OL2000: Troubleshooting Security Issues in Outlook

MORE INFORMATION

I Get a Warning When I Open Messages or Attachments

• You may need to change the security zone settings. For steps to change your security zone setting see the section, "Changing Your Security Zone Settings" below.
• You may need to change the setting for attachments. For steps to change your security zone setting see the section, "Changing the Attachment Security Setting" below.

When a secure e-mail message does not open properly, an error message appears that describes the problem. A red X defines which part of the certificate has a problem.

You may have to change the trust levels for the sender. In the Certificate dialog box that appears, click Edit Trust, and then click "Explicitly trust this certificate."

I Can't Open a Message That Was Sent to Me Using Security

When a secure e-mail message does not open properly, an error message appears that describes the problem. A red X defines which part of the certificate has a problem. To remedy this you may need to do one of the following:

• You may need to change the trust levels for the sender. In the Certificate dialog box that appears, click Edit Trust, and then click "Explicitly trust this certificate."
• The sender's certificate may have expired. In the Certificate dialog box that appears, click View Certificate. Click the Details tab, and then look at the Valid From and Valid To dates. If the certificate has expired the sender must update their certificate.

I Can't Send a Message Using Encryption

To send an encrypted message to a recipient, you must have a copy of the recipient's digital ID stored with the address in your contact list or address book. If you have more than one entry for the recipient, you must use the one that has the digital ID.

For additional information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

ActiveX Controls, Java Applets and Scripts in Messages Don't Work

• Your security zone setting may be set to the highest level, which disables all active content in HTML messages.

For steps to change your security zone setting see the section, "Changing Your Security Zone Settings" below.

When I Try to Open E-mail Messages I Get a Signature Failure Message

When a secure e-mail message does not open properly, an error message appears that describes the problem. A red X defines which part of the certificate has a problem.

• You may have to change the trust levels for the sender. In the Certificate dialog box that appears, click Edit Trust, and then click "Explicitly trust this certificate."
• The sender's certificate may have expired. In the Certificate dialog box that appears, click View Certificate. Click the Details tab, and then look at the Valid From date and Valid To date. If the certificate has expired the sender must update their certificate.

Changing Your Security Zone Settings

1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
2. Click the Security tab, and then click Zone Settings. Click OK to the warning dialog box.
3. Under "Select a web content zone to specify its security settings" click to select Internet.
4. Drag the "Security level for this zone" slider bar to select Medium to be warned before running potentially damaging content, or Low to run content without warning.

Changing the Attachment Security Setting

1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
2. Click the Security tab.
3. Click Attachment Security.

• High security (recommended for all users) will warn you of potential security issues with attachments.
• None (not recommended) offers no protection from potential security problems. Use this setting only if you are sure all messages you receive are safe.