Technology Notebook

Opening Attachments Blocked by the Microsoft Outlook E-mail Security Update:
"Opening .exe Attachments with the Outlook E-mail Security Update"

Allow the user to use a registry key to open up access to blocked attachments. (Always make a backup before editing the registry.) To use this key: Run Regedit, and go to this key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Outlook\Security

(change 10.0 to 9.0 for Outlook 2000 SP3 or to 11.0 for Outlook 2003) Under that key, add a new string value named Level1Remove. For the value for Level1Remove, enter a semicolon-delimited list of file extensions. For example, entering this: .mdb;.urlwould unblock Microsoft Access files and Internet shortcuts. Note that the use of a leading dot was not previously required, however, new security patches may require it. If you are using "mdb;url" format and extensions are blocked, add a dot to each extension. Note also that there is not a space between extensions. If you are using this registry entry, a glance at Help About Microsoft Outlook will show Security Mode: User Controlled above the license information. See OL2002 You Cannot Open Attachments for more information on this registry entry. To force users to save *.zip files to the hard drive before opening, add .zip to the extensions step 3. See How to configure Outlook to block additional attachment file name extensions for more information. If you prefer not to edit the registry directly, you can use one of these tools to make the change; not all support both Outlook 2002 and 2000: