Zip Attachments

To Click or Not to Click?

You just received an email with an attachment. Slow down and think things through. How do you know if it's legit?

1. Sender

Do you recognize this sender? Are you expecting an email from them?
YesNo

Correct: This is a common name and a Gmail address. It's important to be even more careful when opening attachments from strangers.

Incorrect: This is a common name and a Gmail address. It's important to be even more careful when opening attachments from strangers.

2. Curiosity

Often times attackers will try and pique your curiosity with things that are too good to be true, a sense of urgency, flattery, or other suspicious word usage. Is this email suspicious?
YesNo

Correct: The email is trying to lure you in based on curiosity. Always be extra cautious around suspicious emails.

Incorrect: The email is trying to lure you in based on curiosity. Always be extra cautious around suspicious emails.

3. Extension

Check the file extension. You should never download a zip file from an untrusted or unfamiliar source, as attackers can place malicious applications inside them. Based on what you already know about this email, is this file type safe to download?
SafeUnsafe

Correct: You should never download a zip file attachment from an unfamiliar or untrusted source.

Incorrect: You should never download a zip file attachment from an unfamiliar or untrusted source.

3. Extension (cont'd)

If you have any suspicion regarding the email, sender, or content, do not open any attachments and contact your friendly neighborhood IT department.

3. Extension (cont'd)

If you do open the zip file, there are a few risks to be particularly aware of.

4. Executables

Never run programs downloaded in zip attachments. Professional companies/individuals aren't going to do it this way, hackers are.

5. Attention

Always take things slow when you receive an attachment. Think before you act and be cautious, especially when you receive a zip attachment.

A Practical Example

For the next few slides, imagine you have asked a co-worker for the quarterly sales reports from last year. She has sent these reports to you by email, in a .zip file. Let's walk through this quick scenario, and look at things from a security standpoint!

The Email

You've just received an email with the sales reports you requested. Looks like it's a .zip file! Make sure to verify the sender's name and email address closely; do you recognize this person? (For this scenario, let's imagine that you do recognize her). Were you expecting this email? (Let's imagine that you really had asked Ashley for these reports). Since everything checks out, go ahead and click on the .zip attachment.

The Compressed Folder

Now that the .zip file has been downloaded, we need to extract the files from it. Go ahead and double-click the file.

The Extracted Files

And there we have all the files we need! Once you open one of these Word documents, if you are prompted to "Enable editing" or to stay in "Protected View", we recommend the latter, if you are only going to be reading the document.

Things to Remember:

• Check the sender's email address.
• Be cautious of suspicious wording in the email.
• Don't open executable files (.exe) sent through emails.