PROBLEM

When you download an e-mail message with Outlook Express, it strips off your attachments and the following message is displayed in the message alert bar at the top of the e-mail message: Outlook Express removed access to the following unsafe attachments in your email.

CAUSE

This occurs if the "Do not allow attachments to be saved or opened that could potentially be a virus" option is enabled, and the e-mail attachment is determined by Outlook Express to be "unsafe". By default, the "Do not allow attachments to be saved or opened that could potentially be a virus" option is enabled in Outlook Express. Any e-mail attachment with a file type that is reported as "unsafe" is not downloaded, and access to the attachment is removed.

WORKAROUND

If you are sure that the attachment is safe to download or open, use the following method:
NOTE: Because there are several versions of Microsoft Windows, the following steps may be different on your computer.

To turn off the option to not allow attachments to be saved or opened:

1. Start Outlook Express.
2. On the Tools menu, click Options.
3. Click the Security tab.
4. under Virus Protection, uncheck Do not allow attachments to be saved or opened that could potentially be a virus.
5. Click OK.

Alternatively, if to be safe you don't want to turn off the attachment-blocking option, you can use the following workaround:

1. Double-click the message with the attachment that you're trying to open so the message opens in its own window. Read the attachment name and make sure it's safe. It should end with .pdf, .doc, .jpg, or another valid suffix.
   
2. Click the Forward button (we're not actually going to forward the message).
3. A new window will open up with the message in it to forward.
   
4. You should see the attachment in this new message too, under the Subject in the Attach: field.
5. Double-click on the attachment and it should open right up. You can save the attachment if you wish.
6. When you're done, just close the window with the waiting-to-be-forwarded message.