I know from offline reactions to my email that someone is reading my mail in MSN Outlook Express 6.0.

What can a hacker do? Everything I can do, i.e., download messages from the server, read and delete them before I can look at them? Read sent and deleted messages? Or are such an intruder's powers more limited - say to reading previously opened messages sitting in my inbox?

Would it help to delete sensitive messages all the way off my system the moment after I read or send them? Also, are there programs that specifically protect your email and trace email hackers? I run Zone Alarm Pro and Pest Patrol Pro, but I don't think either one can trace email hacks. I regularly change my password. My computer is stand alone, no network, single line dialup.

Any ideas?