which is safer outlook exp email or pop online?

[artfreak]

Hi
I normally use my email thru' pop acct online browser but recently I tried outlook express 6 combined with norton sec suite 2009 thinking that then norton could function with emal.

I set some security measures in outlook email Ive found online but Im reading that the port outlook works thru' (578 or whatever I forget now) is not filtered by antivirus???

Okay if norton isnt checking pop mail online and isnt checking outlook then whats it doing?

Which is better? Also if I have it on my browser as default email is it insecure to have that?

Thanks for the help.

PS: I run xp sp2

[artfreak]

I wanted to say after research Ive found the 587 port is outgoing not incoming so that helps. And apparantly norton does do live protect real time so Im prob fine? Thanks

[Sylvander]

1. I normally check emails while they are still on the POP3 server, using:

(a) Mailwasher in Windows.

(b) "SaveMyModem" [smm] in Puppy Linux.

(c) They both work in similar ways.
Viewing the headers and text content only, so that it's not possible to transfer any infection, like an infection in an attached file.
Both allow the user to choose emails to be deleted or bounced.
Mailwasher allows clicking on an included URL which auto-runs the default web-browser, smm doesn't.
Mailwasher can allow copy of URL's, whereas smm doesn't [cannot copy and paste the URL to a browser address bar].

(d) smm is EASY to run in Puppy.
Just click on the icon to open a terminal, then type smm and hit [Enter].
To delete [SPAM?] emails, just click the red delete elipse in each email, and when finished click "Disconnect", then click "Connect", and the emails will be gone and any new emails added to the list of those remaining from before.
See screenshots below taken within Puppy Linux 4.31