Safely Handling Email Attachments
E-mail attachments continue to be a source of infections for computer users.
Hackers are attaching Trojans and other viruses to common files attached to emails. In a recent article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, computer security experts speculated that Internet search giant, Google, may have been infected by the unsafe handling of an e-mail attachment sent to a top exec. Attached files targeted for infection include portable document format files (PDFs) as well as popular Microsoft Office files created with Word and Excel.
You can take three steps to prevent infections via attachments:
First, do not automatically open an e-mail attachment even if the sender is someone you know. Hackers routinely harvest lists of valid e-mail addresses to spread their infections.
Second, keep your anti-malware programs up-to-date and be sure to get security updates for Windows, Internet Explorer and programs such as Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Third, if you must open an attachment double-check with the sender. Then download the attachment to your computer's desktop and scan it with your computer's anti-virus program before your open it.
The bottom line is: "Treat every attachment as an infection until proven otherwise. If you are not sure, do not open."
The URL for the Post-Gazette article is
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10024/1030412-96.stm.
(If this link doesn't work, open your web-browser and copy & paste the link into the Address Bar.)