PC security has improved by leaps and bounds since the internet was first invented. Today, email security has been vastly improved from the heyday of the late 90s and early 2000s, when getting a virus was as simple as opening the wrong type of email.
Unfortunately, many people are still under the impression that they can get a serious virus simply by opening an email. Today, that’s just not true.
Here are a few reasons why opening an email is safe:
-Emails appear as text or HTML documents on webpages. They’re no different from opening a browser page filled with text, which is also safe to do
-All major email clients, including Hotmail, Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo Mail, and Thunderbird, prevent emails from automatically doing anything after you open them
-Whether email is in your junk folder or main emails folder, it will always be safe to open provided you don’t click on anything in a malicious email
It’s impossible for an email to infect your PC after simply opening the email. However, that doesn’t mean that email viruses don’t exist. There are still plenty of ways in which a virus could infect your PC over an email client.
Some reasons why opening an email could be unsafe:
-The email could contain hidden links that, when clicked, will automatically start a download
-The email could contain malicious attachments
-The email could link users to a malicious website
In the past, opening emails was very unsafe, and it was true that old email clients allowed viruses to infect PCs simply by opening an email. The main reason for this was that emails were allowed to execute JavaScript code, which basically allowed them to take control of your PC, download software, and perform other dangerous tasks.
How to protect yourself from email viruses
-Always download the latest updates for your email client, web browser, and Windows
-Download and install good antivirus software to give yourself an extra layer of protection
-Download and install PC Cleaner Pro to identify any virus problems or performance slowdowns that could currently exist on your PC
-Don’t download suspicious attachments (like .exe files) in emails from people you don’t know. In fact, you should probably just ignore emails from people you don’t know.
-Think twice before clicking any links in any email
-Be extra careful about emails from PayPal or your bank. In many cases, these emails are sent to try to trick you into entering banking data into a malicious website. Make sure the email address is from your bank’s real URL
Really, the only way to get infected with an email-borne virus is to stop thinking. Your email client does everything in its power to try to prevent you from clicking on malicious items. If you don’t heed these warnings, then whose fault is it, really?
