OLEXP: Outlook Express and the Outlook E-mail Security Update

This article contains information about why you may need to install the Outlook E-mail Security Update even though you use Outlook Express as your e-mail client.

The Outlook e-mail security update does not affect or modify Outlook Express because Outlook Express cannot automatically process viruses like the LOVEBUG virus. However Outlook Express can be a "carrier" of the virus and can appear to cause further infection. This happens if all of the following conditions are true:

• Microsoft Outlook 98 or Microsoft Outlook 2000 is installed on your computer.
• You have a valid mail account or mail profile for Outlook 98 or Outlook 2000 that includes a mail transport provider.

If this configuration is true, even if you do not use Outlook 98 or Outlook 2000, you may be susceptible to LOVEBUG type viruses. Because of this, Microsoft recommends that you install the Outlook E-mail Security Update. Viruses like the LOVEBUG virus works by automating Outlook 98 or Outlook 2000 when you click an attachment with either a .vbs file extension or a .js file extension. The virus then propagates through the mail accounts in either Outlook 98 or Outlook 2000, not through Outlook Express.

The Outlook E-mail Security Update provides additional levels of protection against malicious e-mail messages. The security update changes the way that attachments are handled by Outlook, and the way that Outlook can be controlled programmatically.

For additional information about the Outlook E-mail Security Update, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: