Helping people with computers... one answer at a time.
"Windows Live Hotmail has blocked some attachments in this message because they appear to be unsafe." means Hotmail is protecting you from malware.
I've received an email on my Hotmail account with an attachment. Hotmail refuses to let me access the attachment at all, claiming "Windows Live Hotmail has blocked some attachments in this message because they appear to be unsafe."
It's safe, I know it is. How can I get Hotmail to do what I want and let me download the attachment?
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You don't.
Seriously, it's that simple. If Hotmail blocks an attachment, it's blocked. I know of no way to get at it through the web interface.
I'll review why, which files are affected, and some ways of avoiding the problem.
And one potential work-around that might gain you access to the attachment anyway.
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Here's the message we're talking about:

Do not confuse this with similar messages that include links to "Show Content" - those are different. This message results when Windows Live Hotmail detects an attachment that has a specific file extension - the ".letters" at the end of the filename.
One list of blocked extensions includes:
(I won't claim this list is accurate or complete. As we know, things are always changing. By the time you read this additions and deletions could have occurred.)
As you can see in my example above, I emailed myself "du.exe" which is a ".exe" type, which is on the blocked list.
Why are all those file types blocked?
Because they're "executable". They are, fundamentally, computer programs or can be treated as computer programs.
And as computer programs, they can carry malware.
Hotmail is protecting you by preventing your accidentally downloading and running any file type that could carry malware.
And as far as I have been able to determine, there is no way to actually tell Hotmail you know what you're doing and to let you download the attachment anyway.
The Workaround
The workaround that you'll hear from almost every support person, and the easiest workaround that you'll hear from me is to have the person sending you the file resend it, with either of two changes:
Have the person rename the file before attaching it. In my example I'd rename "du.exe" to "du.foo" before attaching it. Make sure to use an extension that is not on the blocked list. Then you should be able to download the attachment, and rename it back to it's original name prior to using it. Again, in my example after downloading "du.foo" I'd rename it "du.exe" and have the intended file.
Have the person zip the file before attaching it. Not only will this typically make the file being emailed somewhat smaller, you'll note that ".zip" is not on the blocked list. You can then download the zipped file, and unzip it with a program like WinZip, 7-Zip or Windows Explorer itself.
The down side to both of those workarounds is that the file must be resent.
A Workaround That Works
An alternative that I've verified works is to configure a POP3 email program such as Thunderbird to download your Hotmail messages. The messages - and their attachments - will be downloaded and you can access the attachments according to the security settings of that email program.
This is more work; you'll need to potentially download and configure an email program to do it.
But it works.
Article C4314 - May 14, 2010 « »
December 9, 2011 12:34 PM
My wife has Windows Live Mail with Windows 7. I sent her an email and she cannot get the hyperlink that was in the email. Why not?
09-Dec-2011
January 12, 2012 11:29 PM
Once again proving that Microsoft can't write code. Nothing they've written for years is fully functional and bug free. And they keep turning out worse and worse versions. When I can't even mail some bookmarks to myself they really are idiots.
July 16, 2012 5:05 AM
If you have a 64 bit machine, uninstall adobe flashplayer 64bit and install the 32 bit version. Reboot the computer and you can open your attachments again. Watch out for the automatic update on flashplayer cause you will get the 64 bit version again and the same problem back !
January 2, 2013 10:08 AM
I'm impressed with your know-how. Thanks!
January 25, 2013 10:38 AM
Here is my workaround solution to a blocked javascript attachment, which doesn't need the message to be resent.
1. In the web browser, for the message in question use the drop down menu option -> 'View Message Source'
2. Save this page in plain text to your hard drive, using a right click menu option. [It may help in using Firefox for this step]
3. Run an email program called Thunderbird, and select File->Open Saved Message. Ensure 'All Files' type is enabled and open the text file you just saved above.
4. Hopefully this should have opened the email message, so for any attachments there should be a save button. Click on that button and save the attachment to disk.
5. Use the attached file as desired. e.g. for the javascript file, open in a text editor to be able to view the contents.
HTH.