MS Access – Bypassing the Outlook E-mail Security Warning

Yet again today, I was asked in a forum the infamous question regarding how to disable the security warning that pops up when trying to automate e-mails.  So I thought it was time to make this post on my site to help everyone that has this question.

Anyone that had the pleasure of trying to automate sending e-mails using automation (SendObject method, Outlook Automation) had the pleasure of the following security pop-up.

Microsoft Office Outlook Security Warning

So basically, Microsoft has thrown a stick in developer’s wheels in the hopes of stoping malicious software from propagating unbenounced to the user.

So the question remains, what is a developer to do to make a seamless e-mail tool? Well, as usual, there are a couple possible solutions:

Solution 1 :: Click-Yes
One option would be to download and install a piece of software such as ClickYes.  The problem with this is that it can effectively make you vulnerable to propagating malicious software… since it effectively will always authorize any access, whether the request comes from your app, or not. This also requires installation on every computer that will require sending e-mails automatically. In a controlled environment, this can be done, but for general users, this will not be a viable option.

Solution 2 :: Outlook Redemption
Another popular option is to use Outlook Redemption to send your e-mail.  The downside here is that it require registering a COM library and then recoding your e-mail automation routine.  The positive aspect here is that there are lots of examples available online!

Solution 3 :: Swicth E-mail Techniques
In my opionion, this is the easiest and best solution.  Simply stop sending e-mails through Outlook altogether.  The major downside here is that since you don’t send the e-mails through Outlook, you will not have a copy saved in your Sent Items.  The pros is that it works!  It works seamlessly!  You could switch over to CDO mailing techniques, use BLAT, use WinSock, …  Tony Toew’s covers a number of possible alternate techniques on his site http://www.granite.ab.ca/access/email.htm.

So at the end of the day, there are several solutions available to get around this problem.

6 responses on “MS Access – Bypassing the Outlook E-mail Security Warning”

  1. isaac

    Or another option ( 2007 and later) is just adjust your Trust Center settings in Outlook to allow programmatic access, and instruct your users to do the same as a requirement of the software usage.

    1. admin Post author

      Although this is true, I do not like the security implications. It’s almost as if Microsoft did a 180 on their own security measures.