How Can You Prevent E-mail Based Malware and Virus Attacks?

The sole purpose of any virus attacks or malware is to reproduce and spread itself. Damage to the host system or a computer is a potential consequence these attacks can cause. The most common way a malware enters a computer or network is through emails. Most of us have heard or know about potential threat generating e-mails that appear in our e-mail inbox or Spam folder. But how do people get infected by an email virus or Malware?

Today, there is a range of anti-virus systems in place to mitigate the risk of infection from Malware and virus threats. You can also get cost effective and technology-enabled business solutions that deliver malware-free e-mails. However, keeping well informed on such threat generating sources will further reduce the risk of data loss and infection due to such email attacks. In this article, we will explore the most popular ways you are infected by email viruses and ways to prevent such attacks.

Have you ever did forward a virus warning e-mail, a chain letter, or an email of a desperate parent whose child needed an organ donation? If yes, you probably fell for a hoax and helped in spreading it.

Email hoax is usually an Internet scam tactic used to target specified markets, demographics or causes, including:

Charities (such as missing children)

Fake security warnings

Nigerian scams

Lottery scams

Dating scams

Chain letters

An email hoax can be about a non-existent security threat or virus or a job offer. The hoax emails create a sense of urgency that make the recipients do what is asked for, such as downloading a safe repair software or sending the personal details such as name, address, phone number, bank account number and other details.

Here, the virus is the email itself, although it’s not really an infection. The damage, however, is the same as with other viruses: clogging up of inboxes and mail servers. Email viruses generally cause a waste of time, resources, and energy.

The prevention of email hoax is possible only through the right education. Web users of all levels need to stay well informed on the ever changing Internet and email security issues.

You need to stay alert when you receive an e-mail with an attachment from an unfamiliar source. Most recent virus threat seems to come in the form of compressed or zip file attachment. An infection with a “real” computer virus send in an attachment is a lot more critical than forwarding an email. However, a virus can also be programmed to destroy specific files on your system.  

It is admitted that most viruses are delivered or received through an email attachment. Attachments that contain viruses are of file types with executable programs (such as .com, .exe, .vbs, .zip, .scr, .dll, .pif, .js) or file types that contain macro viruses (such as .doc, .dot, .xls, .xlt).

Some viruses try to hide their true file extensions as in the case of ILOVEYOU virus. It will use both the extensions for example, “LOVE-LETTER-FOR-YOU.TXT.vbs”. You can safely open Word documents in a different program that doesn’t support macros, such as in an Open Office or WordPad.

If you suspect that you have clicked on a malicious e-mail attachment then:

• Immediately disconnect the computer from the internet.

• Scan your machine with up-to-date Anti-Virus software.

• Do not input any sensitive information into the machine until the Anti-Virus scan is passed.

How to defend yourself from malicious attachments?

The safest way to avoid these viruses from hatching is not to open email attachments.

If you get an e-mail from an unfamiliar or suspicious sender then, delete the email along with the attachment.

Carefully review each email and play it safe and remember to scan every attachment for viruses before it is opened.

Keep an Anti-Virus product installed in your computer and keep it updated

Attackers also use e-mail body to send malicious content. As HTML is used to embed pictures and links in an e-mail, the attackers use it to embed scripts that execute automatically to infect your computer with a virus. Many e-mail programs, block HTML by default and make you click a button to display content of trustworthy sources. You should not turn off this precaution.

You can also expect bogus links or URLs that can be a virus in disguise. This link may look harmless when clicked will either lead you to a website that executes a malicious script or fetch you to a completely different URL where you automatically download a self-executing virus.

The rule of thumb for attachments applies here too. Never click on links from suspicious sources, even if it seems from someone whom you know.

The reason why all these malicious e-mail strategies work is because they have designed in a way that it is tempting and to foul its recipients. Many people readily fall prey to such bogus e-mails and links presented to them in order to solve a problem or access further information.