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Thursday, April 26, 2007

The tell tale signs of a virus email

Despite the daily advance software companies are making in the fight against viruses and spyware, there is still no system (yet!) that is perfect and the odd virus can slip through into your inbox. Generally the latest viruses to hit the net are the hardest to detect leaving you vulnerable and no matter how often your virus scan is updated there is always going to be a virus that can get through.

However, spotting a virus is quite a straight forward task as most emails share the same characteristics. Take note of these following important points to look out for:

1. Read the subject line. Most emails containing a virus have a very generic subject line, for example "Hi", "Hello", "Your details" etc.
2. NEVER under any circumstances open an attachment that ends with .exe .bat .sys and .pif. If is legitimate email then the sender should know better, delete immediately. I would also recommend opening any other files with caution, even Word documents can contain viruses written into macros, it is always a good idea to scan every attachment even if you think is safe.
3. Viruses often come from friends, family and people you know. A virus spreads by sending out to everyone in the addressbook of the infected machine.
4. If you are not sure about the email then call the sender of the email, sometimes the infected user doesn't even know about it.
5. Never open SPAM mail - some may contain spyware which leave you more vulnerable to infection from viruses.
6. Beware of links in emails. Sometimes the link you are clicking on may not be taking you to where you think. It is very easy to disguise a dangerous site behind the link of a site you may be familiar with (for example eBay or your bank).
7. Get yourself a virus scanner. There are loads of great virus scan software readily available at very little cost and in some cases no cost at all. AVG Virus-scan is a great piece of software and is free for personal use.

The main thing to remember is that a virus can't get onto your computer by itself, you need to put them there by opening files that can contain the harmful viruses.

Most of all, remain vigilant and be aware that a virus can come from anyone and anywhere.

posted by David Rhodes

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