The dangers of opening an email

Receiving and opening Emails can be dangerous, Emails from anonymous strangers can contain viruses. Viruses such as Trojans that can be used to steal your personal information, this could include password and bank details. Emails can also be used as phishing techniques; they work by fooling the user into entering their password by making the Email look like it was sent from a certain service. For example, a fake Facebook account activation that will request for the user to enter their password, some people will be fooled by these and will give out personal information. So be careful when opening Emails, always make sure you know who the sender is, and even better, run a virus check on Emails, that will check the email for any unwanted malware.

Some viruses that could potentially infect your pc are:

• Mass mailing worms, also known as "e-mail worms", these can spread rapidly from user to user, often before people are aware of what is happening. These worms might unintentionally come from people you know, and, once unleashed through an attachment, begin sending themselves to people in your address book. If you are not expecting something from a friend or relative, check with him before opening the message.
• Some attachments might cause mildly annoying effects, but others are especially harmful, such as the Trojan horse. This malware disguises itself as a helpful program to gain trust and get inside your computer. Once inside, hackers get the remote access they need to attain information for their own personal gain, such as identity theft. Protect yourself with antivirus software such as Norton to prevent any damage.
• Another attachment is the malicious executable, which is known for causing serious damage quickly. These attacks seek to acquire sensitive information and render your system inoperable. Like other malware, this executable can be sent from someone you know and contain seemingly innocent subject lines, such as "You have received an E-Card!" or something similar. Again, take care not to open attachments that are not expected, and regularly run virus protection applications.

Always check your emails for viruses before opening them, many free virus software lets you scan your emails before opening them and therefore you can be sure you're safe.

Example of a free virus protection software.