Overriding the Built-in Attachment Security Settings in Outlook XP and 2003

Do you ever have the need to exchange .exe or .mdb or other "unsafe" files over email and find that the built-in security within Outlook 2002 (XP) and 2003 doesn't allow you to open them? You end up getting a warning within the title of your email that says "Outlook blocked access to the following potentially unsafe attachments: test.mdb."

While I don't advocate doing this for the rest of your organization, and I know you won't, being able to take control of your security settings makes it easier for many of us - admins and experienced computer users.

To do this, a tweak to the registry is needed -

Run Regedt32 (or regedit) and go to:

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

Or for Outlook 2003 users, go to:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\11.0\Outlook\Security

Under that key, add a new value name called Level1Remove with data type REG_SZ. In the string editor, put in the extensions you want NOT to be blocked separated by a semicolon (;). e.g.

mdb;exe;

If you're using regedit, create new string value called Level1Remove and double click on the newly added string. In the Value Data field, put in the extensions like above.

Restart your Outlook XP or 2003 afterwards and now you'll see the previously banned files reappearing in the title bar. Double clicking the file prompts for a dialog box that asks you to save the file.

* Notice if the email contains two attachments with one no longer banned and the other banned, you will still get the warning message in the email title bar that the banned attachment is blocked (and thus not accessible until you change the registry for that extension) while the other is available for saving.