It takes just a few clicks to download a file… or a virus. While the files are vital to our workflow, the method by which we move them around also needs to be guarded.
Here’s what to watch out for when you receive a download request or an email with some file attachment:
- Not sure whether an attachment is safe or not? Confirm with the sender or your IT team.
- Are you expected to send the file, or expecting a download request from some file-sharing platform? Make sure all the parties involved share the same understanding.
- While most email services block malicious file types (such as .exe), it’s worth checking the file type you’re getting. Is it of .docx, .pdf, .png or any other familiar file type? If not this should raise an alarm.
- If a document is asking to enable macros, it almost certainly is malicious. Bad actors insert macros into PDFs to run code from a “friendly” file type.
Our security experts will return with more Cybertips. Chat to us if you have questions or comments. We’d like to hear from our readers.
