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View Your Outlook Express Settings

It's easy to adjust the different e-mail security settings in Outlook Express to accommodate your specific needs. Just be aware that changing the default settings can make your computer more vulnerable to spam, viruses, worms, and other security risks.

To view or change security features in Outlook Express

1.	In Outlook Express go to Tools.
2.	Click Options.
3.	Click the Security tab.

Outlook Express default security settings

Virus Protection Settings in Outlook Express

You can get viruses or worms on your computer when you surf the Web, download files, or open e-mail attachments. Any e-mail message—even those that appear innocent—can easily carry a virus that might damage your data or your computer. Outlook Express now has settings that can help you prevent viruses and worms in a few different ways.

•	Select the Internet Explorer security zone to use: The default choice for this setting is Restricted sites zones, which is what we recommend. This setting is not new to SP2. If you're upgrading from Windows XP Service Pack 1, then your previous setting will be honored and will not be changed. To learn more about security zones, see Working with Internet Explorer 6 Security Settings.
•	Warn me when other applications try to send mail as me: We recommend you keep this box checked to help keep viruses or other Internet intruders from taking over your programs and sending e-mail that appears to come from you. This setting is not new to SP2. If you're upgrading from Windows XP Service Pack 1, then your previous setting will be honored and will not be changed.
•	Do not allow attachments to be saved or opened that could potentially be a virus: This box is checked by default to help protect you from viruses and worms that may be spread by e-mail. You may have turned this setting off in previous versions of Windows XP because you found that it was blocking safe Office documents that you needed to view. The Attachment Manager included with SP2 addresses this and is set by default to block attachments matching known potentially dangerous file types.

Outlook Express warning for e-mail attachments with undetermined safety

If Outlook Express can't determine the safety of an attachment, you would see this message.

Important Although Outlook Express can help you avoid viruses, these precautions don't take the place of an up-to-date antivirus program. To learn more see Reduce your virus risk with updated antivirus software.