Outlook E-mail Attachment Security Update

ID: Q235309

The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Outlook, versions 2000, 98, 97
IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if a problem occurs. For information about how to do this, view the "Restoring the Registry" Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry Key" Help topic in Regedt32.exe.

SUMMARY

This article describes Outlook security patches that will increase the security protection for certain types of e-mail attachments. Three separate patches are available, one for each version of Outlook.

Once installed, the patch will provide more explicit warning language when attachments are opened. You will be required to save the attachment to the file system before opening it. These patches can help you avoid accidentally releasing viruses that hide in certain files.

NOTE: The Security Update Patches, described below, were modified to include an "End User License Agreement" (EULA). This will account for any differences in file size and date between those patches currently available for download and any that were downloaded before July 12, 1999.


MORE INFORMATION

To Obtain the Outlook E-mail Attachment Security Update

CAUTION: It is very important that you install the patch specifically developed for your version of Outlook. To determine your version of Outlook, on the Help menu, click About Microsoft Outlook.

Download the patch for your version of Outlook from one of the following web sites:

Microsoft Outlook 97

Microsoft Outlook 98

Microsoft Outlook 2000
The Windows Installer technology used with Microsoft Office2000 and Microsoft Outlook 2000 requires that the CD be inserted in the CD-ROM drive when installing this patch. This is due to validation requirements within the Installer engine.

The Outlook 2000 version number found in About Microsoft Outlook on the Help menu, will appear as 9.0.0.3011.

After installing the E-mail Attachment Security Update, when you open attachments with file name extensions such as .exe, .bat, .com, or .cmd, you will receive the following warning message:
Attachment Security Warning

WARNING!

The file may contain a virus that can be harmful to your
computer. It is important to be VERY certain that this file is
safe before you open it. You must save this file to disk before
it can be opened.

Filename: <file name>
Type: <file type>
To save the attachment, click Save to Disk.

CAUTION: The attachment warning runs for all attachments with executable file name extensions. It does not detect or clean a virus from an infected attachment. If you save a file that has a virus and then run it from the disk, you will still be infected. Saving the file to disk is simply an extra chance to consider the safety of the attached file. An updated virus scanning program must still be used to check the file for a possible virus.

Microsoft Office files (.doc, .xls, .ppt) are not affected by this patch and will behave just as they did before the patch was installed. To control macro behavior for Office documents, set the security level in the individual Office program itself.

To Turn Off the Outlook E-mail Attachment Security Update

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys and Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it. If you are running Windows NT, you should also update your Emergency Repair Disk (ERD).

To turn off the Attachment Security Update after installing it, follow these steps:
  1. Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.


  2. Click to select the following registry key:


    3. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Office\Outlook
    If the Outlook key is not present, right-click the Office key, and on the shortcut menu point to New, and click Key. Type Outlook for the name and press ENTER.

  3. Click to select the Outlook key, and on the Edit menu, point to New. Click DWORD Value, type OldAttachmentDialog, and press ENTER.


  4. Double-click OldAttachmentDialog, change its Value Data to 1, and click OK.


  5. Quit the Registry Editor.


Outlook 98 and 97

For additional information about the version number of Outlook 98 after installing the patch, please click the article number below to view the article(s) in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q197250 OL98: Microsoft Outlook 98 Version Information
After installing the patch on Outlook 97 the version information should be 8.04.6614 or above in the About Microsoft Outlook box under the Help menu.

Additional query words: 98 OL2K

Keywords : kbdta
Version : WINDOWS:2000,97,98
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbinfo


Last Reviewed: September 17, 1999
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