Below are a few tips to help protect your email account.

1. Beware of Attachments

   Probably the one thing that the user can do to help safeguard the machine from an infection through email is DO NOT OPEN ATTACHMENTS.

   • Unless someone tells the user that he or she are sending the user an attachment, do not open any that are received.
   •  Even an email that appears to be from a friend or business associate that contains an attachment may in fact be a virus.
   • If the attachment is an .exe file, don't open it. We recommend the recipient contact the sender and request they compress or zip the file and resend it.
   • Scan any attachments for viruses before they are opened.

2. Read the subject line carefully.

   One trait of many viruses is that they pull information from the email client's address book and send the virus to every address listed. The email might also show as being from the individual that is infected. So what may appear at first glance to be something that is safe may not be.

   What can you do?

   • If the subject of the email doesn't "sound" like it is from them, it probably isn't.
   • Also, if the user gets several emails with the same subject from several people, be suspicious.
   • And if the emails all have attachments ending in .exe, don't open them.

3. Pass on the Preview Pane

   Not using the preview pane is also a means of preventing infection by some viruses. There are certain types that are imbedded in graphics or HTML type email that can infect the machine simply by viewing them in the preview window. Turning off this option will help safeguard the user from these type of viruses.

4. Scan Email Automatically with Anti-Virus Software

   Another measure that the user can take to help keep the system from being infected by email viruses is to have the Anti-Virus software scan the email as it downloads it. This way the user can check the mail for infection before he or she even sees it. See the Anti-Virus help files for information on how to set this up.

Additional Link: Microsoft's tips on email security