Outlook 2003 and Outlook 2002 do not restrict access to attachments with an .eml file extension

When you open an attachment with an .eml file extension, VBScripts may execute if you run the attachment in Microsoft Outlook.

This problem can occur because the Active Scripting option is enabled in Microsoft Internet Explorer.

To resolve this problem, use one of the following methods to prevent .eml attachments from executing scripts:

• Modify the list of file attachments to include .eml files.
• Disable the Active Scripting option for the Restricted sites zone.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.

Files that have an .eml extension are run by Microsoft Outlook Express, which shares security settings with Internet Explorer.

For additional information about how to disable Active Scripting, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: