With the recent discovery of SSL 3.0 security flaw, better known as POODLE flaw and a couple of other security flaws found in the OpenSSL, we will be removing SSL 3.0 support from OE Classic completely. Of course, younger and more secure protocols TLS 1.0, TLS 1.1 and TLS 1.2 will still be supported as well as the upcoming TLS 1.3 protocol.

Even though there are likely some users who still might use SSL 3.0 to connect to their servers, we believe that it is for the best that such support is disabled completely. SSL 3.0 is a protocol from 1996 and most servers today use TLS 1.0 which is a direct replacement for it, a security protocol from 1999.

OE Classic also supports more recent TLS 1.1 and 1.2 for servers which support it.

The fixes to POODLE flaw, and disabled SSL 3.0 support will be released in the final update of version 2.2 (and future versions).

Even though this security flaw is mostly of concern to web browsers (you should upgrade your web browser to the latest version!), we prefer to stay on the safe side as user security is one of the primary concerns with the development of OE Classic.

After testing OE Classic on Windows 10, we are pleased to report it works without any glitches.

Windows 10 (preview) is very much like Windows 8.1 with the addition of the new Start menu so no major problems are expected for the final version of Windows 10 as well. Spell checker also functions just fine under Windows 10 just like on Windows 8 or Windows 8.1.

We're in the middle of large upgrade to OE Classic storage system. So here is an update about these changes - some of the features which this new system will allow to be added are the following:

• Address book group contacts and contact folders
• Shared contacts in address book (visible in all identities)
• Number of unread messages next to a folder name
• Additional folder attributes like custom icon and custom font (color, bold, italic)
• Independent folder files - each folder file will be a standalone unit and will no longer be dependent on _Folders.db file
• Ability to make an identical copy of a message in the same folder
• Same format for both email and newsgroup folders (moving of messages from newsgroups will be easier)
• Improved handling of message unique IDs ("leave a copy of messages on server" option)
• Reduced size of DB files due to change to UTF-8 encoding instead of UTF-16LE encoding which is being used right now

One important thing to note is that after upgrading to version 2.2 final it will be impossible to go to back to previous version because of new storage format and associated functions.

As a consequence - your older backup will no longer be compatible with the new version so you need to create a new backup of your store folder files after the upgrade to the final version 2.2.

For now, while it is under development, upgrading to 2.2 beta does not yet require this and it is still backward compatible.

Automatic upgrade will be performed on a backed up copy of all files - so if there is any error during the upgrade, your original files will be preserved and as such, upgrade will be safe to run. Once the upgrade completes successfully only then your existing data will be replaced with upgraded files.

More info about all of this soon, when we complete these changes.

At last, Find/Search tool is available. Along with a few very important bug fixes. Update is highly recommended!

New features

• Find/Search added

Bug fixes

• Additional trimming and validation of email addresses to avoid sending errors
• Message counters are refreshed when messages are downloaded, opened, marked as read/unread and moved/deleted
• Updated all built-in components and SSL/TLS libraries on which the program relies to include cumulative bug fixes and speed improvements
• Fixed authentication issues for some non-standards-compliant servers

This release fixes some of the issues we've noticed since the 2.0 release and also adds batch EML export. There are also new Expert options in Account Properties.

Expert tab in Account Properties gives you some essential options for experts and also moves them away from inexperienced users.

New features

• Batch EML file exporter
• User-Agent string has been updated
• Added Expert tab in Account Properties to avoid accidental configuring of wrong settings like wrong port numbers and to hold options usually needed by experts only
• Account Wizard now only allows entering standard port numbers (to enter non standard values there is an option for that in Expert tab in Account Properties)
• Manually checking for new version now also allows updating to paid version from the free version
• Installation now checks if paid version is installed to prevent accidentally replacing paid with free version

Bug fixes

• Drafts flag wasn't imported for draft messages

As we want our users to have the latest and greatest version we have added automatic updates which should make process of updating much easier. Automatic updates can also detect new beta versions now as well. Of course, there are numerous other goodies such as Drafts editing and EML import. Comprehensive list of changes follows.

