Fix Missing Attachments in Outlook Express

Outlook Express actually informs you when it blocks access to a potentially unsafe attachment. In the header of the e-mail message, an information bar is displayed that tells you the attachment is blocked.

So if you are sure that the attachment is safe, you would want to access the attachment. So how do you tell Outlook Express that the attachment is safe?

Outlook Express has a setting that tells it to block potentially unsafe attachments. To disable it, follow these steps:

1. In Outlook Express, select the Tools menu, and then click Options.
2. In the Options dialog box, select the Security tab.
3. Now clear the checkbox that says “Do not allow attachments to be saved or opened that could potentially be a virus“.
4. Click OK.

Now your attachment should be available.

Do realize that if you disable this attachment protection, more attachments will be available in messages. This includes the ones that might actually be a security threat. So be careful when accessing any other attachments or re-enabled the protection once you are done with this specific attachment.

Another option is to forward the message. In the new message window, the attachment can actually be opened and saved.

If you want to change which file extensions are considered safe or unsafe, you can do this through the Folder Options in the file explorer. Simply select the File Types tab and then browse to the Extension. Click the Advanced button for the concerned extension, and then clear or select the checkbox named “Confirm open after download“. Certain file types can not be marked as safe, since they are deemed unsafe by definition (EXE, CMD, and more).

Click OK to confirm the change, and then OK again to close the Folder Options.