dangers of using outlook 2003 only for the calendar/reminder function?

Hi guys :) .. you were so helpful here


that I thought I would ask a related question.

I've done some research on the Outlook 2021 license I purchased (cheaply at least , gamespot affiliate apparently a "grey market" key so we'll see if it works) ... much to my dismay the feature I'm really looking for.. the pop up window floating on "top" of all the other stuff in Windows that shows a list of all the tasks/reminders you set for yourself in Outlook (or as outlook likes to call it "appointments") .. appears to be a feature only in the subscription based MS Office 365 version .. also the closest "answer" Outlook 2021 has to this, the to-do list on the right hand pane window you can enable in View if you click yourself over into the Outlook program, only shows reminders dating back to a month ago (yep it's true I have reminders floating around from several months, even years, ago on outlook 2003 that I keep telling myself I'll get to one day )

In my case I use Outlook 2003 for the calendar function only.. that's it, it's not linked to any email accounts, not linked to microsoft exchange, I don't share the calendar with anyone else since it's for my own personal use so no need to "sync" the calendar with anyone else, I don't use any of the other Microsoft Office 2003 products (word, excel, powerpoint and so forth) .. I've found the free Apache Open Office software works just fine for me to cover my MS Word/Excel/Powerpoint needs. So basically the Outlook 2003 calendar is used for .. well just that, a calendar with a pop up nag window I can click onto anytime I want to showing the reminders/tasks I've set that goes all the way back to years ago , I'm the only one who interacts with the calendar in any way .. if it makes a difference being the paranoid sort I have a paid Norton subscription installed on my PC too (there's a fierce debate on whether Norton is even necessary or if Windows Defender is just fine I know but that's a whole another can of worms :) ) ..

For this reason I'm seriously considering installing Outlook 2003 on Windows 11 (just outlook 2003, again no word, excel et cetera 2003) when I get around to upgrading my desktop PC to Win 11 (Win 11 upgrade is happening only so I can keep getting security updates come October 2025) .. given the situation I've described I'm just wondering if it's a security risk? My understanding is that older versions of MS office are a risk more so if you download anything claiming to be say an MS word or excel or powerpoint file that's actually a virus, no idea if anyone would be wierd enough to send an infected "outlook file" via email ... I do get MS word documents emailed to me but they've been opening using Apache Open Office for me automatically without any problems.

I did read idgat and everyone else's warnings about what happens if I have outlook 2003 in the previous elevenforum link mentioned above about how a newer version of outlook installed at the same time as outlook 2003 will cause a world or problems, so I was hoping I could watch MS's " Hey download our free version of outlook" prompts like a hawk and make sure it never downloads and installs (hopefully )

As always thanks to anyone who reads this and replies :)

I think you'll get more help if you post on the TenForums MSOffice section [ElevenForum does not have one].
While you're there, do a general search for Office 2003 and you'll find that quite a few people are still using it.
And then you can search for Outlook 2003 to check for any warnings about it.

Malware is resisted at the Operating system level i.e. Windows & your anti-malware application protect the whole system against malware.
Whilst there are probably unpatched vulnerabilities in Office 2003, Windows & your anti-malware application will continue to do their best to protect you & all your applications.

I use use MSOffice 2007 including using Outlook 2007 for my Calendar, Contacts, Notes & EMail [including RSS Feeds].
Running mixed Office versions - my Office2016 rant - TenForums
I also have MSOffice Pro Plus 2021 but just so I can keep up with forum discussions. The changes to MSOffice Outlook since MSOffice Outlook 2007 have made a pig's ear out of the user interface. The user interface for MSOffice Access has also been seriously degraded.


Best of luck,
Denis

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AndreIsComputn said:

apparently a "grey market" key so we'll see if it works

Click to expand...

Depending where you are, in Europe for instance, this is not illegal. To me it’s unethical. OEM and Volume Licensing keys are possibly illegal to sell in any country but non the less they are unethical.
If you have been hanging onto this key for a period of time, possibly even for just a month, there is a good chance it was sold again anyway and will fail to activate. Generally when you buy a key from these sources, you will notice that it says something like “Use this key immediately” somewhere on the digital receipt/email

AndreIsComputn said:

Outlook 2021 has to this, the to-do list on the right hand pane window you can enable in View if you click yourself over into the Outlook program, only shows reminders dating back to a month ago (yep it's true I have reminders floating around from several months, even years, ago

Click to expand...

