Sending .exe files?

[Chet]

Hello group,

Windows Vista mail won't let me send a file with an .exe extension because
the program thinks this is a virus. But it's not a virus; it's a legitimate
file. Is there a a way to persuade Windows Mail to let me send this file?

Thanks

 

[Hal Hostetler [MVP-P/I]]

Change the ".exe" part of the name to something else and tell your recipient
to change the name back to what it should be before they try to use it.

Hal
--
Hal Hostetler, CPBE -- (e-mail address removed)
Senior Engineer/MIS -- MS MVP-Print/Imaging -- WA7BGX
http://www.kvoa.com -- "When News breaks, we fix it!"
KVOA Television, Tucson, AZ. NBC Channel 4
Still Cadillacin' - www.badnewsbluesband.com

 

[andré van uytrcht]

Hello group,

Windows Vista mail won't let me send a file with an .exe extension because
the program thinks this is a virus. But it's not a virus; it's a
legitimate file. Is there a a way to persuade Windows Mail to let me send
this file?

Thanks

 

[Patrick Keenan]

Hello group,

Windows Vista mail won't let me send a file with an .exe extension because
the program thinks this is a virus. But it's not a virus; it's a
legitimate file. Is there a a way to persuade Windows Mail to let me send
this file?

Thanks

Sending an EXE is less of a problem, because you'll have a bigger problem at
the other end. You won't be able to reliably send these files; many mail
servers will block delivery of EXE attachments for basic security reasons.

You will have precisely zero control over whether the intended recipient
actually gets the mail at all, let alone the file.

Repackage the file in another format (such as ZIP or RAR - though some mail
systems also block these), or post it on a web or FTP space somewhere, and
tell the recipient where it is. They can then download it outside of the
mail client.

HTH
-pk

 

[Hal Hostetler [MVP-P/I]]

Anymore, virtually all server-based A/V systems will remove suspect files
from within ZIP and most other archival files. Changing the file extent is
the simplest way around this, however, using FTP outside of email, as you
suggest, is an excellent alternative.

Hal
--
Hal Hostetler, CPBE -- (e-mail address removed)
Senior Engineer/MIS -- MS MVP-Print/Imaging -- WA7BGX
http://www.kvoa.com -- "When News breaks, we fix it!"
KVOA Television, Tucson, AZ. NBC Channel 4
Still Cadillacin' - www.badnewsbluesband.com

 

[Chet]

Right you are, of course. I hadn't thought of the problem on the receiving
end. Actually, I like the method of merely changing the extension. Thank you
all for answering.

 

[Patrick Keenan]

Right you are, of course. I hadn't thought of the problem on the receiving
end. Actually, I like the method of merely changing the extension. Thank
you all for answering.

Unfortunately, that tactic sometimes doesn't work either, if the scanners at
the other end look at the start of the attachment. They can detect the
real type of file, regardless of extension, and block it accordingly.

If that happens repeatedly, depending on who you are sending to, you can
find that your email address is added to a server's blacklist and your mail
is shuffled to a spam box. It can be hard to track this down.

And you're welcome.

HTH
-pk

 

[Steve Cochran]

Very often if I rename an exe attachment to exe.txt it gets through and then
the user can just remove the .txt part. It gets through lots of AV
software.

steve