New features

• Drafts functionality - saving unfinished message to Drafts folder and editing messages in Outbox or Drafts folders
• Installing new version updates is now much easier due to program being able to update itself
• Added EML import which can import multiple EML files from a folder and its subfolders
• Send message immediately option added in Options - Compose
• Added sending of Read Receipt request in message editor
• Insert background color, background image and background sound in message editor (sound tags are cross-browser compatible)
• Due to speed issues with Copy To/Move To folder menus, they have been replaced with window for selecting folder - users with a lot of folders will see significant speed increase when switching folders or identities
• Messages are reloaded less frequently when switching folders
• Jump to item in the list by typing a few letters (works for message list, folder list, contact list etc.)
• If Authentication Type is set to Automatic and connection is already SSL/TSL secured, doesn't use APOP/SASL because there is no need for it and it also avoids problems with some servers which don't properly support APOP/SASL
• Mark message as read after specified time or when opened in separate window (new option in Options - Read)
• Save Attachments added in message viewer menu
• Message viewer can be closed with Esc key
• Email address in editor window is cleaned for extra spaces to reduce validation error appearances
• Startup/shutdown code has been revised, as a result switching identities is now faster

Bug fixes

• OpenSSL libraries updated to v1.0.1g to fix the TLS heartbeat read overrun (CVE-2014-0160) security issue
• Changing account name in Account Properties window would reload wrong account data after clicking Apply button
• Attachments could not be opened by clicking on attachment under specific system setup
• Image attachments are no longer duplicated for inline (embedded) images when forwarding a message
• When attaching a shortcut file, the program no longer attaches a file pointed by the shortcut but instead attaches the selected shortcut file
• Improved encoding detection in incoming messages (improves display of international characters)
• Corrected issues with certain UU-encoded files (usually found in the Newsgroups)
• All mark as read/unread functions were rewritten to be even more stable
• Removed duplicate decoding which caused slow Previous/Next operation in message viewer
• Attachment Save As in message viewer reported error if file was overwritten
• Message viewer Delete button is working now

A major vulnerability has been discovered in OpenSSL software which is used to securely connect using encrypted connection. It is estimated that 60% of servers run OpenSSL which makes it a huge issue.

Vulnerability affects server software but it may be possible under specific conditions to affect clients as well (e.g. man-in-the-middle attack).

OE Classic 2.0 has been updated today to include the bug-fixed version of OpenSSL libraries. Although the attack of this kind is unlikely for client like OE Classic it is still highly recommended you update to the latest version 2.0 (issued today) which patches the problem. As for older versions, version 1.9 of OE Classic includes compromised libraries (v1.0.1f) so we highly recommend to update to version 2.0 as soon as possible. Version 1.8 uses older version of OpenSSL which has not been affected.

To fully protect yourself you need to modify your email password. This is especially important for users of Gmail, Yahoo Mail, Outlook.com or similar popular email services because they have likely been attacked already, and even though most of them have already been patched compromised passwords may still be out there so you need to change your email password.

The vulnerability is known by the name Heartbleed - TLS read overrun (CVE-2014-0160) if you may want to search more information on this issue.

If you still use Windows XP, you might be interested in reading this security notice we wrote to nofity you about Windows XP end of support and potential security implications it has on your data and your system.

For more info read this article on our blog:
Windows XP end of support - What happens after April 8th, 2014?

New features

• Automatic configuration of email accounts in account wizard - settings are fetched from online database, based on email address
• Different column settings for Inbox, Outbox, Newsgroups, Find and Address Book and modified default columns (for Inbox - From column, for Outbox - To column, for Newsgroups - Subject column)
• Added sound notification when new email arrives (a few sound files are supplied with the installation or you can use any other MP3 or WAV file)
• Folder expanded/collapsed state is saved
• System font name/size (for icons and main menu) are also used for displaying lists (messages, folders, contacts) and main/popup menus within OE Classic
• Program graphics have been extracted out of the main executable into separate files (enables you to customize graphics)
• Added validation into account properties and account wizard to avoid entering incorrect settings (e.g. empty server name, empty username or password, invalid email address)
• Generated Message-Id is now 30% shorter and the chance of it being repeated has been reduced to the level of "statistical impossibility"
• Message priority in message editor and drop-down menu for selecting it (high/normal/low), also available in main menu
• Sending message creates message in memory and no longer uses temporary file (no BCC bug this time!)
• Mark All as Read in Edit menu for email and newsgroups folders
• Reply-To information added to replies
• Email links in Original Message quote are now clickable
• Individual accounts added in Send/Receive drop down menu and in main menu to download email from a single account
• Check names function added in message edit window
• Added popup menu for Accounts window and keyboard shortcuts (Return and Delete keys)
• Added signature menu in editor window for selecting multiple signatures
• Signatures can be HTML formatted (click the icon in signature list in Options to toggle between text or HTML)
• If message was edited user is warned before closing it
• SSL libraries have been updated and program can now connect to secure servers using SSL v3.0, TLS v1.0, TLS v1.1 and TLS v1.2

Bug fixes

• "Include this account when receiving e-mail" checkbox in account properties was blocking sending of emails, not just receiving as the option indicates
• Added icons which have been missing under certain toolbar sizes
• Fixed authentication issue with some news servers (eternal-september and a few others)
• Fixed possible access violation when downloading newsgroup messages
• Priority was not interpreted correctly for some messages
• Message-Id was not sent to server
• Various issues with message escaping and unescaping
• Folder actions (New, Rename, Delete...) were not consistently enabled/disabled in main menu like in popup menu
• Reply-To is now used instead of From address when replying to a message
• Account properties no longer refreshes folder or account list if no changes have been done
• Message editor will auto-complete email typing instead of reporting an error if email typing wasn't completed
• Account is properly selected after Add/Properties/Set as Default operations in Accounts window, for Delete operation first account is selected
• To avoid certain issues internal account number is no longer reused but incremented every time

Here is our last update for this year.

