Mark, thanks for your reply. I totally agree - this is not an effective means of antivirus protection, its placement would only be a means of reducing exposure. We run two layers of antivirus (with the third in the pipeline) but it's all meaningless if there is no pattern update, isn't it. Someone has to be hit by the virus first in order for the antivirus companies to fix it. I congratulate you on your good fortune in not being hit, and I hope your luck continues. We have been caught once by an email virus (about 4 years ago, which inspired additional antivirus measures) and, for me, once was quite enough. I'm not an Exchange aficionado and I'd be interested in any other options, either built-in or third party that may be available. Regards