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DADDY BOB'S COMPUTER Q & A
November 10,
2005 |
Q.
Why are some of the pictures in my email shown only
by a little X in the corner?
A.
When Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP-2) has been
installed, Outlook Express, the most common email
program is set this way by default. Since many of
these emails are in HTML format, that is the format
of most web pages, the pictures that are included
may not actually be in the email.
The pictures can be located on a server anywhere in the
world. When your email tries to display the picture,
a request for it is sent to the server where the
picture is stored. In order for the server to know
where to send back the requested picture, your
address is sent with the request. All this is fine,
and the picture will be displayed. BUT….
If the server where the picture is located is a “bad”
server, it can use your address for purposes other
than just sending you the picture. It can put it on
a spam list as a verified active address, opening
you up for more unwanted spam. Other devious tricks
can also be done without your knowledge. Microsoft
therefore, tries to prevent this from happening by
turning off the picture display by default.
You can click on the bar that appears just above the
message to allow the pictures to be displayed on a
case by case basis. If the email contains something
that you want to see, just click this bar, and all
the pictures in the email will display. Here’s how
to change this setting or to set it if not already
done.
Open Outlook Express and in the menu at the top of the
window click on Tools, then on Options. Click the
Security tab, and the dialog below will be
displayed.
Click the box as shown, and then click OK.
