Rules For Email Attachments

Many people are scared of computer viruses & don't understand which type of email attachments are safe & which kinds of email attachments can contain a virus, so here is a tutorial that should help.

SAFE ATTACHMENTS: It is safe to open any file that ends in a STILL PICTURE extension such as .JPG .JPEG .GIF or .BMP etc. You may open MOVIE FILES that end in extensions such as .RM (RealMedia), .MOV (QuickTime), .AVI .ASF .WMV .MPG etc. You may open any AUDIO FILES that end in file extensions such as .MP3 .WAV .RA & .WMA  You may open READING FILES such as .TXT (text) or .PDF (Acrobat).  Don't open any file attachment where any of these safe suffix extensions are not at the very end such as .JPG.VBS or .HTM.PIF or .TXT.SCR as this is a way of fooling you into thinking it's a Jpeg picture, web site or text file, when it's actually an executable script file that can contain a virus. Some email programs don't show you the file extension type, so you could get fooled into thinking it's a .JPG file. Learn how to turn on file extension names in your email program or on your computer so the full file name is shown.

CONDITIONS: The files below SHOULD NOT be opened unless the sender has specifically said something like "Doug, this is the Word document (or whatever) I was telling you about earlier, it contains blah blah blah." The person sending it should also sign their name at the end, because self replicating viruses can't sign your name & the sender should assure you that if they've received the file from someone else, that they've tried it & it is safe. If the message just says something like "try this it's cute", without it addressing you by your name in the body of the message, an explanation of what the file is & the sender's name at the end, then hit reply & ask that person what the file is & whether they have tried it themselves. Also send them the link for this page so they can practice safe attachments hereafter.

POSSIBLE UNSAFE ATTACHMENTS: Without the above conditions, you SHOULD NOT open the following email attachments (don't double click on the attachments). A SCRIPT file attachment that ends in a .VBS (Visual Basic Script file) or .WSF, or .PIF, or .SCR, or .LNK, or .COM, or .BAT or .HTA or .CPL can contain a virus.  A .EXE is an Executable program & might contain a virus. A Microsoft Office work file, such as .DOC (Word), .XLS (Excel) or .PPT (PowerPoint) usually is reasonably safe but can contain viruses too, so the person sending it should explain what it is.

You cannot get a computer virus from an email attachment unless you double click on the attachment to open it, just opening the email itself will not activate a virus attachment. I know of only one possible exception to this. Practice safe computing by knowing which attachments you can open & by sending attachments which address the recipient by name, with your signed name at the end & a full description of what the file is.

Also read How To Minimize Getting Malicious Viruses, Worms Or Spyware On Your Computer.

Here are some sites with additional information on preventing viruses.
http://www.netsquirrel.com/combatkit/virus.html
http://www.symantec.com
http://antivirus.about.com
http://www.pccitizen.com/index.htm

Here are some sites with information about virus hoaxes & how not to spread them.
http://antivirus.about.com/library/weekly/aa102300a.htm?once=true&

By Doug Hembruff.
Last updated July 29/2001