Understanding Outlook's Security One of Outlook's strengths is its programmability. Outlook supports VBA, enabling you to use procedures to automate many mundane tasks. | Team LiB Understanding Outlook s Security One of Outlook s strengths is its programmability. Outlook supports VBA enabling you to use procedures to automate many mundane tasks. When you need more than VBA provides you can install COM add-ins to provide features that Microsoft didn t build into Outlook. A Component Object Model COM add-in is an application that uses the host program s object model to access the host program s interface. COM add-ins add features missing from the program or improve on existing features. Extended Reminders is an example of a COM add-in that adds a feature that Outlook is missing the ability to use reminders in any folder. After a COM add-in is installed it s listed in Tools Options Other Advanced Options COM Add-ins. This programmability comes with a high price tag Anything you can do virus writers can do too and they usually have destruction on their minds not helping Outlook users work smarter. Outlook 2003 provides a good mix of security and usability. Microsoft assumes that you know not to install add-ins or use VBA code that comes from questionable sources so it allowed Outlook to trust COM add-ins and project code. That means code now runs without triggering annoying dialogs such as the one shown in Figure . Figure . The object model security dialog warns you when a program is trying to send mail on your behalf. The responsibility to ensure that unsafe add-ins aren t installed now falls on your shoulders not Microsoft s. Plenty of safeguards are still built in but in the end keeping your system secure and free from viruses trojan horses and worms is your responsibility and that s how it should be. Even though Outlook is very secure don t use it as an excuse to stop using common sense when you receive questionable messages. Don t open attachments you don t need. Always use an antivirus program and keep the virus definitions current. Auto-protect settings will protect you if a virus tries to run. Outlook s
