Is there a chance to recover it? If not, OneCare will have done more damage than any virus in my 30 years of active computing.

This was the question asked by one user who found that his entire mailbox had been deleted by Microsoft’s anti-virus program because he had received an email virus. Microsoft’s security software has a long-standing bug where the user’s mailbox files and contacts, instead of just the suspect email, will be moved to quarantine or even deleted. This is not just a Vista problem, but would be particularly applicable to Vista users considering that many will now be using Microsoft’s OneCare software by default, just as they use Internet Explorer and Outlook Express by default (because Microsoft pre-installs it that way). Which could mean a lot of trouble for new adopters; Microsoft’s security system has been rated as the worst performing of the 15 available anti-virus programs, letting up to 20% of all malware through its filters.

The email bug prompted this comment as well:

This is the most unacceptable act Microsoft has ever committed. I run a small business, and I am screwed. I have no way to respond to e-mails because I made the mistake of trusting Microsoft … and all of my e-mails and contacts are gone.

Fortunately, Microsoft has an easy-as-pie solution:

• Close Outlook or Outlook Express
• Click change OneCare settings in the main OneCare user interface
• Click on the viruses and spyware tab
• Click on the quarantine button, and then select the pst or dbx file, and then click on restore.

To ensure that the problem does not continue until the next update, users should also do the following:

• Click change OneCare setting in the main user interface
• Click viruses and spyware tab
• Click on the exclusions button
• Click on the add folder button
• Navigate to the specific folder that contains the .dbx or .pst file to be excluded.
• Click OK.

Yes, that’s right, it’s as easy as A, B, C, D! … Er, … E, F, G, H, I, J!

That, of course, is assuming that the user knows where his or her .dbx and .pst files are. Do you? Neither do I. Nice of them to include that little tidbit of information in their suggested fix, isn’t it? This is also assuming that users will know about the bug before it hits them; otherwise, it’s a little like closing the barn door after the horses have bolted, isn’t it?

One professional user sums it up:

Software problems occur. Nothing is perfect. But companies I deal with normally are all over software updates to correct a problem. And we are talking about Outlook, a highly used software that holds critical data for most of us, especially business users…I almost get the feeling Microsoft does not really care about this product, that they came up with it just so they could enter this software market.