3 Tips To Remember To Prevent Computer Viruses When Using Email
When you're checking your email and surfing the Web, the last thing that you probably want to worry about is accidentally installing a virus on your computer and requiring it to need computer repair. However, you can be particularly prone when using your email, so it's important to be careful. Just make sure that you follow these helpful tips to prevent computer viruses when using email.
1. Watch Out for Suspicious Activity
First of all, it's important to always keep an eye out for anything that looks suspicious when checking your email. Keep an eye on senders' names and email addresses, and proceed with caution when receiving an email from someone you don't know. Make sure that you watch out for anything that seems to be too good to be true.
2. Report, Report, Report
If you do find something suspicious in your email, don't just ignore it -- report, report, report. Your email provider should provide you with options for reporting spam, so make sure that you use this feature. If someone you know accidentally sends you a virus, make sure that you call or email him or her to let them know. Taking this action instead of just ignoring or deleting suspicious emails can help you protect yourself and others.
3. Run a Scan Before Downloading
Anytime that you download an email attachment -- even if you know what the file is and where it came from -- it's always important to run a scan on it. Your email provider might provide a scanning tool, or you may have to use the scanning tool that came with your anti-virus software. Regardless, scanning files to ensure that there are no viruses is important. Then, if someone accidentally sends you a virus, you can catch on before you actually install the file on your computer. In fact, running two scans -- one through your email provider and one from your anti-virus software program -- can provide you with double protection and can help you catch potential problems that the first scan might not have picked up on yet.
As you can see, you do have to worry about computer viruses when you are using your email. However, as long as you take certain steps to protect yourself, you can help prevent a virus from happening. Give these three tips a try when you're emailing, and you should be able to email safely without having to worry about any viruses.
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