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Helping Tulsa Area United Way member Agencies
make the most of Technology
A project of the Tulsa Area United Way Capacity Building Fund
Every malicious program or pest or code gives off warning signs that are at least as reliable as your bad knee that tells you when rain is coming.
Every malicious program or pest or code gives off warning signs that are at least as reliable as your bad knee that tells you when rain is coming. Here are some:
- An unfamiliar address, especially if it has an attractive subject line, ranging from "Hi" to "About your account" to "Urgent-open immediately" to "You have won." An unknown address with such subject matter is a tip that it's really a worm or virus or some other bad material.
- Any attachment with ".exe" for an extension. The "exe" signals executable code; reliable material with .exe extensions usually require some action on your part to make it work, but most worms and viruses now contain self-executing routines, meaning the damage is done the moment you open it.
- Any message that's unusually large. Normal e-mails (even most jokes) are in the 10-20kb range. Worms, viruses, etc., tend to be 150kb or more.
- Any message that offers a photograph and does not have an attachment in jpeg format. The jpeg is a pretty universal photo format and is almost certainly virus-free.
- Any message that asks you to download a program to open an attachment (something in Adobe Acrobrat pdf might be an exception, but even then be cautious). The current "Greetings" pest does this - and it even makes you put an electronic signature on an agreement to let it capture your address book. Normally there should be no need to download a program.
If you're suspicious but think there is a chance the message is legitimate, simply close the suspect message and send a separate note to the address, asking if it's safe to open the e-mail. If your message is returned, you know the message is bogus.
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