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Can't Open Attachments In Outlook Express

Warning:
You should not alter the security settings in Outlook or Outlook Express unless you have up-to-date anti-virus software installed and running. Attachments frequently contain computer viruses which can damage your computer.

If you cannot open attachments while using the Outlook Express e-mail client, your security settings may be too high.  When you try to open attachments, you may see the following message:  “OE removed access to the following unsafe attachments in your mail.”

To check your e-mail security settings:

1. Open Outlook Express.
2. Click on Tools in the menu, and scroll down to Options.
3. Click on the Security tab.
4. Make sure “Do not allow attachments to be saved or opened that could potentially be a virus” is UNCHECKED.
5. Click on the Apply button.  Click on OK.

You should now be able to open attachments.

Note:  If you are using Outlook 2003 to read your mail, you may not be able to open attachments with extensions (.exe, .vbs , etc.) that the program considers unsafe.  To get around this problem, ask the attachment’s sender to use a compression program, such as WinZip, that alters the file’s extension to something considered safer (.zip).  More information about this feature can be found at:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;829982 .

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