Office 2003 Upgrade Blocks Some Older Files

It’s not what you want: If you upgrade Office 2003 with the Service Pack, you’ll find some older files locked as “less secure.”

Service packs are supposed to improve products. Maybe that’s what Microsoft thought that’s what it was doing with Service Pack 3 (SP3) for itsOffice 2003. But, according to a story on TechNewsWorld, the upgrade has made it much harder for users to accessolder files the company deems “less secure.”   "After you install Office 2003 SP3, some Microsoft Office Excel 2003, Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003, Microsoft Office Word2003, and Corel Draw (.cdr) file formats are blocked," Microsoft wrote on its online support site. "By default, these file formats are blocked because they are less secure. They may pose arisk to you."   So what do you do if you want to access those older files that are locked? Last month Microsoft came up with a solution. You go into the registry and modify it, which is notonly difficult for those without good computer knowledge, but can also lead to you having to end up reinstalling the entire OS. The company said you perform the operation “at your ownrisk.”   Hmmm.   To be fair, some file types are open to exploitation, and the company has stated that most users have not been affected. But they did suggest another answer –buy Office 2007.