Did I send a virus in my attachment?
According to results reported by email security developer Postini, when the Sober worm email attack was launched in May 2009, virus-infected email messages increased by 381 percent from one month earlier, amounting to nearly 184 million messages. Security is necessary on both the receiving and sending ends of email exchanges to ensure that viruses and other malware are not transmitted from computer to computer. If you suspect that a file you sent as an email attachment is infected with a virus, you can use your existing antivirus program or a free online scanner to examine it. Although each antivirus program may have a slightly different approach to scanning individual files, the general process is the same for all.
Instructions
Local File Scans
1. Click the antivirus program icon in the OS X Finder or the Windows system tray to open the antivirus program control panel.
2. Scanning files and folders on your computer is easy.
Select the scan options from the menu and choose the one that allows you to specify a scan file or folder.
3. Use the option's browse functionality to select the file that you sent as an email attachment and choose the "scan now" option. Some antivirus programs refer to this as "scan immediately." The antivirus program will display the results of the scan and either automatically quarantine or delete infected files or prompt you to take action to protect your computer from further infection.
Online File Scans
4. Open a browser program and navigate to one of the free online antivirus file-scanning websites, such as Virus Total, avast! or Kaspersky (see Resources).
5. Upload suspicious files for scanning.
Enter the full path and file name for the file you want to scan for a virus, then upload the file.
6. Enter any required challenge or confirmation codes if necessary. The scanner will display the scan results and provide you with information about remove the file if a virus is present.
Tags: antivirus program, email attachment, File Scans, free online, sent email