{"id":21,"date":"2007-07-23T08:34:37","date_gmt":"2007-07-23T15:34:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/computertechsreno.com\/tips\/e-mail-virus-safety-tips\/"},"modified":"2008-11-11T09:55:08","modified_gmt":"2008-11-11T16:55:08","slug":"e-mail-virus-safety-tips","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/computertechsreno.com\/tips\/e-mail-virus-safety-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"E-Mail Virus Safety Tips"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u25ba DO NOT open an e-mail or attachment that you are not expecting
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\nViruses often come disguised as e-mail attachments (sometimes signified with a paper clip), with a subject or file attachment name that entices you to view it. As soon as you view the e-mail or open the attachment, the virus is unleashed into your computer. If you receive an e-mail from someone who you’re not expecting an attachment from or with an odd subject, call the person first to see if they knowingly sent you the e-mail.<\/p>\n

When you send an e-mail with attachment, it is very helpful to the person receiving the e-mail if you give a very specific subject so that they know the e-mail is legitimately from you. A subject line of “Attached pictures of baby Ryan Smith born 7\/1\/03” is an example of a good, very specific subject line.<\/p>\n

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\u25ba Use BCC: when sending e-mail to a group of people
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\nMost viruses spread by searching for all the e-mail addresses on a computer, then sending it out to all the e-mail addresses it finds. To avoid spreading of viruses it is good e-mail safety and etiquette to use “BCC:” (Blind Carbon Copy) when sending e-mail out to more than one person. That way the person receiving your e-mail can’t see the e-mail addresses of everyone else you’ve sent your e-mail to. More importantly, viruses can’t see the other e-mail addresses either.For example, if you use BCC: and one of your friends got a virus, the virus would only see your e-mail address in a message on their computer, and only re-send itself out to you. But if you didn’t use BCC:, and put all of your contacts in the “To:” column, then the virus would send it out to you AND ALL OF YOUR OTHER FRIENDS!<\/p>\n

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The Outlook Express screenshots above show how to select e-mail addresses on the left and putting them in the “Bcc:” field on the right. To view the “Bcc:” field in Outlook Express in a new message window, select “Show Headers” from the View menu.<\/p>\n

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\u25ba <\/span>Turn-Off the Preview Pane
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\nE-mails generally come in either of 2 formats; plain text or HTML:<\/p>\n