Subject: EMAZING Windows Tip of the Day
Windows Tip of the Day
Monday September 17, 2001
Virus Awareness Month: Email Attachments
Virus programmers will often attempt to disguise their program as
another file by naming it something like wacky.jpg.vbs. When you
open the attachment in Windows, you see the 'wacky.jpg' but the
.vbs extension (meaning Visual Basic Script), is omitted. Such a file
extension could potentially be dangerous to your system, if it's a virus
or a worm. (Note: If you ever see a file attachment that has an icon
that looks like a light blue 'S', do NOT open it.) Watch for these file
extensions and don't open any attachments bearing any of them: .js,
.jse, .vbs, .scr, .shs, and .shb
The issue here is that Microsoft, in an attempt to make their products
more friendly, has the default for double-clicking an email attachment
as an 'OPEN' command. You can add a layer of security by changing
this default to an 'EDIT' command. To do so:
1). Windows Me: Go to the Control Panel and select the Folder
Options icon. Now, select the File Types tab and a small flashlight
will appear. You may have to wait a moment. Now, when the files are
displayed, find one with one of the extensions I listed above. Select it,
and click the Advanced tab. Now, highlight Edit and press the Set
Default button.
2). Windows 95/98: This is a bit more difficult. Go to an Explorer window and select
View, then Folder Options. Click the Files tab and scroll through the file types.
You will see the extensions in the small window at the bottom. When you find a
file with one of the extensions I mentioned above, click Edit. Now select Edit
from within the Actions list and click the Default button.
And if you're considering a move to Microsoft's Windows XP, click here for EMAZING's new tip!
- Michael Vincent
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