Updated: August 4, 2020 (February 4, 2008)

Office Updates Restore Blocked Formats

As managing vice president, Rob Helm covers Microsoft collaboration and content management. His 25-plus years of experience analyzing Microsoft’s technology... more

Software updates released in Jan. 2008 help organizations restore support for file formats that Office 2003 SP3 blocks. By default, SP3 blocks import and export of many older file formats (including Corel Draw), which has created problems for organizations that still use these formats. Newly released updates don’t change the defaults, but do help change which file types are blocked. Organizations must decide quickly how to handle SP3’s file blocking because the Microsoft Update site will begin gradually sending out SP3 on Feb. 27, 2008.

Office 2007 and Office 2003 SP3 block many file formats to cut off avenues of attack following a series of exploits of Office security vulnerabilities. Organizations can unblock file formats in Office 2007 using Group Policy and the Office Customization Tool (which prepares custom installations), but for Office 2003 SP3 the only solution has been to edit Windows Registry settings manually.

Microsoft has now released two optional updates for Office 2003 SP3 that simplify management of file format blocking:

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