martouk,
I apologize for not getting back to you on your problem but the MY SQL server went down last night that powers this forum.
I wanted to tell you that a recovery was not necessary.
From the information you provided, I noticed that somehow, the server "name" was changed for the SMTP. ATT requires that it read mailhost.worldnet.att.net, NOT postoffice.worldnet.att.net. The latter is for use with the POP3 side only.
I have had this happen to me personally and it had nothing to do with AVAST directly.
This could have been solved easily by going into OE and locating the Account Properties tab and resetting the names and ports.
Should you wish to try AVAST again (and I hope you do), please make sure that ALL other Windows programs are shut down and that you have NO other anti-virus program installed (even if it is a manual scanner). Avast does not like competition. hahaha
I have used Avast now on W98, ME and XP with MS Outlook and OE will little problem.
Sometimes a new installation will corrupt a file somewhere else in the computer even though it should not.
Recovery is a long process. Again, I am sorry I could not answer your post sooner.
Good luck,
