You can use any program you like, as long as you disable its option to scan mail folders. As long as the real-time monitor is active, your AV program will be in place when you open attachments (whether it will detect anything is a separate issue).

http://kb.mozillazine.org/Antivirus_software

"All antivirus programs with real-time protection (including Norton) can however be safely used by turning off email scanning since this prevents folder corruption and deletion while still providing just as much protection."

I am not sure I understand how I am protected if I have email scanning turned off. Specifically, I am using AVG for anti-virus but any time I send or receive an email I get a warning from that application saying "Email Scanner is unable to scan messages because the connection is encrypted." This does not sound to me as though the application is "still providing just as much protection". AVG's proposed solution is to send and receive all messages through their server instead of directly to my ISP. I don't care for that idea. Do you have a different way of getting full value from AVG with Thunderbird, or is there another anti-virus application I could better use with Thunderbird?

I have used Norton Internet Security for years and have not experienced any issues.

However, the problem arises if Norton discovered an email with a virus.

Emails are not stored in individual files, they are stored in a single file (one for each folder) and listed one after the other in the order they were downloaded. So, instead of quarantining just an email, you end up with the whole file quarantined. If you have set Norton to delete those files then you will loose everything in that file and will depend upon a backup to restore the file. This is the same problem with many Anti-virus programs, they do not know how to differentiate between the emails in a single file. Hence why it is advised to not scan.

I create regular backups, leave mail on server for 30 days to cover those not backed up and whilst I have Norton scanning, I have changed settings to ask me what to do. Then I can tell it not to delete a quarantined file. This allows me time to sort it out.

Importantly. if you keep your Inbox folder low in email numbers, then you lower the risk of losing loads of emails. Keep the Inbox for new incoming mail and not s a general store.

By disallowing AVG from scanning incoming or outgoing mail, you are avoiding the potential problems mentioned in the previous post. Plus, AVG's 'complaint' that the 'connection is encrypted' is not very useful if your service provider requires a secure connection to perform any email operations.

You can still employ AVG's scanning capability by saving attachments to an external folder, and then scanning them manually - usually available from the right-click menu. If for some reason you don't scan manually, the AVG real-time monitor should still be running when an attachment is opened, just as it is when any file is opened.

Hi there

I too have just installed AVG virus software and when I open up thunderbird a pop up appeared saying email scanner unable to scan message because connection is encrypted. I called AVG and they said its a problem with thunderbird. I have now disabled email scanning on AVG and the pop up disappears. Am I right in saying that it is ok to disable email scanning. From what you say and looking on various sites it seems that people think it is nowadays as im protected with avg for everything else?