Is there anyway I can configure avast to scan email attachments or is the fact that an email has been downloaded mean that avast email scanner has found no virus in it? Or how can I manually scan an email attachment? Thanks.
It should do so automatically, depending on several aspects, OS email program, your avast! settings, etc. none of which you gave us.
for a manual scan save the attachment to a temp folder on your HDD ‘attachments’ should do, the act of saving it to the HDD should scan it if your Standard Shield settings scan newly created/modified files.
If you’re using a mail account such as yahoo or hotmail, they have a scanner that will scan all email attachments before you download it. However, you can save the attachment in one of your folders and use the Quick scanner. To use the quick scanner, you should save the file in your folder, right click the file, and click on the option which has a blue “a” icon; or like what David said and just let the Standard Shield scan it once you save it in your Hard Drive as long as you have Standard Shield running. 
This to DavidR- This is probably pretty simple stuff to you, but just what are the steps to saving an email attachment to your harddrive? And then once on the harddrive, what are the steps to scanning them? I do not open any attachments out of fear, but would like to. Most are from my daughter. I have Outlook Express, Avast 4.7 Home, Internet Explorer 6, and Windows XP Home. Does Avast 4.7 Home (freebie) scan these attachments automatically as they come to me??
With your OS and Email program, your email provided you have the Internet Mail provider enabled should be scanned including attachments.
Outlook Express, in preview mode has a Paper Clip icon click this and it shows what attachments there are and it also gives the option to save the attachments.
The standard shield shield should scan newly created files and saving it to a folder in your HDD is a newly created file. You can also right click on that saved attachment and have ashQuick.exe scan the file, if you have enabled that function in Program Settings, Common, see image.
Thanks David. I have just changed my “settings” -Common to exactly the way you show them in the example. I’ll give it a try now. Later
Your welcome.