12-05-2004, 06:41 AM
|
|
Sage
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 665
|
|
Microsoft Outlook & Attachments
:soapbox:
Just a warning to all as I am about to get up on my soap box and rant!
Who the H... E... Double hockey sticks does Microsoft think they are? I had a friend send me an email tonight with a small .exe file attached to it (a small program he is writing for his first PPC). This is all fine and dandy till I go to open the attachement and I get the following warning:
"Outlook has blocked access to the following potentially unsafe files"
Ok I think, not a bad idea normally but I know what I am doing and I know this is a safe file. I look all around Outlook to find a way to disable this with no luck so I decide to check the help file. Low and behold I come across this little peril of wisdom in the help file called "About unblocking attachments"
To provide enhanced security, Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 is designed to prevent you from unblocking attachments.
Because Outlook is so widely used, it has been the target of several virus attacks in the past that have affected millions of people. Microsoft has acted to protect people from files, such as .exe and .bat files, that are often used to run malicious scripts when opened. Unfortunately this makes file sharing less convenient for many people, but security must take precedence.
Now what makes Microsoft think they have the right to decide what mail comes into my mail box intact? I like many others have spent a number of years (15 years) working with computers and the last 10 or so on the net and in that time I have had only one virus and I brought it home on a disk from the computer lab at DeVry.
It's no wonder Microsoft is being sued left, right and centre... They think they know what's best for all of us... Well Mr. Gates and Company I have news for you... you know S**T! (edited by me not the moderators) Try designing a good program for once and leave those of us that understand something (even at a moderate level) about computer, internet and email security to monitor and run our own damn systems.
Each day that goes by brings my computers closer and closer to becoming Linux boxes!
:twak:
|
| |
|
|
|
12-05-2004, 07:26 AM
|
|
Ponderer
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 101
|
|
That's one of the reasons I trashed Office 2002 and went back to 2000. The other being that they totally f**ked up mail merge in Word 2002 so it's completely unusable.
Anyway, that's one option if you have an older version of Outlook.
|
| |
|
|
|
12-05-2004, 09:24 AM
|
|
Ponderer
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 74
|
|
Mitch D,
Have your friend send that executable to you as a .zip file. I don't think you will have any problems saving it and opening that way.
I too wish we had more control in regards to file attachments.
Hope that helps!
|
| |
|
|
|
12-05-2004, 01:11 PM
|
|
5000+ Posts? I Should OWN This Site!
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 5,211
|
|
I really suggest Mozilla or Thunderbird unless you have constraints that make Outlook a requirement... I know it doesn't sync with the PPC, but... they're nice programs.
Of course, if you have shell access, you could always use mutt, pine, or elm.  |
| |
|
|
|
12-05-2004, 06:53 PM
|
|
Philosopher
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 489
|
|
That happened to me last night, actually. Here at college I needed to update the BIOS on my sister's computer, so my dad tried to send me the BIOS installer through OUtlook, but it was blocked.. I just found it on the internet then, but it was still annoying.
Oh well...
|
| |
|
|
|
12-06-2004, 01:50 AM
|
|
Moderator
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 5,999
|
|
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=829982
This shows you how to allow file types normally blocked to get through. You will need to edit the registry, so make sure to take proper precautions...
Steve
__________________
"My eyes are rolling back in my head so far I can see my grey matter bubbling and frothing from reading this thread....bleh." JD
|
| |
|
|
|
12-06-2004, 07:00 AM
|
|
Sage
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 665
|
|
Thanks for the suggestions all.
Steve... once again you are a life saver... I should have checked the knowledge database myself but...
I guess we all see what anger does...
|
| |
|
|
|
12-07-2004, 11:25 PM
|
|
Pupil
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 24
|
|
Could be worse...my company outlaws .zip files for all the same reasons.
|
| |
|
|
|
12-08-2004, 12:09 AM
|
|
Intellectual
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 231
|
|
One other solution would be for your friend to rename the extension to something other than .exe and acceptable to Outlook. Personally, I don't mind it being blocked. There are to many ignorant people out there that will click on anything that is sent ot them. I look at the blocking as one of the better things MS has done. It helps protect me from the stupidity of others.
|
| |
|
|
|
12-08-2004, 01:25 PM
|
|
Thinker
Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 354
|
|
My friend will normally change the extension to something like .out when emailing me a file. I have to save it and change it back to .exe.
I got a little bit peeved at Outlook last week when I sent a link home. It wasn't risky or anything but I didn't want to look at it at work. I figured I'd deal with it at home, so I sent the page. I get home and find that Outlook blocked the URL. It's a freaking URL! :bad-words: 
:twak: :snipersmile: |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Linear Mode
