You’ve got mail, and it has an attached letter. You’re quite tempted to open it. But if there’s one thing to learn from the so-called “Love Bug” virus disaster, it’s never to open an email attachment without taking the necessary precautions. Here’s how you can identify attachments with malicious intent.
You won’t be able to see the attachment without viewing the accompanying email first. But then, you might be wondering if the act of opening a suspicious email itself could be dangerous. The short answer is no.
In general, nothing harmful happens just by opening an email. Desktop- and Web-based email programs no longer support scripting languages, such as JavaScript. These scripts would allow email messages to be more interactive, but they also let cyber criminals insert malicious codes and exploit vulnerabilities, thus the discontinued support. Keeping you more secure is the fact that most email programs default to block images from unknown sources.
So there you have it. It’s okay to open emails if your intent is just to take a peek and see if there’s a legit message for you. By opening an email, you can at least look for warning signs of a phishing attack, which is a dead giveaway of a malicious attachment.
As long as you do not click on suspicious links and open files attached to phishing emails, your computer will not get infected by malware. Unfortunately, the possibility exists that one of your known contacts is the source of a phishing email, and you might assume that the files and links in the email are safe. Don’t be fooled. Hackers are crafty enough to infiltrate email accounts of innocent people and use these accounts to spread their malware. If you receive a phishing email from someone you know, inform this person about the potential misuse and security breach of his account.
You’ve got mail, and it has an attached letter. You’re quite tempted to open it. But if there’s one thing to learn from the so-called “Love Bug” virus disaster, it’s never to open an email attachment without taking the necessary precautions. Here’s how you can identify attachments with malicious intent.
So you’ve gone ahead and downloaded the file attachment. Before you open it, always scan the file first with an up-to-date antivirus. Consider opening the attachment in another user account on your computer, specifically an account with limited privileges. Many pieces of malware require administrator-level privileges to spread the infection.
As a final reminder, always keep your software updated, including your operating system, email program and Web browser.
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