HTML images not being blocked despite Auto Picture Download settin

[Guest]

I recently started using Outlook 2003 on this computer.

Images embedded in HTML e-mail download and display automatically, even
though I have SELECTED the "Don't download pictures or other content
automatically in HTML e-mail" option and CLEARED the "Permit downloads in
e-mail messages from ... Safe Senders" sub-option and CLEARED the "Permit
downloads from ... Trusted Zone" sub-option under "Tools > Options > Security

Change Automatic Picture Download Settings."

All images display in all messages, in both the reading pane and in the
regular reader window. I observe this behavior every time, on every incoming
HTML message that contains IMG tags.

I can confirm from my firewall's connection logs that the images are indeed
being fetched from the remote web server every time I view (or preview) the
message.

Furthermore, when I forward an IMG-containing message, I get no warning
message (despite having SELECTED the "Warn me before downloading content when
editing..." option. In addition, the IMG tags are forwarded as-is despite
having SELECTED the "When an HTML message contains pictures..." option under
"Tools > Options > Mail Format > Internet Format" -- the reference to the
location of the pictures is forwarded rather than a copy of the pictures.

I have tried clearing and reselecting all the appropriate option boxes,
restarting Outlook, rebooting, clearing the cache, etc., with no change in
behavior.

Why is Outlook ignoring my security preferences?


Configuration:
Outlook 2003 (build 11.6359.6360) SP1
MS Office SBE
Windows XP Pro 2002 SP2

 

[Diane Poremsky [MVP]]

Note that some spam is now including the images, not using html tags, to
avoid the block. Also, once you allow images on a messages (by clicking the
infobar or image) that message will always show the images.

You only have one thing checked - the top one, to not download anything? Did
you try removing the check and restarting outlook, then enabling the check?


--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]
Author, Teach Yourself Outlook 2003 in 24 Hours
Coauthor, OneNote 2003 for Windows (Visual QuickStart Guide)
Author, Google and Other Search Engines (Visual QuickStart Guide)



Join OneNote Tips mailing list: http://www.onenote-tips.net/

 

[Seth]

Note that some spam is now including the images, not using html tags,
to avoid the block. Also, once you allow images on a messages (by
clicking the infobar or image) that message will always show the
images.

The type of email messages I am referring to does not include the images as
attachments -- only as in-line IMG tags. As I said, I can confirm from my
firewall logs that the images are being fetched via HTTP every time the
messages are read in Outlook.

I have been sending myself "new" test messages on a regular basis. I can
confirm that the images are not being shown simply because they are cached
locally. As I said, I have been flushing the cache, and the images are
being fetched anew every time I view a message. Also, the behavior is the
same with brand-new messages pointing to never-before-displayed images.

You only have one thing checked - the top one, to not download
anything? Did you try removing the check and restarting outlook, then
enabling the check?

Yes, as I said, to no avail.

 

[Guest]

See my responses below.

Note that some spam is now including the images, not using html tags,
to avoid the block. Also, once you allow images on a messages (by
clicking the infobar or image) that message will always show the
images.

The type of email messages I am referring to does not include the images as
attachments -- only as in-line IMG tags. As I said, I can confirm from my
firewall logs that the images are being fetched via HTTP every time the
messages are read in Outlook.

I have been sending myself "new" test messages on a regular basis. I can
confirm that the images are not being shown simply because they are cached
locally. As I said, I have been flushing the cache, and the images are
being fetched anew every time I view a message. Also, the behavior is the
same with brand-new messages pointing to never-before-displayed images.

You only have one thing checked - the top one, to not download
anything? Did you try removing the check and restarting outlook, then
enabling the check?

Yes, as I said, to no avail.

 

[Guest]

See my responses below.

Note that some spam is now including the images, not using html tags,
to avoid the block. Also, once you allow images on a messages (by
clicking the infobar or image) that message will always show the
images.

The type of email messages I am referring to does not include the images as
attachments -- only as in-line IMG tags. As I said, I can confirm from my
firewall logs that the images are being fetched via HTTP every time the
messages are read in Outlook.

I have been sending myself "new" test messages on a regular basis. I can
confirm that the images are not being shown simply because they are cached
locally. As I said, I have been flushing the cache, and the images are
being fetched anew every time I view a message. Also, the behavior is the
same with brand-new messages pointing to never-before-displayed images.

You only have one thing checked - the top one, to not download
anything? Did you try removing the check and restarting outlook, then
enabling the check?

Yes, as I said, to no avail.

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

PBJI, but are the <img> tags pointing to external content or the CID of a
picture attached to the message? It could be either. An attached image will
always display.

Post the <img> HTML source if you have one handy.

 

[Guest]

The IMG tags are pointing to external http content, not CID's. (What does
PBJI mean?)

Here's an example:

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD><TITLE></TITLE>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=us-ascii">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.2523" name=GENERATOR></HEAD>
<BODY><!-- Converted from text/plain format -->
<P><FONT size=2>This is a test image: <IMG alt="TEST IMAGE" hspace=0
src="http://www.google.com/images/logo.gif" align=baseline
border=0></FONT></P></BODY></HTML>

What I see, despite my Security settings, is the Google logo, not the
alternate text "TEST IMAGE." I can tell from my FW logs that every time I
view the message, the logo image is requested from www.google.com.

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

Are you testing by sending to yourself? Do you have a record for your own
email address in Contacts?

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of
Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers

 

[Guest]

Interesting thought. Yes, I am sending to myself, but the address I used for
testing isn't in my Contacts. I also tried just now to send a test from a
throw-away account, not using Outlook, to my usual account, using Outlook.
No change. Also, it's not just my test messages that have images displayed
-- it's all IMG-tag-containing messages (and again, I'm not talking about
messages with CID tags and attachments). Anyway, I have specifically
UNchecked the option under "Automatic Picture Download Settings" that says
"Permit downloads... from senders... defined in the Safe Senders... List."

Thanks for the good thoughts so far, though. This continues to be a big (and
potentially damaging) mystery.

 

[dlevine]

I am also seeing this problem on our LAN. It seems very inconsistent.
The settings provided in Tools, Security, Change Automatic Picture
Download Settings really seem to have no effect either way with some
messages. That is pictures in HTML-formatted emails seem to get through
when they should not, and vice-versa.

I hope this is solvable problem!
Thanks, David Levine
(e-mail address removed)