Best practice for preventing virus infection is to never open an attachment from someone you don't know. It's a good idea to scan attachments even from known senders, especially if it's not a file you asked to receive or the cover note is suspicious.
The personal and server tools in this section are specifically designed to examine incoming e-mail for viruses, with the tools on this page designed to assist you in working around or avoiding problems with attachments and the Attachment security update. The Attachment Security update prevents Outlook users from launching files directly from e-mail messages. Outlook 98 and 2000 users should make sure that they have the latest updates affecting HTML mail.
Anti-virus Tools for Outlook - antivirus tools for use with Outlook. This includes tools for personal use.
Anti-virus Tools for Exchange server - tools for use at the server level, for Exchange and other email servers.
For information on specific viruses, see Viruses Affecting Microsoft Outlook.
Tools
COM add-in by Outlook MVP Ken Slovak that adds an Attachment Security Options page to the Tools, Options dialog in Outlook 2000 SP3 or higher to allow you to manage which file attachments are blocked. New version adds support for the .gadget extension for Outlook 2003 SP3 and Outlook 2007 SP1. It also adds detection for those SP levels. Shareware. Version 1.9.6 | |
"Outlook blocked access to the following potentially unsafe attachment ..." If you get this message when attempting to access an Outlook email attachment you'll want to install Attachment Security for Outlook; a free program for unlocking attachments blocked by Outlook. Attachment Security for Microsoft Outlook is a free and easy to use software program that allows you to open attachments blocked by Microsoft Outlook e-mail security. | |
Opening attachments will leave a copy behind on the device (PC/Phone/Tablet). Messageware AttachView ensures your confidential documents are safe by converting them into secure web pages that do not remain. In addition, users can safely view over 400 attachment file types without the native app. AttachView gives Exchange Administrators granular control over security settings such as the ability to view, open, print, or save documents, and much more, to prevent corporate data exposure and leakage. | |
Developers can use this to avoid the security prompts in Outlook. |
More Information
- Content Control Tools
- Protecting Microsoft Outlook against Viruses -- comprehensive list of patches and settings
- GFI Email Security Testing Zone -- free vulnerability tests