Pretty sure Outlook 2021 is very extensive and generous in the settings. Perhaps you need to look deeper into it. I can’t imagine it denying you the ability to see x amout of previous appointments in the calendar view.
In regards to appointments you missed, once you tell Outlook to forget them when they pop up, they wont show again but I am pretty sure you can still see them. I can’t instruct you on this as I am not currently at my PC

AndreIsComputn said:

I'm just wondering if it's a security risk?

Click to expand...

I don’t see how.

AndreIsComputn said:

My understanding is that older versions of MS office are a risk more so if you download anything claiming to be say an MS word or excel or powerpoint file that's actually a virus

Click to expand...

Why would you be downloading a file from somewhere that may possible supply a file with a virus, but the answer is (in my opinion) this has nothing at all to do with Office programs, it has everything to do with your Anti Virus software.
If an infected file is getting opened by your Office programs, I’d seriously be looking into how the file got that far without your Anti Virus software alerting you.

AndreIsComputn said:

I did read idgat and everyone else's warnings about what happens if I have outlook 2003 in the previous elevenforum link mentioned above about how a newer version of outlook installed at the same time as outlook 2003

Click to expand...

Why would you run two versions of the Office Suite? In my opinion it is overkill and unnecessary. Learn how to use Office 2021 properly or use 2003 (good luck with that) for the Calendar and the “Outlook App” for mail and associate all other Office documents with your Apache Open Office software.


There is a lot of text that could of been summarised in a couple of simple questions. It’s OK if that’s how you proffer to write, but maybe summerize the questions at the end.

The bottom line is, go for it. Outlook from any Office “Suite” has nothing to do with the Windows Outlook “Apps” for example “The New Outlook” So if you wanted to use both 2003 and the New Outlook together (to avoid also installing office 2021) they will work together just fine.

I have Outlook from Office 2021 installed, I use both it and Mail & Calendar, or if I wanted to before I am forced to, Windows Outlook “App” (or the New Outlook “App”) at the same time.

(Edited)

antspants said:

Pretty sure Outlook 2021 is very extensive and generous in the settings. Perhaps you need to look deeper into it. I can’t imagine it denying you the ability to see x amout of previous appointments in the calendar view.

Click to expand...

You can, they might just have to select the actual day in their calendar to see all of them.

antspants said:

In regards to appointments you missed, once you tell Outlook to forget them when they pop up, they wont show again but I am pretty sure you can still see them.

Click to expand...

They still remain in the calendar even if you dismiss the reminder notification; it seems that what the OP has done. They'll need to select snooze instead of dismiss if they still wish to receive notifications about that particular appointment in their calendar.

AndreIsComputn said:

"grey market"

Click to expand...

I don't know if they are grey market or not.
Grey market refers to products being bought [cheaper] in one regional market but then being transferred for use to another regional market [where the product would normally cost more].
Grey market does not mean OEM keys or misused volume keys.
Moving a product from one regional market to another might breach national export controls on software & probably breaches licence conditions.
- I do not try to keep up with this topic but MSOffice 2000 sold in the USA definitely carried a warning that it could not be exported from the USA without government approval.
- Other than that, clauses in the licence agreement might mean that the publisher could refuse to provide support in the new region.

MSOffice 2007 Eula said:

17. EXPORT RESTRICTIONS. The software is subject to United States export laws and regulations. You must comply with all domestic and international export laws and regulations that apply to the software. These laws include restrictions on destinations, end users and end use. For additional information, see www.microsoft.com/exporting.

Click to expand...

AndreIsComputn said:

tasks/reminders you set for yourself in Outlook (or as outlook likes to call it "appointments"

Click to expand...

Tasks & Appointments are different things.
Reminders can be set for Tasks and for Appointments.

AndreIsComputn said:

the pop up window floating on "top" of all the other stuff in Windows ... appears to be a feature only in the subscription based MS Office 365 version

Click to expand...

Perhaps you're referring to Outlook's View tab, Reminders window?
That works in MSOfficePro Plus 2021.

AndreIsComputn said:

the to-do list on the right hand pane window you can enable in View if you click yourself over into the Outlook program, only shows reminders dating back to a month ago

Click to expand...

I think you are saying that, if you set the To-do bar to show Tasks, it only lists a limited set of Task Reminders.
I don't know anything about this feature because I don't use Tasks.
But there is no limit on the Appointments it shows if you set the To-do bar to show Appointments so I am surprised that it limits Tasks.
I do not think that the To-do bar shows Reminders for Appointments or Tasks.
Perhaps this topic is also suffering from that confusion about Appointments & Tasks being different things and Reminders being possible for both of them.



