It continues to amaze me that the Office Update site at http://officeupdate.microsoft.com does not offer a complete guide to all updates -- or even all critical updates -- for Microsoft Outlook. It overlooks the many updates for components that Outlook shares with Internet Explorer. For the most part, these updates fix various vulnerabilities related to the HTML mail format supported in Outlook 98 and Outlook 2000. We keep a detailed list at http://www.slipstick.com/outlook/htmlmail.htm.

However, the latest hole in Outlook security is unrelated to HTML mail and can affect all versions of Outlook that download mail from POP3 accounts. (You're not at risk if you use Outlook only to access an Exchange Server mailbox using the Microsoft Exchange Server service.) What makes this particular vulnerability so dangerous is that it provides a way for malicious code to enter your system simply by downloading a message. You don't even need to open or preview the message!

You can read more about the problem at http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS00-043.asp. To fix it:

• Install Internet Explorer 5.5 (http://microsoft.com/windows/ie/download/ie55.htm), except on Windows 2000.
• On Windows 2000, install Internet Explorer 5.01 SP1 or Windows 2000 SP1, both available via Windows Update (http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/).
• If you are already using Outlook Express 5.01 or 4.01, install the separate Security Update from http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/download/critical/patch9.htm. To check your OE version, start OE, and choose Help | About Microsoft Outlook Express. If the version is 5.00.2919.6600 or, for Windows 2000, 5.00.2919.6700, you have Outlook Express 5.01. (Outlook Express 5.5 includes this update.)

Microsoft Exchange 2000 has not even been released yet, but already Microsoft is sponsoring an awards program for the best Exchange 2000 applications. The deadline for nominations at http://www.exchange2000partners.com/mec2000/ is August 28. I suspect most entries will be self-nominated by the companies developing these programs. (That is specifically allowed under the contest rules.) There are eight categories, and each company can win in only one category. Each finalist company will receive one free admission to the Microsoft Exchange and Collaboration Solutions Conference 2000 in Dallas, October 9-13, where the winners will be announced.

If you are planning to attend MEC 2000, you might want to register before August 31 to take advantage of a $200 discount off the conference registration. For more information and registration forms, see http://www.microsoft.com/corpevents/mec2000/.

Here are some of our favorite recent articles for using Outlook:

How to change the properties of selected Outlook items
http://www.windowsitpro.com/Articles/Index.cfm?ArticleID=9032
Outlook 2000 VBA code sample demonstrating how to use the Selection object to update the FileAs property for selected contacts

Best Practices When Setting Up and Using Offline Folders
http://officeupdate.microsoft.com/2000/articles/olslowlinkbestoff1.htm
How to set up and use synchronization with an Exchange Server most efficiently

Create An Office Document Library in an Outlook 98/2000 Public Folder
http://officeupdate.microsoft.com/2000/articles/olofficelibrary1.htm
This article is about Exchange Server public folders, but you could do something similar with Net Folders, as long as the files aren't too big. Just remember that document libraries like this work best when the contents of each document are static or will be updated by only one person. If several people try to work on the same document simultaneously, Outlook provides no mechanism for reconciling the changes that the different authors make. In that situation, you may want to consider a document management add-in for Exchange Server.

Advanced Security in Exchange 2000 and Outlook 2000
http://www.windowsitpro.com/Articles/Index.cfm?ArticleID=8910
Overview of the enhancements to S/MIME for Outlook in Office 2000 Service Release 1/1a

For more great tips, join our Outlook Users e-mail discussion list by visiting http://www.egroups.com/group/outlook-users or clicking here to send a subscription request: outloook-users-subscribe@egroups.com.

Set aside plenty of reading time if you want to get up to speed on Exchange 2000. Here are some of the articles we're trying to digest:

Guide to Upgrading from Exchange Server 5.5 to Exchange 2000 Server
http://www.microsoft.com/exchange/productinfo/E2KGuide.htm

Planning an Exchange 2000 Migration Strategy
http://www.windowsitpro.com/Articles/Index.cfm?ArticleID=8863

Choosing an Exchange 2000 Upgrade Strategy
http://www.windowsitpro.com/Articles/Index.cfm?ArticleID=9141

Migrate to Exchange 2000 and Active Directory
http://www.devx.com/upload/free/features/exchange/2000/08aug00/ww0008/ww0008-1.asp

Exchange 2000 Front-end and Back-end Topology
http://www.microsoft.com/exchange/techinfo/E2KFrontBack.htm

Microsoft Exchange 2000 Clustering
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/techart/Clustering.htm

Advanced Security in Exchange 2000, Part 1
http://www.windowsitpro.com/Articles/Index.cfm?ArticleID=8332

Advanced Security in Exchange 2000, Part 2
http://www.windowsitpro.com/Articles/Index.cfm?ArticleID=8333

Design a Messaging Security System
http://www.devx.com/upload/free/features/exchange/2000/04apr00/jh0400/jh0400.asp

Hosting Multiple Companies or Departments on One Exchange 2000 Server: Step-by-Step
http://www.devx.com/upload/free/features/exchange/2000/08aug00/ds2_0008/ds2_0008.asp

Outlook Web Access Reborn
http://www.devx.com/upload/free/features/exchange/2000/06jun00/ss0600/ss0600-1.asp

Exchange 2000: Web Storage System, Workflow Tools, and CDO Turbocharge Collaboration Apps
http://msdn.microsoft.com/msdnmag/issues/0700/exchange/exchange.asp

In the next issue of EMO, we'll provide a roundup of more of the developer articles for Exchange 2000.