Every 4 days, my laptop running Windows XP Pro has copies of the Outlook Express mail files in the recycle bin with file extensions .bak. I do not have a backup program set to do that. (I do use Acronis to perform weekly backups to an external drive).

AVG anti-malware software is installed and up to date. Running latest AVG and Malwarebytes scans do not find any virus/trojan/etc. links or evidence.

Any hints on how to proceed to see what makes these copies? I suspect a trojan that copies and then sends the files somewhere, but that is NOT an educated guess.

Thanks.

I think you'll find that those emails are the result of the compacting that OE does every 100 emails. Just delete the contents of the Recycle Bin.

If you would like to check to see if any of those emails are infected:
Run Eset NOD32 Online AntiVirus Scanner HERE

• Tick the box next to YES, I accept the Terms of Use.
• Click Start
• When asked, allow the Active X control to install
• Disable your current Antivirus software. You can usually do this with its Notification Tray icon near the clock.
• Click Start
• Make sure that the option "Remove found threats" is Unchecked, and the option "Scan unwanted applications" is checked
• Click Scan
• Wait for the scan to finish
• Re-enable your Antivirus software.
• A logfile is created and located at C:\Program Files\EsetOnlineScanner\log.txt. Please include this on your post.

This will show any malware in the files and which box they are in. The store box can then be removed.