OE attachments don't have extensions

I'm using OE 6.0 running on XP Pro, updates are updated.

About 2 weeks ago I couldn't view some attachments (but not all) on inbound email. Upon closer examination I see the unviewable attachments don't have an extension.

I contacted the sender and they told me the extension so I saved the attachment with that extension and all was well. He did tell me that he recently moved over to Vista. However, when I get email from this guy with an attachment there still is not extension. Apparently I'm the only one on his distribution list who is having a problem as he said no one else has commented about his attachments.

Today I was looking at some old email that had attachments and when trying to view the attachment I couldn't because there is no extension on the attached file. I'm having a small leap of faith that I wouldn't have saved the email if I couldn't view the attachment.

I haven't changed anything in my email options for quite some time but searched regardless and found nothing that I could identify that would supress the extension on attachments.

Any suggestions? Thanks....

 

Hi Jim,

Could you open OE and select Tools->Options->Security Tab and post what settings you have for "Warn me..." and "Do not allow..." in the Virus protection section?

 

Sure, here it is:

Checked are: Internet zone and warn me when other applications try to send mail as me.

 

Thanks,

Do you know what extensions are affected?

Probably not relevant but what other security software (Firewall/Antivirus/Anti Malware) do you use?

 

Extensions that I know about are .wmv and .eml but I haven't talked to him about each email that I can't view.

For antivirus I'm using Computer Associates to sniff out virus and spam (it sends suspected spam to a special mail folder). The firewall I'm using is the one provided by MS.

 

Is this only one sender?

Is it possible the error is on his side rather than yours?

If not, do you have access to webmail gateway?

 

Actually I thought it was his problem until I tried to open an old email with an attachment and also from someone other than this guy. When I tried the old one it wouldn't open and had no extension on the attachment. That is what I meant in my initial post, second to last paragraph.

I guess I don't have access to gateway since I don't know what it is... if you would like, I just received another email from him with an attachment that has no extension. I would be willing to forward it to you if you would like to take a look. You can send me your email in a private message if you are game for this option.

If I need to do something on gateway please send me a link and I'll give it a go.

 

Please forward the email to

chuckawa AT blueyonder.co.uk

Obviously change the AT to @ and post here after you send, this mailbox is rarely checked.

A webmail gateway allows you to check your email via a browser, useful if you're not at home and also useful for errors like this (I'm not convinced it's an OE problem or even yours).

If you PM me your address I'd like to send you a couple of small emails, one or two will flag as a virus. Don't worry about them it's a testfile known as EICAR

 

I have forwarded my last "problem" email to you. Of course you will have my address from the email and feel free to send what files you like.

 

1st reply sent Jim

I'll let you know when I've sent the other two after you respond to that one...

 

Thanks Jim,

I've sent a further 3 emails.

1 .com your AV software may (should) flag this but it's harmless

2 .Zip the same file but zipped

3 .jpg

Let me know how you get on with all three, particulary if the .com and .jpg extensions disappear. Please respond to the board as I hardly ever check that email box.

 

I've only seen 2 emails, the no attachment and the jpg. Neither of the 2 caused a concern from my AV program. I checked the quanintine and log for the 3rd email and found nothing. Possibly it didn't make it past the AV sniffers in the route between your isp and mine. Did you, by chance, get a message saying the email was not delivered? I was able to view the jpg with no problem.

 

I just received 2 emails from "blueyonder.co.uk/security" saying they intercepted an email with a virus they were unable to clean so they deleted the message. One was a jpg and the other the com. I did receive one email with the jpg attachment as noted above.

What are you thinking along the antivirus line? Is it that possibly the antivirus software is somehow deleting the extension on email because it considers it suspect?

 

Hi Jim,

If the jpg extension was ok then I can only assume the problem is with the sender.

Sorry about the security emails, blueyonder is my ISP and obviously they're blocking outgoing virii. Those weren't the EICAR is a test file designed to trigger AV defences, unfortunately those defenses were triggered a little earlier than I'd hoped

It was just an idea, I wasn't thinking that the emails were suspect but anything that interferes (or can interfere) with email delivery would be suspect.

All I can suggest in the mean time is keep any further emails and look for similarities to see if we can narrow this down. I'll pm you an address that is checked more regularly if you wish to forward any to me.

Paddy

 

Cool. I will forward emails I get that appear to have no extension with attachments. Who knows, they may be interesting.

In the mean time I will contact a few other folks on his distribution list and see if they are having any issues. Of course I'll update this thread with any new news.