No exe files allowed in Gmail attachments

[Mike Krailo]

Please tell me there is a way around this nonsense. I have tried to rename extensions of the exe files themselves but their av scanner is looking at the actual file header and determining the actual type of file it is. I know I can use another file upload service, I'm trying to avoid that though. If you know a way to get around this directly, let me know.

 

[Gasman]

Tried zipping Mike?

 

[moke123]

Upload to google drive and send a download link.

 

[Mike Krailo]

Tried zipping Mike?

Zipping normal files works fine. I'm trying to send exe files.

Upload to google drive and send a download link.

I'm aware of that, but I would like to overcome the gmail scanner if possible. Right now it's looking like the exe files will need to be encrypted and a password sent in a separate email to get around the issue. I just need to find a good general purpose encryption utility that doesn't require any special program installation for the recipients. Just put the password in and it unencrypts.

 

[Gasman]

I meant zip the exe file?

 

[Edgar_]

You can't send these types:

.ade, .adp, .apk, .appx, .appxbundle, .bat, .cab, .chm, .cmd, .com, .cpl, .diagcab, .diagcfg, .diagpack, .dll, .dmg, .ex, .ex_, .exe, .hta, .img, .ins, .iso, .isp, .jar, .jnlp, .js, .jse, .lib, .lnk, .mde, .msc, .msi, .msix, .msixbundle, .msp, .mst, .nsh, .pif, .ps1, .scr, .sct, .shb, .sys, .vb, .vbe, .vbs, .vhd, .vxd, .wsc, .wsf, .wsh, .xll

But you can send a link, which is the standard. Or use another e-mail client.

 

[Mike Krailo]

I meant zip the exe file?

Yea, that was the very first thing I tried that did not work.

You can't send these types:

.ade, .adp, .apk, .appx, .appxbundle, .bat, .cab, .chm, .cmd, .com, .cpl, .diagcab, .diagcfg, .diagpack, .dll, .dmg, .ex, .ex_, .exe, .hta, .img, .ins, .iso, .isp, .jar, .jnlp, .js, .jse, .lib, .lnk, .mde, .msc, .msi, .msix, .msixbundle, .msp, .mst, .nsh, .pif, .ps1, .scr, .sct, .shb, .sys, .vb, .vbe, .vbs, .vhd, .vxd, .wsc, .wsf, .wsh, .xll

But you can send a link, which is the standard. Or use another e-mail client.

That's good to know. Just as a test, I was able to use AES Crypt to encrypt the exe files and they went through on Gmail no problem.

I'll probably have to use Google drive and send links instead to avoid the hassle of using the encryption.

Thanks to all that gave their suggestions on this.

 

[sonic8]

Yea, that was the very first thing I tried that did not work.

In a similar situation in the past, the following approach worked.
1.) Rename the file extension from .exe to .txt or something else considered harmless
2.) Zip the renamed file
3.) Protect the the ZIP archive with a password!
4.) Email the ZIP

By renaming the file it will look unsuspicious in the contents table of the ZIP. The password will prevent any scanner from looking at the actual file.

 

[Mike Krailo]

Philipp, I haven't tested that exact way of doing it. I did try it without changing the extension though and it did not work. I can try that and see if it works. I just used 7-zip to create the password protected zip file without renaming the exe.