02 Mar Use caution with email attachments
While email attachments are a popular and convenient way to send documents, they are also a common source of viruses. Use caution when opening attachments, even if they appear to have been sent by someone you know.
What steps can you take to protect yourself and others in your address book?
• Be wary of unsolicited attachments, even from people you know. Just because an email message looks like it came from someone you know does not mean that it did. Many viruses can “spoof” the return address, making it look like the message came from someone else. If you can, check with the person who supposedly sent the message to make sure it’s legitimate before opening any attachments. This includes email messages that appear to be from your internet service provider (ISP) or software vendor and claim to include patches or antivirus software. ISPs and software vendors do not send patches or software in email.
• Trust your instincts. If an email or email attachment seems suspicious, don’t open it, even if your antivirus software indicates that the message is clean. Attackers are constantly releasing new viruses, and the antivirus software might not have the signature. At the very least, contact the person who supposedly sent the message to make sure it’s legitimate before you open the attachment. However, especially in the case of forwards, even messages sent by a legitimate sender might contain a virus. If something about the email or the attachment makes you uncomfortable, there may be a good reason. Don’t let your curiosity put your computer at risk.
• Save and scan any attachments before opening them. If you have to open an attachment before you can verify the source, take the following steps:
- Be sure the signatures in your antivirus software are up to date.
- Save the file to your computer or a disk.
- Manually scan the file using your antivirus software.
- If the file is clean and doesn’t seem suspicious, go ahead and open it.
• Turn off the option to automatically download attachments. To simplify the process of reading email, many email programs offer the feature to automatically download attachments. Check your settings to see if your software offers the option, and make sure to disable it.
• Consider creating separate accounts on your computer. Most operating systems give you the option of creating multiple user accounts with different privileges. Consider reading your email on an account with restricted privileges. Some viruses need “administrator” privileges to infect a computer.
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