How to recognize a suspicious email attachment

Hackers often hide malware inside an email attachment. Before opening them, you should run an antivirus scan

As experts have always said, the best weapon to reduce the risk of being hit by hackers is always one: prevention. That is, being able to nip the threat in the bud. Above all, this means being careful when opening both links and attachments that arrive via email.

The success of most cyber attacks depends on the victims. Without a minimum of cooperation from users, cyber criminals are unlikely to bypass machine protection systems. Before a malware can be unleashed, it has to find a way to get to the device, and hackers have many strategies at their disposal: a link hidden in an email message, for example, an advertising banner or a compromised program. Many cyber attacks are carried out by inserting a virus into an attachment, such as a word document or PDF. How do you recognize if the file is malicious?

How to Protect Yourself from Hackers

In order not to fall into hacker's traps, it is necessary to have a minimum of general awareness about the numerous dangers that infest the web. And then it's crucial to have the right tools in hand to combat cyber threats. Not updating your operating systems and antivirus software means risking being hit by hackers, who are able to find and exploit the presence of vulnerabilities. Above all, it is important to remain suspicious when you receive an email from an unknown contact.

How to recognize a suspicious file

When you receive an email message of dubious origin, it is a good idea to examine the sender's address and the text of the email before downloading the attachment. If you are not convinced, it is always better to delete everything immediately. In some cases, however, for a number of reasons - work reasons, for example - you cannot help but open the suspicious document. What should you do in such cases?

First thing: download it to your PC, but do not open the file. Find it and do a security check. It is very simple. Normally, just select the document, press once with the right mouse button or touchpad and run the scan with the antivirus installed. The analysis will tell you whether the content is malicious or not. Alternatively, you can resort to some websites, where you can upload the suspicious file and check whether it hides malware, such as virustotal.com or malwar.com.

Remember, however, to always keep your guard up: when in doubt, in fact, do not risk it.