Outlook Express mail users do have some degree of protection albeit weaker than other systems. You can set Outlook to NOT download messages from the server that contain attachments. Click on "tools" then "message rules" then "mail". On the tab "mail rules" one can set up a block to keep all attachment containing emails from downloading automatically from the server. I believe this is message rule #1. While perhaps not always foolproof it does offer some protection of course in conjunction with an up to date virus scan program. Has saved my backside more than once!