TIPS TO AVOID AN EMAIL VIRUS
“An email virus is composed of malicious code that is disseminated in email messages, and this code can be executed when a user opens an email attachment or engages / responds to an infected email message.”
Email viruses are often spread by causing the malicious message or attachment to be sent to everybody in the victim’s contact list. These viruses can be packaged and delivered in a variety of ways. Some of them are easily identified as malicious due to their illogical subject lines, suspected sender, or a range of additional header fields and body content. Recipients may also fail to identify suspect email messages carrying malware since these messages reflect a significant amount of effort put in by the malicious attacker to make the email message appear to have been sent from a recognised and respected sender. This is particularly true in terms of phishing attacks carried out to further business email compromise attacks.
HOW TO STOP SPAM AND EMAIL VIRUS?
Consider using the following tips to avoid an email virus from infecting your client device or network:
- Use antiviral software.
- Scanning all attachments for viruses is a good idea.
- Avoid opening potentially dangerous attachments, such as PDF files, included in email communications from unknown senders.
- Don’t click on links provided in email messages, and be careful of phishing emails that look to be received from reputable sources.
- Keep the mail client, operating system, and web browser up to date and fixed.
- Do not open any malicious files attached to emails. Attackers may attempt to disguise these files by naming them with two extensions, like image.gif.exe, but the.exe suffix indicates that they are executables that will run automatically.
- Don’t give your email address to unsafe websites. Even if the site is secure, malware and viruses can still capture your email address, making it easy for them to send you a bogus email containing a virus.
- If your antivirus software sends you an email informing you that your system has been attacked, always double-check the information with your antivirus software before opening the email.
