Outlook OLE how to bypass that security popup

cormanaz has asked for the wisdom of the Perl Monks concerning the following question:

Good day Monks. I am working on some Perl based Outlook automation via OLE. Everything is going swimmingly except this security pop-up pops-up everytime I try to run my code, which I have to click away before my script can run.

Rant/digression on MS-stupidity in UI design: The permission clock defaults to one minute, not long enough for a complicated script running the slow Outlook client. To get the max, 10 min (why can't I have an hour so none of this would be an issue?), you have to drop down a list select then click OK. That's 3 clicks. But wait there's more: The Outlook client then comes to the top, so you you have to click once more.

As you can imagine, this get's pretty annoying when one is doing debugging and testing. Does anybody know how I can make Outlook trust the Perl interpreter so it will stop launching this thing? I know it is possible because Google Desktop Search talks to Outlook and doesn't generate the window.

Thx.....

Steve

Comment on Outlook OLE how to bypass that security popup

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Re: Outlook OLE how to bypass that security popup by jfroebe (Parson) on Sep 10, 2005 at 21:28 UTC
I'm assuming this not hooked up to an Exchange (or equivalent) server else I would recommend writing code for the Exchange server. It can be disabled in the registry but I wouldn't want it as a permanent solution. If you don't get an answer here, you may want to ask the question on Microsoft's newsgroups. Jason L. Froebe Team Sybase member No one has seen what you have seen, and until that happens, we're all going to think that you're nuts. - Jack O'Neil, Stargate SG-1	[reply]
Re: Outlook OLE how to bypass that security popup by InfiniteSilence (Curate) on Sep 10, 2005 at 21:44 UTC
Where is your source code? Sometimes it seems like a pain to have to generate a code example from a production problem, but you may get better advice if you do the following: Quickly, in about two or three sentences, describe the problem you are having Show some kind of source code Then give the remaining information Doing the above is good because it gives people who have not yet experienced the problem a clearer picture of what is going on. Celebrate Intellectual Diversity	[reply]
Re^2: Outlook OLE how to bypass that security popup by cormanaz (Deacon) on Sep 12, 2005 at 14:05 UTC
Gee thanks for the advice but sometimes it's a pain to have to look at a bunch of code when the problem has nothing to do with the code, which is in another thread that was about a code problem. This question is about Outlook security wrt Perl.	[reply]
Re: Outlook OLE how to bypass that security popup by planetscape (Chancellor) on Sep 11, 2005 at 05:05 UTC
Normally this sort of question makes the hairs on the back of my neck tingle because of the potential for misuse... Seeing that cormanaz has been around a while (and the fact this wasn't posted anonymously) is somewhat reassuring. So here goes: AFAIK, there is no way to bypass the Outlook Security Guard directly via the Outlook UI nor by programming the Outlook Object Model. (Because, of course, such a means would be readily exploited by malicious types.) Therefore, I would not expect to find any Win32::OLE-type solutions out there. However, alternatives may exist. Last year I heard about a program for this purpose called "Express ClickYes", available from Express-Soft. A glance tonight at the web page (redirected), suggests the new incarnation of this program might be RoboTask. If you happen to have a subscription to Pinnacle Publishing's Smart Access newsletter, a nice article on this subject may be found by searching for "Manipulating Outlook Data from Access" or the author's name, Rick Dobson. HTH, planetscape	[reply]
Re^2: Outlook OLE how to bypass that security popup by cormanaz (Deacon) on Sep 12, 2005 at 14:16 UTC
Yes I see the problem. What good is security if you can poke holes in it with the object model? On the other hand, one wants to develop and run apps with Outlook. The best solution to the problem would be on Microsoft's end. They could design their pop-up to allow more time, default to the last used value, or better yet to register the app as trusted, like you would on a firewall or something. Maybe I'll post a note on Ms support about this. There is still the question of how Google Desktop Search talks to Outlook without generating the popup. They got by with a little help from their friends at Microsoft, I suppose.	[reply]
Re^3: Outlook OLE how to bypass that security popup by cormanaz (Deacon) on Sep 13, 2005 at 13:53 UTC
Microsoft support board was helpful. Here is a writeup on the "object model guard." It includes a kinda complicated explanation of how you can't really deal with the problem, and in the end references the click-hack Planetscape referred to in his reply. But then there was a pointer to this which appears to be a free app that will make Outlook trust specified apps.	[reply]