How To Scan Emails For Viruses

Most viruses and malware are propagated via email attachments. When a user clicks on an attachment, the malicious software autoruns and can install itself on their device. This can lead to numerous problems like identity theft, spam, PUPs, and ransomware. The danger escalates even further if such an attachment is sent through organizational emails. If gone unnoticed, this can cause severe damage to an entire organization’s privacy and data.

So, how do you spot these emails? While some are auto-filtered by your email service provider, there are many of these emails that aren’t visible to the naked eye. To be safe, you’ll need to use an antivirus that has the ability to deep-scan email attachments for malware.

Why Is Email Scanning A Must?

Viruses can cause serious damage if they’re able to get into your device. Using email attachments is the most common technique that hackers rely on to do so. Most of these viruses are sent using files with .docx and .pdf extensions that often seem familiar and innocent – and this is where the danger mostly begins.

It should be noted that Linux-based computers are at much lower risk of getting infected with viruses overall. Therefore, when using Linux, you probably don’t need to scan emails. On the other hand, Windows PCs are prone to virus attacks through emails, so it is important to scan every incoming and outgoing email. You must rely on reputable antivirus solutions that allow deep-scanning of emails and block any suspicious threats immediately.

The Steps

Irrespective of the email app you use, it is important for you to scan emails. Here are three ways to ensure that every email you receive or send is checked for threats: