Watch out for email attachments

If you’re like most people, you have different personal and work-related email accounts that you check multiple times a day. Each time you log on, you might see a collection of emails from friends, family, and colleagues. Most of the spam and unsolicited emails probably get sent straight to your junk mail folder, but don’t be so quick to trust email attachments or links from names you recognize. Some of the most dangerous computer viruses often appear as email attachments from trusted sources

When you open a malicious email attachment or click on a bogus link, the virus can quickly spread by taking control of your address book. The virus then sends the same email to all of your contacts, and your unsuspecting friends and family risk opening the same dangerous attachment. These viruses multiply quickly, often infecting entire networks. Once your computer has been infected by one of these viruses, it is easy for the virus to infiltrate your hard drive. Your valuable documents, pictures, and personal information can be destroyed or sent to a remote server in a matter of seconds.

One of the easiest ways to avoid a destructive computer virus is to only open email attachments that you are expecting. If someone sends you an attachment or link that you’re not expecting, even if it has a personal message attached to it, avoid opening it until the person has confirmed that it was sent to you on purpose. It’s better not to assume that it’s a safe link or attachment. To be on the safe side, you should send a brief email back to the sender to inquire about it. Taking the extra time to check on unexpected attachments and links is a necessary safeguard to protect your computer from dangerous and destructive viruses.