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The Problem, the Balloon, and the Four Bedroom House: A List Apart
This article jumped out at me as a repeat of project wisdom that is universally believed in but is hardly ever followed. Everyone seems to want to start doing right NOW and not wait until everything is agreed on.
While at my current job I have been writing for the monthly newsletter under the guise of the E-Genie. This time I thought that I would post my latest creation here as well.
There have been an increasing number of security threats that use email as their way of getting onto your home computer. These threats have used features and in some cases security weaknesses in the email software to launch their attacks. The software makers have responded to these problems by adding security features to their email readers. This month we will deal with some of the side effects of these features.
Question:
“I received an email that I was expecting and the information I needed was sent as an attachment. When I tried to access this it received a message stating I was denied access to an “unsafe attachment”. Others I talked to received the same attachment with no warnings and no consequences to their system.”
The problem here is that the email program is assuming that the attached file is dangerous and will not allow it to be used. This is based on the file type and not the contents of the file. File types that are considered dangerous include .exe, .zip , .scr, .pif, .bat, etc. Also applications like Word and Excel that can contain macros will also be considered unsafe.
To access these files you will need to change the security settings of your email program. It is best to do this only when there is a particular file that you want and that you are expecting. This way the software forces you to think twice before clicking on a dodgy attachment. For example in Outlook Express (version 6.0) go to “Tools –> Options” then select the Security tab.
Uncheck the box next to “Do not allow attachments to be saved or opened that could potentially be a virus”. You should now be able to open the file but don’t forget to re-check this setting once you have opened your file.
All the best from the E-Genie!
Work wouldn’t be so hard if actually felt that I wasn’t doing what I believe in alone. But all I can think of are the possibilities that we can achieve. I want to be able to get a message from someone anywhere I am. I want any interface that I use to tell me that there is a message from someone that I care about waiting for me.
These are the thoughts that screw with my head. And yet I find myself fighting to get a person officially authorised to talk to me about a small part of the implementation of the idea. I need a believer. I need an evangelist. I don’t know if I can be that evangelist. Too much doubt.
I have been thinking, as well, about fear and what it prevents me from doing. On one hand I am in a good position to be able to present my message. I think that I am just afraid that no one will agree.
I guess all that I have to do is think back to every other idea that I have had, that I have been quiet about and then seen someone else carry out successfully. There is no point having the ideas if I can only keep them to myself. I think that if I can write and write and write, like a room full of monkeys the result will appear before me. But first I need to write.
I want to write about ‘the value of data’, the ‘amazing power of email and why it’s existence is threatened by Spam?.
Maybe the next action that I take will be about Spam. The value of data is not my problem any more. God, how I wish it was. I just want the ideas to be set free?