Every message has an attachment

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This article was written for Thunderbird but also applies to Mozilla Suite / SeaMonkey (though some menu sequences may differ).

Some anti-virus programs scan every new message and add an attachment certifying that it scanned the message and that it didn't find any viruses. If this happens you'll typically see a paper clip icon next to each message in the folder listing and each message will have a "Part 1.2" attachment with text similar to:

No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.5.516 / Virus Database: 269.20.5/1278 - Release Date: 14/02/2008 10:28 AM

AVG is notorious for doing this. If you're using AVG you can disable this feature by

  • Double clicking on the AVG icon in the system tray
  • Going to Tools -> Advanced settings
  • Clicking on the Email Scanner option
  • Disabling "Certify e-mail for incoming or outgoing e-mails"
  • Pressing the OK button

If your email provider added the text you need to login to webmail using a browser and find the appropriate webmail command to disable it.

Note: The anti-virus program won't add the attachment if the message was digitally signed, since the attachment would ruin the signature.

See also