Why Mail?

There are no "Mac viruses" so that is not a concern either.

Malicious software exists in many forms. Software can always be broken. Do not assume that exploits cannot be exploited.

Clearly you have a routine that works, why change it, no method is intrinsically better than another so use whatever works for you.

Just because something works doesn't mean it doesn't require change. I'm not saying that what he is doing is wrong. But I am saying that processes can always be improved to better fit the individual beyond just habit.

Like I said, "whatever works for you"

babowa wrote:

I have just one email that I use for everything: gmail. I never get spam.

Than you've been extraordinarily lucky especially considering Google's terms and policies which give them the right to pretty much collect every bit of info from you

Agreed. I am this close to getting rid of Gmail and the rest of G---gle 😠

there actually are two or three mac viruses

That's actually not true. There are absolutely no Mac viruses. There is Mac malware out there, though quite a bit more than two or three. See my Mac Malware Guide for a complete list.

As to Mail and malware, provided you don't open any suspicious attachments, you're fine. Opening a message in Mail will not result in any kind of infection.

f16smoke wrote:

there actually are two or three mac viruses

Correct, though the exact number is two, not three.

http://support.apple.com/kb/TA40822

If you are using OS 8 or earlier then this is also a concern. Apple recommends this anti-virus program for this virus. No other anti-virus program known will detect it.

Just for the sake of clarity, and to avoid possible confusion, note that John is talking tongue-in-cheek here. The things he is referring to pre-date Mac OS X and cannot affect any computer that has been sold in quite a long time. That may not be immediately evident from reading those Apple support documents.

🙂

😉

http://support.apple.com/kb/TA40822

If you are using OS 8 or earlier then this is also a concern. Apple recommends this anti-virus program for this virus. No other anti-virus program known will detect it.

😁

Although I started out with OS 7,5, I'd never even heard of that - how long did you have to dig to get to that....... 😝

As for Google/GMail - I was horrified when I read through the privacy policy - logging your phone conversations/data???? It appears nothing is sacred any longer when it comes to their corporate bottom line - which, apparently, consists of three words: money, money, money.

Although I started out with OS 7,5, I'd never even heard of that - how long did you have to dig to get to that.......

Oh, I don't think it probably took any digging. WDEF and nVIR were pretty common back in the day. I even saw a copy of WDEF back in '92 or '93 when I worked in a campus computer lab. Funny thing about that virus... if you rebuilt the desktop (hold down the option key while mounting the disk), which was done fairly commonly to disks back then, it nuked the virus. Many people probably accidentally cured infections they never knew they had! 😁

i'm just asking if there are features in Mail i can't find or figure out that makes it work better for me than just going online and checking my email accounts without going through Mail. so far, i'm not really hearing any reason to believe that Mail gives me more capabilities or anything that would make it seem to be an improvement. just me, but i'm not hearing that it's any real improvement

Features in Mail...

(1) Mail integrates tightly into the Mac and you can easily email a file, webpage, picture, and probably a video easily from other Apple programs in Mountain Lion with just a few clicks.

(2) Due to integration, Mail pulls contacts from the Contacts app. This makes it easy to keep track of contacts because they exist only in one location: the Contacts app.

(3) Due to integration, you can compose messages using system fonts such as Helvetica and use more advanced text formatting than available in webmail.

(4) Due to integration, Apple mousepad gestures such as Zoom & Dictionary lookup will work. Although using Safari to view webmail will provide these benefits.

(5) Emails can be saved in PDF format. Although, using Safari will also provide this benefit.

(6) There is some fun stationery you can use when composing a message if you like greeting card stuff. (I just found this one.)

babowa wrote:

... how long did you have to dig to get to that....... 😝

Not long at all; I remember those nasties quite well. To date they remain the only true Macintosh viruses to have ever existed.

🙂

I even have a Disinfectant floppy around here (somewhere)...

Google... such a disappointment, for a company formed under the slogan "don't be evil". They have become its very embodiment.

No, I don't remember any of that because that was my very first computer and learning how to use one - I didn't even learn the file hierarchy, how to dig into folders, etc. until after OS 8 came out, which was also about the time I learned not to do business with AOL, LOL.

Google... such a disappointment, for a company formed under the slogan "don't be evil". They have become its very embodiment.

Maybe they took lessons from Mr. Zuckerman..... 😀