How to Receive a Blocked .exe or .zip Email Attachment via SU Email

Because of the increased delivery of malware, viruses and ransomware through compressed (zip) files and executable (exe) installer files, Salisbury University removes those file types from emails when they are received as attachments to SU email.  This helps prevent the rapid proliferation of these programs, such as CryptoLocker, which if introduced to the SU network can quickly spread and cause a large amount of damage.

There may be times, though, in which you need to receive a ZIP or EXE file from a trusted source. While those files are not saved and cannot be released, you have a couple of options to receive the file when that happens.

Have the file resent as a link

The most ideal method is to have the sender place the file in a network/internet accessible area or service, such as OneDrive or DropBox. The sender can then share the file with you or send you a link to the ZIP or EXE file to download. Because this also reduces your message size, this is the preferred option.  

Have the sender rename the file and resend

A second method is to have the sender rename the file, and then once you receive the file, you would rename it to the correct name. For example, if the file the sender was trying to send was called “MyDocument.zip”, the sender could rename the file “MyDocumentzip.rename” and attach it to the email. When you receive the file, you can then rename “MyDocumentzip.rename” back to “MyDocument.zip”.

On A Windows PC

• Open a Windows Explorer window and navigate to the file you want to rename.
• Right-click the file and choose Properties.
• In the General tab, rename the document and click OK.
• Confirm that you want to change the extension. 

On a Mac

• Open a Finder window and navigate to the file you want to rename.
• Click File>Get Info (Command + I) to open the info window for the file.
• Expand the Name & Extension section and then rename the document. Hit Return.
• Confirm that you want to change the extension

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