You use Outlook Express to send and receive email and have received attachments with your incoming email messages. You have also forwarded some of those messages with attachments to your friends and family, but you have never initiated a message with your own attachments because you're not to sure how to do it. Furthermore, you are concerned about email attachment catching a virus and passing it on to your friend or family member. Let's talk about it.

It is true that viruses are spread through email attachments and now we see with the Klez virus, where HTML email can also contain the dreaded bugs. The type of attachments that you want to be particularly cautious with are those that are executable. Non-executable attachments do not contain virus, since a virus must execute to spread its germs. Some virus containing attachments can, however, be cleverly disguised as a non-executable file such as a .jpg. Best advice is to be aware of current virus activity, be wary of all attachments and scan them before opening, and keep your virus software program running and up to date.

Viruses are not "caught" during the transmission of your message with attachments. If you run an antivirus software program to scan your incoming email and web surfing activities, and you keep your virus definitions up to date, and you scan your entire system at least weekly, then your system is clean. In that case, you can be comfortable in attaching any file you have on your system and sending it on to a friend or family member.

How to Attach a File to an Email Message

When you attach the file, it retains its distinct file structure and requires the person receiving the message to open the attachment using a software program capable of reading that type of file. For example, your message recipient can open a .txt file with any word processing software such as Word, Word Perfect, WordPro, Note Pad, Word Pad etc. A .jpg file can be "read" using a browser (Netscape, Internet Explorer, AOL etc) or a picture viewer or editor (Microsoft Picture Viewer, Picture It, Paint Shop Pro, Photoshop, LView to name a few). A .pdf file would require the receiver to have Adobe Acrobat reader on their system to open and view the file.

To attach a file:

• Open a new mail message
• Address it as you normally would
• Type your subject line
• Type your message in the body of the email form
• Click on the paperclip button on the toolbar to get the file you want to attach. You can also access the Insert Attachment Dialog box by clicking on Insert | File Attachment on your menu
• Locate the file you want to attach in the Insert Attachment Dialog box window
• Single click the file to place it in the File Name field. You can attach multiple files by selecting more than one in the dialog box. Use the CTRL key to select non adjacent files or the Shift key to select a block of files.
• Click on Attach
• Send your message by clicking on the Send Button.

Now, you try it yourself and send that great picture you just took of your grandson to your best friend. Have fun.

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