Full Disclosure mailing list archives

RE: Administrivia: Testing Emergency Virus Filt er..


From: David Vincent <david.vincent () mightyoaks com>
Date: Wed, 20 Aug 2003 09:02:24 -0700

Outlook 2002 by default removes all attached executable files from
incoming email messages.  The Outlook security update, which has been
available for more than 2 years, provides the same feature for Outlook
98 and 2000.  

Outlook Express 6 also offers this same executable stripping feature,
but Microsoft stupidly made the default be off.  Some computer makers
saw the errors of Microsoft's ways are now turning on the stripping
feature in Outlook Express, before their Windows boxes leave the
factory.  Unfortunately, I've now seen recommendations in 
both PC World and PC Magazine to turn this feature back off.

try again:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;q329570

SYMPTOMS

After you install Internet Explorer 6 Service Pack 1 (SP1) or Windows XP SP1
(both of which include Outlook Express 6 SP1), access to some of your e-mail
attachments in Outlook Express may be removed. For example, you may
experience any of the following symptoms: 

When you click the paper clip in the Preview pane, the Save Attachments and
file_name commands are unavailable.

When you open an e-mail message, the Save Attachments command is unavailable
on the File menu, the Attach field is missing from the e-mail message, and
the following message is displayed in the message alert bar at the top of
the e-mail message:

Outlook Express removed access to the following unsafe attachments in your
email: file_name1, file_name2


CAUSE

This behavior occurs if the Do not allow attachments to be saved or opened
that could potentially be a virus option is enabled, and the e-mail
attachment is determined by Outlook Express to be "unsafe". By default, the
Do not allow attachments to be saved or opened that could potentially be a
virus option is enabled in Outlook Express 6 SP1. When this virus-protection
feature is enabled, Outlook Express uses the Internet Explorer unsafe file
list and the Confirm open after download setting in Folder Options to
determine if a file is safe. Any e-mail attachment with a file type that is
reported as "unsafe" is not downloaded, and access to the attachment is
removed. 

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