Denis

antspants said:

Why would you run two versions of the Office Suite?

Click to expand...

Stop asking questions like that!!!! people doing daft stuff with their computers keeps food on my table

Bahaha Roger!

From here on I shall promote the practice.

I recommend installing Office 2003 because you have it laying around, Office 2007 because you’re a dinosaur, Office 2010 because you’re a masochist, Office 2013 because you want it to work with your other installations of Office 2017 and 2019 and finally Office 2021 because you don’t want to feel left out.

If you have any trouble having these Office suites working together, please log in, invite all your friends to join & spectate whilst we navigate you through a web of intrigue and wonder.

P.S. Install Office 365 if you’re insane (and for good measure)

antspants said:

Why would you run two versions of the Office Suite?

Click to expand...

The existence of
Install and use different versions of Office on the same PC - MSSupport
Office 2007 and Office 2013, 2016, or 2019 side by side - MSSupport
rather implies that some people do need to run two versions.

I ran MSOffice Pro 2007 & MSOffice Pro Plus 2021 on the same computer for a year or more without any problems. I also used MSOffice 2016 for over a year.
Running mixed Office versions - my Office2016 rant - TenForums


Denis

thanks so much for the replies everyone and all the great advice :) ... and sorry it's true I do long walls of text can't seem to make myself more concise ...

I've tried attaching a screenshot (please ignore the clumsy blacking out of what I thought was sensitive info ) to show the reminder window I'm talking about that pops up, apologies should have included that in the first post!

...the reason I just assumed that the pop up reminders window.. the window that "floats" in front of all the other windows until you click away from it (in Windows 10 at least it still hovers around in the taskbar on the bottom of the screen and you can click on it again to bring it up ) ... the reason I assumed it was subscription based office 365 only was because of this thread


but if that's not true and you can make the reminder window pop up and it's not limited to just one month back that would be great :)

If not.. well it's good to hear people are using outlook 2007 and haven't run into any problems that is very reassuring :)

Oh right the gray market key ... I'm assuming it's grey market though I don't know for sure? Back when I bought the key gamespot basically put a sale on through their store saying " Hey get this Office Plus 2021 product key for only $25 ! " ... so I thought " Hey it's gamespot, those guys who do all those reviews of video games and consoles, they've got to be partnering with someone legitimate right?" and bought it just in case Windows 11 said "Nope, not letting you do Outlook 2003" when I get around to my Win 11 upgrade. Of course AFTER buying the key I was like " Hey wait a minute" and did some internet research which led to conflicting opinions on whether or not Microsoft would really offer even the 2021 version that cheap through "normal" channels. I guess if it stops working I'll know I bought it the wrong way :) ...

AndreIsComputn said:

and sorry it's true I do long walls of text can't seem to make myself more concise

Click to expand...

I don’t think you need to be sorry, it’s important that you feel that you got your point across. But it helps some if you summarise the questions also?

AndreIsComputn said:

I've tried attaching a screenshot (please ignore the clumsy blacking out of what I thought was sensitive info ) to show the reminder window I'm talking about that pops up

Click to expand...

Yes, that's

Try3 said:

you're referring to Outlook's View tab, Reminders window

Click to expand...

as you already know.


Denis

AndreIsComputn said:

which led to conflicting opinions on whether or not Microsoft would really offer even the 2021 version that cheap

Click to expand...

It's available that cheap from somewhere almost every month. That's how I got mine [from ghacks] a few years ago.
And it's still running. And it can be re-installed without any re-activation issues.


Denis

AndreIsComputn said:

in case Windows 11 said "Nope, not letting you do Outlook 2003

Click to expand...

Have you searched in or asked in the TenForums MSOffice section as I suggested?
I've no reason to think MSOffice 2003 will be a problem but its users will know better than me.


Denis

If I may speak just on the security risk of older office versions,

The only real case of concern with older office versions is opening other office files from the internet on your older version. This can allow malware to run via macros or allow an infected office file to exploit unprotected outdated office versions.

However, if you are like me, you only use office to create your own files, and you never open office files from other sources, it isn't much to worry about.

The image you show of your reminders above — How is that different to Outlook 2021?
Are you saying that Outlook 2021 only shows a certain amount of reminders? I am not that unorganized with calendar dates so I wouldn't know.

