Super-Networking Blog

So I ran into a new one today on my Windows XP Pro machine. I was trying to extract a program out of a zip file using XP’s built in compressed file program. The Zip file was 12MB in size, when I did an extract all it was only 100K worth of files in the directory. No errors no alerts, nothing in the event logs. I went into the folder and saw the .EXE was missing. I disabled my Antivirus and tried again, same result. I checked windows defender and it was disabled.

Windows itself was blocking it, I had never had Windows stop me from extracting a file before. I tried to run the file from within the Zip file and that is when I got the error that Windows has blocked the file.

Here is what Windows says about it:

How blocking some attachments helps protect your computer

Sending and reading e-mail is one of the most popular activities on the Internet. The widespread use of this technology, however, makes it a primary way for computer viruses to spread. Because viruses and other security threats are often contained in e-mail attachments, Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) helps protect your computer by blocking e-mail attachments that might be harmful.

In most cases, Windows XP SP2 will block files that have the potential to harm your computer if they come to you through e-mail or other communication programs. Windows will block these files if your program is running in a strong security mode. Most files that contain script or code that could run without your permission will be blocked. Some common examples of this file type are those with file names that end in .exe, .bat, and .js.

Blocking these files is very important to do, since directly opening files of this type poses a risk to your computer and personal data.

Is there any way I can open files that have been blocked?

If you are certain that you trust this file and want to open it, follow the instructions below.

2. Save the file onto your computer.
3. Click Start, click My Computer, and navigate to the file that you saved.
4. Right-click the file that you saved, and then click Properties.
5. Click Unblock near the bottom of the dialog box.

Sure enough once I “Unblocked” the Zip file it extracted and the EXE ran.