New features

• Import from Windows Mail (Windows Vista) and alternative import from Outlook Express (Windows XP 64-bit)
• Spell checking as you type in message editor (available only on Windows 8 for now)
• New POP3 authentication type option - Automatic (automatically uses the most secure method after querying supported methods from server), recommended option if you don't know what to choose
• Address Book - custom sorting direction and sorting by Last Name, First Name
• Column editor for enabling/disabling columns in message list and address book - main menu View/Columns or right click over the columns header (Note: Columns can still be rearranged by dragging as before)
• Address book window now also remembers position and size
• Help button in Send/Receive window (when clicked, automatically appends error log) and Contact in the Help menu (no error log added), both used for requesting user support
• Support for BGSOUND tag (only Internet Explorer supports this tag, for better compatibility use AUDIO tag instead)
• To/Cc/Bcc drop-down lookups now also search through email addresses, not just names
• Message editor TAB key press now keeps focus inside editor (and inserts 4 spaces) while SHIFT + TAB moves focus out of the editor to another control (subject line)
• Visual improvements in import window
• SMTP authentication type is gone from account properties and from account wizard (it only had one option so that option is now automatic)
• Secure Password Authentication (SPA/NTLM) is gone from account properties and account wizard because it is rarely used and unsupported on new servers

Bug fixes

• Relaxed restrictions on email validation, email format errors are now treated as warnings (warns you, but allows you to send email anyway)
• Instead of reporting an error, automatically creates store folder at default location (%LOCALAPPDATA%\OEClassic) if user installs program under different Windows user account
• Default editor font size increased from 8 to 10 points
• Access violation when moving mouse wheel over drop-down items
• Dialog boxes no longer appear centered between two monitors on dual-display but are centered over the parent window instead
• There is no longer a need to click on message editor to start writing a reply because cursor is now properly positioned inside of the editor
• Messages are refreshed immediately after they are downloaded, fixes automatic marking messages as read
• Fixed a few logging bugs which caused incorrect coloring, logging message raw data, slowdowns etc.
• POP3 - APOP and SASL authentications were not working at all, now working as expected
• The use of SMTP servers that didn't require password wasn't possible because password was always sent
• Clicking Previous/Next buttons in message viewer also selects new message in main window list and marks it as read

We have 2 words for you - HTML and Stationery. So with this version OE Classic finally supports sending email in HTML format which has been neglected for way too long, although as we look back now, it wasn't a big technical challenge. And as we added HTML we figured - let's also add stationery support compatible with Outlook Express - so there you have it! To be able to use OE stationery you need to place it in special folder %LOCALAPPDATA%\OEClassicStationery and paths to image files must be relative (you may have to manually modify paths in some stationery files). Of course, different stationery folder is possible.

An example of HTML stationery with various message formatting

Another stationery in message viewer window (also plays background sound)

There are many other improvements so take a look at the list:

New features

• Message editor HTML formatting and HTML outgoing messages
• Stationery email support (compatible with existing Outlook Express/Windows Live Mail stationery)
• Improvements in HTML and plain-text message formatting before sending
• Added a lot of items in message editor main menu
• Simplified installation of upgrades in installer
• Improved detection of external images or other external content
• Improved detection of embedded content like images, background images, scripts etc.
• Improved quoting of replied message
• Message-Id and In-Reply-To are utilized now
• New option tabs (Read, Compose) with options to disable content blocking, include message in reply, set default font for message editor
• Printing contacts in Address Book

Bug fixes

• Improvements and fixes in message list (sorting is faster)
• After clicking on column headers old selection is kept and message list is positioned where the old selection was
• Toolbars are no longer wrapped when window is resized
• If message was opened in viewer window and folder was changed in main window, message Reply/Reply All/Forward were no longer working
• If message is already decoded it is not decoded again when opening in a new message viewer window
• Some buttons and main menu items in separate viewer window are now functional (Print, Previous, Next and Address Book)
• Added missing attachment information when printing emails with attachments
• Minor memory leaks when opening messages
• "Floating point division by zero" when loading message or after clicking on blocked content bar
• Multipart/related content type is no longer detected as empty attachment
• BCC was broken in version 1.64
• Replying to HTML-only messages (without plain-text part) properly displays original message in a reply