That our computer becomes infected with a virus is something that worries us all. It scares us to think that opening an email from a stranger or even from a person we know could trigger a chain effect that puts the computer at risk. Is it possible for this to happen?
Email security has changed a lot in recent years. Today we can tell you that opening emails is not as risky as in the past, although there are some exceptions, as we will discuss in the following lines.
today you are safe
As we told you, the use of email has changed over time. In the past, email clients could pretty much be said to load whatever they received. It didn’t matter much what the message contained or what kind of code was inside it. It just loaded. That led to high-profile incidents, such as a security hole in Outlook because it allowed JavaScript to run. Through this system, thousands of people saw how their email became the point of infection on their computers.
Currently, mail clients, such as Gmail, have erected strong defenses with the aim of preventing messages from being loaded that could transmit viruses or infections. Except for a few specific programs that allow questionable scripts to run, you generally have nothing to worry about just opening a message. Even if today you send an email from Gmail that includes HTML code, what the recipient will do in the Google client is receive the code as if it were pasted into a text file. That is, you will not see the code converted into a web design. Therefore, the risks of infection are reduced practically in their entirety.
But be careful, because there is danger
As much as you don’t have to worry too much about opening the emails you receive in your inbox, there will be something to be aware of. These are the ways in which hackers can infect your computer by sending an email. There are two main ones to watch out for and protect yourself from: attachments and links.
Now that email clients’ defenses are up, what scammers do is use attachments as a way to infect you. The main alarm will have to go off in your head the moment you receive an .exe file from someone. These have always been the files with the highest risk volume and continue to be so today. These are executables that, the moment you double-click on them, can wreak havoc on your computer. You never know what kind of infection you might run into. It can be malware, a Trojan or any other type of virus. In all cases, it is best not to run exe files to stay protected.
But keep in mind that these types of files are not the only dangers. Today you should be wary of a large number of extensions and anything that may not seem safe to you. For example, PDF documents are also known to carry infections and possible viruses. Because of this, never risk opening one if you are not absolutely sure that there is no risk. However, with the PDF you can have more width than with the exe. With executables, even if they come to you from people you know, we’ll tell you not to open them.
What is more recommended?
When in doubt, the best thing to do is not even open emails from people you don’t know or who seem like an attempted attack. For example, it is common for these emails with viruses to arrive with messages in English that you can preview, in part, before opening them. They also tend to have names that will not sound familiar to you and to which you will not find any relationship with you. At the beginning of their messages they always include something that usually catches your attention. But if they don’t convince you, you can just ignore them and delete them.
It could be that if you open these virus emails, you will get more of them, so it would be wise to avoid and delete them. It’s also not a bad idea to mark them as spam, so that your email client knows how to act on future occasions.
Also, do not forget the importance of having your email client updated, of having a good antivirus and of having your operating system in its latest version, because in a case of risk everything can end up adding up so that you avoid problems. But, in short, no, there is no danger in opening the emails you receive. Remember that you should not click on suspicious links or open attachments that could be dangerous. With that you will be more than protected.
