Prohibited file

Question

I have a file type that Microsoft states is "PROHIBITED". The author guarantees this file to be virus free. Why am I receiving this message?

Answer 1

The file is an .exe file

That's the reason, then. Any file that looks like it could be 'run' is prohibited. I can't find the current block list for WLMail, but .exe, .scr, .chm and many others are certainly on it. One of the principal reasons for this is that the default setting in Windows since XP is to hide file extensions for known file types. So, someone wishing to distribute malware could name his evil file, say, picture.jpg.exe. This would look like an ordinary image file (picture.jpg) to an unsuspecting recipient.

To send an .exe file by mail, there are two methods that may work.

• Change the extension to something else not on the block list, preferably one that Windows won't know how to open, like .foo. Tell the recipient to save the file and change its extension back to .exe.
• Zip the file (in Windows, right-click and choose Send to > Compressed (zipped) folder. Attach the resultant .zip file to your message.

These will not survive all security barriers that the recipient may have in place, but the file will probably get through in most cases.

Another solution is to upload the file to SkyDrive and share it with the recipient, who can then download it.

Answer 2

Hi,

Since you have already unchecked the warning notification and run the software, you will no longer encounter the same error message when you try to open or send the same file again.

Thanks!

Answer 3

Garry,

Thanks for your reply. Your reply was very detailed. I followed all of your suggestions, but I still encounter the same problem. Just for clarification, I am including the following:

I have scanned the file with antivirus software and it does not detect any problems. The program I am using is Nature Illusion Studio from DAK. I contacted DAK, but they have not been helpful at all. The file is an .exe file and is 5MB. I use Windows Live Mail on Windows 7. I encounter the blocked file message when sending the email with attachment to myself. I went to security options in Mail and unchecked the "DO NOT ALLOW ATTACHMENTS TO BE SAVED OR OPENED THAT COULD POSSIBLY BE A VIRUS". I still get the following message: "PUBLISHER COULD NOT BE VERIFIED. ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO RUN THIS SOFTWARE?" By checking "RUN" I can open the file. Of course I would prefer being able to send this file without encountering the messages. Any further suggestions?  Thanks... Johnny

Answer 4

Hi,

There are lots of reason why you cannot download or attach a file.

• It is possible that the attachment contains a virus. Hotmail helps protect the user’s computer from virus attacks by scanning the attachments for viruses in incoming and outgoing email messages.
• When the user tries to attach a file to a Hotmail email message, Hotmail automatically scans the file for viruses. If a virus is found, the user cannot attach the infected file until the virus is removed.
• The Hotmail servers are experiencing issues that cause the virus scan to produce a false positive.

If you're attaching a virus-free file and receiving a false virus notification, please check the following:

1. Type of file (example: exe, pdf, doc). You have to ensure that you're not trying to attach a file that is blocked by Hotmail.
2. Size of the attachment. please be informed that you can only attach a file of size 25 MB per email message in both free and paid accounts.

For the meantime, please try the workaround provided below then check if the issue still occurs.

If you're using Internet Explorer browser, please try to optimize it by following the link below

Optimize Internet Explorer for Hotmail

Thanks!