individual message by clicking on the HTML tool bar button or using the Ctrl+W hotkey combination.

Additional HTML Security Settings

You can also modify the way Courier handles HTML display by disabling a variety of HTML options. For security purposes Courier defaults to turning off the execution and downloading of any scripts, Active X components and linked graphics files. You can adjust these settings in the HTML Security Settings Panel.

Encrypted Address Book

The Courier Address Book is encrypted. This means that Internet worms cannot access your address book in order to send itself to all of your contacts.

Monitor Attached File Types

Courier maintains a list of file types that are commonly used to spread worms and other infected files. If you try to open one of these types of attachments, Courier will prompt you as a security measure to prevent the inadvertent opening of a dangerous file.