Over the last few days, we have seen an uptick in folks receiving an email with subject “budget forecast” (or something similar). This email has an attachment in zip format. Please do not open this or any other attachments in zip format from anyone that you do not know. Even if it is from someone that you do know, make sure and check with the purported sender to make sure that they actually sent it. Those zip files generally contain malware, usually in the form of virus-ridden Excel or Word documents (which we’ve discussed before on our blog).

You’ll see what the icon looks like (roughly, as it’s different, depending on the version of Windows you’re using) to the right of this text.

As a reminder, always view attachments with suspicion and do not open any that are from someone that you do not know. Or, as stated above, even if it is from someone you know, make sure that they sent it. Apply the same rules to emails with links that invite you to click on them (here are some tips to recognize phishing scams).

It only takes a few minutes to check the validity of an email, where it can take hours to clean up a virus, not to mention the downtime and potential loss of files it can cost you.

Thanks and stay vigilant!