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malicious e-mail is the number one source of virus infection today. here are some basic strategies you should be following if you want to communicate with others on the net more safely. * your anti-virus program will have an option to run constantly in the background, scanning all incoming e-mail. this can be a real resource hog and many create intermediary mail servers, really slowing e-mail. so a lot of us don't do this, preferring daily system scans and a very cautious approach to e-mail safety as outlined here. but it may be a good idea for you until you develop very conservative e-mail habits. zone alarm's mailsafe will also grab potentially executable file attachments and rename them; this isn't an indicator of a virus, just a safeguard so you can then scan the file with your anti-virus program. * don't open unknown e-mail attachments: write that one hundred times <g>; careless opening of attachments is the top source of virus infection. it is not enough that the mail originated from an address you recognize; many viruses hijack your friends' address books. malicious code might be distributed in amusing or enticing programs; watch out for usually innocent .jpg files that might have 'double extensions' and run malicious code. always check even expected attachments with your virus/trojan scanners; just delete the rest. if you almost never open attachments, you'll reduce the threat immensely. (note: zone alarm's mailsafe will rename suspicious extensions, preventing you from thoughtlessly double-clicking them to open them.) * disable scripting features in e-mail programs: vulnerabilities that involve activex, java, and javascript are often applicable to e-mail as well as web pages, and these are usually totally unnecessary in e-mail; additionally, html can have 'web bugs'. disable html and scripting functions in your e-mail program. advanced tip: additionally, if you have a firewall that allows you to set specific port permissions for each program, allow your e-mail program access ONLY to ports 25, 110, 143, and 53. in zone alarm pro, for instance, click the options button next to your e-mail program's entry in the programs list, click 'ports' and add only those four. * learn to hide addresses: when you forward an e-mail, or send an e-mail to a group of people, you are revealing everyone's addresses to everyone else unless you are careful. please (especially you aol-ers) learn to delete all the to: addresses before yours from forwards before sending them on, and, for e-mails you are sending to many people, use ONE address (maybe yours) in the to: field and everyone else's in the bcc: field so no one can see them. or learn to make mailing lists. * consider an alternative to outlook express: microsoft's outlook and outlook express are extremely vulnerable to e-mail 'nasties', both because of innate vulnerabilities and because they are so widely used that they are popular targets. many recent viruses specifically targeted these two programs. there are many other robust and safer mail clients to use. * don't share files over instant messengers or in peer-to-peer programs: not exactly e-mail, but still communications. you may be excited by getting the latest music, pirated software, or porn, but often will get more than you bargained for. even with expected files you really need from known friends, scan them first with your anti-virus and anti-trojan software. go on to securing your computer -->
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