Working Safely With Email Attachments
| Avoiding Computer Viruses | Receiving Attachments | Opening and Saving Attachments | Sending Attachments |
Avoiding Computer Viruses in Email Attachments
An email attachment is a file attached to and sent with an email message. The attachment can be any type of file, such as an image, a text document, or a software program.
Computer viruses can enter your computer in many ways, but they’re often spread through email attachments. Viruses can range from minor annoyances to very destructive software programs that can wipe out all of the files on a computer’s hard drive. You can minimize your chances of falling victim to these malicious programs by following these guidelines:
Never send, click, open, save, or run email attachments that you are not expecting. (Be particularly cautious about executable files, which end with these extensions: .exe, .com, .vbs, .lnk, .pif, .scr, .bat.)
Install up-to-date anti-virus software on your computer, and download the latest virus definitions frequently.
Back up important files on your computer.
If you receive an email attachment from someone you do not know and trust, delete the message immediately without opening the attachment. If you know and trust the sender, email the person to verify that they meant to send the attachment.
Make sure any attachments you send are virus-free. Yahoo! Mail automatically scans your outgoing attachments for viruses. Include a description of the attachment in the body of the message.
To learn more about safeguarding your computer, visit the Yahoo! Security Center.
What’s Next
With Yahoo! Mail, effective email virus protection is automatic. Anti-virus software in Mail automatically detects and cleans viruses in incoming and outgoing email and attachments.
Be aware, however, that not all viruses can be detected and cleaned. There is a risk involved whenever you download email attachments to your computer or send email attachments to others. As provided in the Terms of Service, neither Yahoo! nor its licensors are responsible for any damages caused by your decision to do so.
Words to Know
- Attachment: a separate file included as part of an email message; for example, a multimedia or document file.
- Extension: a file name suffix of the form .xxx, which indicates the file’s format so that users and applications can quickly recognize the type of file.
- Virus: a computer program that attaches itself to other programs and causes harm to computer software, data, and/or hardware, often undetected until it is too late.