E-mail Attachments You Should Never Open Regardless of Where They Came From
Below is a list of file extensions belonging to e-mail attachments that you should never open, regardless of where they came from, or who sent them. A malicious e-mail attachment is one of the most effective and easiest methods of infecting a computer. Always check the file extension of an e-mail attachment, because cyber-criminals can disguise an attachment as a Microsoft Word document, PDF document, or other legitimate documents. Attachments ending with ".zip", ".rar", ".7z", "r01", ".iso", and ".tar" are compressed files that should not be open if the sender is unknown to you, or you were not expecting the email message.
Here are the e-mail attachments and their extensions that you should never open regardless of where they came from:
File Extension and Description
- .JAR - Java archive
- .ACE - Zip archive
- .7Z - Zip archive
- .R01 to .R25 - Zip archive
- .TAR - Zip archive
- .ISO - Image file
- .BIN - Image file
- .SCR - Windows Screen Saver
- .BAT - Batch File Windows
- .CMD - Command Script Windows
- .COM - Command File Windows
- .COMMAND - Terminal Command Mac OS
- .CSH - C Shell Script Mac OS, Linux
- .EXE - Executable Windows
- .JSE - JScript Encoded File Windows
- .KSH - Unix Korn Shell Script Linux
- .LNK - File Shortcut Windows
- .MSC - Microsoft Common Console Document Windows
- .MSI - Windows Installer Package Windows
- .MSP - Windows Installer Patch Windows
- .MST - Windows Installer Setup Transform File Windows
- .OSX - Executable Mac OS
- .OUT - Executable Linux
- .PIF - Program Information File Windows
- .PS1 - Windows PowerShell Cmdlet Windows
- .REG - Registry Data File Windows
- .RGS - Registry Script Windows
- .RUN - Executable Linux
- .SHB - Windows Document Shortcut Windows
- .SHS - Shell Scrap Object Windows
- .VB - VBScript File Windows
- .VBE - VBScript Encoded Script Windows
- .VBS - VBScript File Windows
- .VBSCRIPT - Visual Basic Script Windows
- .WS - Windows Script Windows
- .WSF - Windows Script Windows
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Note: Some of the information in samples on this website may have been impersonated or spoofed.