Be extremely cautious of opening any attachments from senders you do not recognise. Never open if the attachments are executable files (". exe", ".vbs", and ".scr") or a double file extension (such as ".txt.vbs"). Beware - These emails will usually have some tempting message to try and encourage you to open them before you have thought twice.

If in doubt about any email with an attachment use your antivirus software to perform a scan before opening it.

Beware of "phishing" scams. These are sophisticated scams designed to fool users into thinking they are being contacted by trusted organisations such as banks or Microsoft. They try to con users into divulging financial information or to try and infect the machines with Trojans or worms. Be extremely cautious of any emails – however legitimate they appear - that ask you to divulge any personal information. If in doubt contact the organisation that the email claims to from before taking any action.

Spam. Unsolicited "junk" e-mail sent to large numbers of people to promote products or services. Sexually explicit unsolicited e-mail is called "porn Spam." Also refers to inappropriate promotional or commercial postings to discussion groups or bulletin boards. Pop up ads can silently download software that will use your computer to send out Spam.