Division of Information Technology

Blocked Attachments

In an ongoing effort to keep K-State's systems and services safe, malware filtering has been activated for K-State's email. The filter blocks attachments that are commonly used to transmit viruses or malicious software. It protects both the mail system and individual mailboxes from malicious software, in addition to other email security filtering already in place at K-State.

The malware filtering will be applied to all K-State email: Office 365 webmail and Outlook. All incoming and outgoing email will be filtered. The K-State IT Knowledge Base provides a complete listing of the filetypes currently being blocked, along with common file extensions for the specific filetypes.

Knowing when an attachment has been blocked

The K-State mailbox that is sending or receiving a blocked attachment receives an email notification that an attachment has been blocked. The body of the original message remains intact and is delivered along with the notification about the blocked attachment.

Sending or receiving file types that are being blocked

  • OneDrive — Sharing files through OneDrive avoids issues pertaining to blocked filetypes for attachments. OneDrive offers secure file storage, versioning, and collaboration. OneDrive comes with 1 TB file storage that can be synced across all your devices. Files can be shared with anyone, inside or outside of K-State through OneDrive's file sharing feature.

  • Canvas — Files can be uploaded, downloaded, and shared using Canvas. Attachments can be uploaded in several areas of Canvas including: Files, Group Files, Discussions, Assignments, Conversations, and Messages.

  • Password-protected archive file - Place the file into a password-protected archive file, then attach it to the message. There are a variety of Windows and Macintosh programs that can create these files, including WinZip and StuffIt. Include instructions in your email telling the recipient the archive type and contents, and let the recipient know the password for the protected file.

    Note: Password-protected archives should NEVER be used to transmit data that is confidential or protected, because password-protected archives are easy to decode by determined hackers.

Can the file extension be renamed?

No hacking can get around the malware filtering. Renaming the file extension will not work. The scanning software can detect the blocked filetypes, even when the file is renamed.