We recommend that you do not open files received as e-mail attachments unless you know the purpose of the attachment. It is not enough that you recognize the sender's name. Most viruses are designed to look in the infected machines email address book, and without the users knowledge, send a message in their name. The receipient, who recognizes their name, trusting that they would never send a virus, opens the attachment -- which will activate the virus.
The following file extensions can potentially carry a virus to infect your computer:
Caution: you may not always see the file extension, but only the icon associated with the file extension
*.ade, *.adp, *.bas, *.bat, *.chm, *.cmd, *.cmd, *.com, *.cpl, *.crt, *.exe, *.hlp, *.hta, *.inf, *.ins, *.isp, *.js, *.jse, *.lnk, *.mdb, *.mde, *.msc, *.msi, *.msp, *.mst, *.pcd, *.pif, *.reg, *.reg, *.scr, *.sct, *.shs, *.shb, *.url, *.vb, *.vbe, *.vbs, *.wsc, *.wsf, *.wsh.
Note: The file extensions marked in red are the most dangerous
What you may ask, is a "FILE EXTENSION". The file extension is the last set of characters (usually three characters) after the last period in the file name. For example, pic1.gif would be a GIF file because of the ".gif" extension. On the other hand, pic1.gif.vbs is a clever way for viruses to get into the PC. The extension for this file is vbs (even though you can see gif in the name). It is not safe to open such files.
The following are icons to be on the look out for (in case you cannot see the file extension):
Some safe file extensions:
A few common extensions are *.doc, *.xls, *.mdb, *.pub, *.ppt. If the icons in your email-attachments look exactly like those below, its probably safe to open.
There are generally two ways PC's get a virus. The first is through e-mail and the second is by transferring files from floppy disks that are infected. Please scan all floppy disks for viruses before opening or transferring files.
If you get a chain letter e-mail with an attachment and it says to send it to everyone please delete the e-mail. When in doubt don't open attachments. Also, please refrain from sending attachments intended only for amusement (like *.mpg ,*.mov video clips; *.jpg and *.gif picture files).