Any reminder you dismiss, will not show again. Otherwise, if you are minimizing the "reminders" window, they should always stay. It's no different in Outlook 2003, dismissed is dismissed.

When creating an appointment in the calendar, you can forward it to yourself via an email.
When that email is received, you can "flag" the email and it will then appear in your "Tasks" as a "To Do" item.
Remember, tasks are not reminders of missed calendar appointments, but whilst a task remains flagged, it will always show in your task pane. (Which you can have permanently in view on the right of Outlook)
I have tasks from 15 years ago reminding me of things that I never marked as completed, old flagged emails from 10 years ago reminding me of appointments I mailed to myself from my calendar.
You just need to be creative.

Seriously, AndreIsComputn, if you’re willing to mess around and cause yourself possible stress & headaches using a software that is no longer supported by Microsoft, just because of a familiarity of a reminders box that pops up to show you weeks/months old missed appointments… (which I believe outlook 2021 does as long as you don't dismiss them) all the power to you.

If you run into problems installing or using, I am confident you will possibly find help here.

Andrew is correct, you are risking a great deal using something that is so outdated.

Microsoft Office can run on Windows 11 only with Microsoft Office 2019 and later.

Blame it on everything being x64.

NormanF said:

Microsoft Office can run on Windows 11 only with Microsoft Office 2019 and later.

Click to expand...

Norman,

I am running MSOffice Pro 2007 in Windows 11 without any problems whatsoever.
And I don't think I'm the only one doing so.


All the best,
Denis

antspants said:

The image you show of your reminders above — How is that different to Outlook 2021?
Are you saying that Outlook 2021 only shows a certain amount of reminders? I am not that unorganized with calendar dates so I wouldn't know.

Any reminder you dismiss, will not show again. Otherwise, if you are minimizing the "reminders" window, they should always stay. It's no different in Outlook 2003, dismissed is dismissed.

When creating an appointment in the calendar, you can forward it to yourself via an email.
When that email is received, you can "flag" the email and it will then appear in your "Tasks" as a "To Do" item.
Remember, tasks are not reminders of missed calendar appointments, but whilst a task remains flagged, it will always show in your task pane. (Which you can have permanently in view on the right of Outlook)
I have tasks from 15 years ago reminding me of things that I never marked as completed, old flagged emails from 10 years ago reminding me of appointments I mailed to myself from my calendar.
You just need to be creative.

Seriously, AndreIsComputn, if you’re willing to mess around and cause yourself possible stress & headaches using a software that is no longer supported by Microsoft, just because of a familiarity of a reminders box that pops up to show you weeks/months old missed appointments… (which I believe outlook 2021 does as long as you don't dismiss them) all the power to you.

If you run into problems installing or using, I am confident you will possibly find help here.

Andrew is correct, you are risking a great deal using something that is so outdated.

Click to expand...

Again thank you all very much for your helpful and informative replies :) ... this in particular is very helpful info, that you can mark something as a "task" to complete and it will just stay there in that right hand pane in outlook ... can you just create a task and it stays there forever in the right hand panel until you dismiss it or otherwise tell it to go away or do you have to email it to yourself as well? Like say if you created a task as per the instructions below for example (specifically the "create a task" instructions)

You still seem to think that Reminders are objects in their own right. They are not.
Reminders are optional properties of Appointments or Tasks.

AndreIsComputn said:

you can mark something as a "task"

Click to expand...

Tasks are not something that you create by marking something else.
Tasks are objects that you create.
You can set a Task to have a Reminder if you wish.

AndreIsComputn said:

can you just create a task and it stays there forever in the right hand panel until you dismiss it or otherwise tell it to go away

Click to expand...

Tasks will be shown in the ToDo pane on the right-hand side until, optionally, you mark them as complete. [Actually there are several options available for listing tasks and you will need to study Outlook Help about this to see what you can do.]
Outlook Help explains this in detail e.g.
Track and Manage Tasks | Microsoft 365
Using Outlook's task management features - Microsoft 365
Assign and track tasks - Microsoft Support
Managing Tasks has remained broadly the same across different MSOffice Outlook versions. I am not familiar with MSOffice Outlook 2003 so I cannot guide you about any peculiarities it might have. That's why Outlook Help is there to guide you.


Your link to managing tasks in outlook.com is not relevant. That article is about the MS online service that is called Outlook.com not MSOffice Outlook. MS have caused a lot of confusion by re-using the same name for lots of different things. They now tend to refer to MSOffice Outlook as "Classic Outlook".


Denis