Until a few days ago one of my clients was happily using a Microsoft Access database which resides on a Windows file server. As of yesterday he was unable to open it due to the error:

This file is located outside your intranet or on an untrusted site. Microsoft Access will not open the file due to potential security problems.

Although a Microsoft KnowledgeBase article provides some advice it didn’t resolve the problem. A Google search revealed someone else experiencing this but “after tweaking their IE8 settings,” the problem persisted.

IE8 was not installed during my site visit a few weeks ago but it was worth checking – I remoted in. Sure enough, IE8 and a corresponding security update were installed. After a quick uninstall and restart the problem was solved.

I find it disturbing that Internet Explorer browser updates are still interfering with system-wide security settings and breaking software that was otherwise working properly.

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