MailSafe alert

Why these alerts occur

MailSafe alerts occur when you open an e-mail that has an attachment whose filename extension is on the list of extensions to be quarantined in the MailSafe panel. The alert informs you that ZoneAlarm Pro has changed the extension to prevent the attachment being opened without warning.

About e-mail borne viruses and worms

E-mail messages are the most common way Internet viruses and worms are spread. Some worms can raid your e-mail address book and forward themselves to everyone in it. When your friends see the message, they'll think it came from you, and open it--thus repeating the cycle.

For best security, you should never open an e-mail attachment that ZoneAlarm Pro has quarantined without first confirming the following three things:

• That it actually came from someone you know and trust
• That that person sent it intentionally
• That that person is sure that the attachment is harmles

What you should do

Click OK to close the alert box, then follow the steps below to ensure your security.

1. Examine the e-mail message carefully. Are you sure it's from someone you know and trust? Remember, hackers can fake e-mail messages so that they look like they are from a friend. Also, if a friend has accidentally opened a file containing an e-mail worm, that worm may have sent itself to you, using your friend's e-mail program.
2. If you're not completely sure the message is genuine, contact the sender by telephone or e-mail before trying to open the attachment.
3. If you're certain the attachment is harmless, you can open it by clicking the quarantine icon (which replaces the normal file icon).

Tip When you try to open a quarantined attachment, ZoneAlarm Pro will display a warning dialog box to remind you that the attachment is potentially dangerous.

How you can see fewer of these alerts

It is extremely unusual to receive a large number of MailSafe alerts, unless you regularly receive e-mail with executable files attached. If you frequently receive executable attachments from trusted sources, have them compress the attachments into .zip files before sending.

Related Topics

E-mail protection

Glossary

quarantine
ZoneAlarm Pro's MailSafe quarantines incoming e-mail attachments whose filename extensions (for example, .EXE or .BAT) indicate the possibility of auto-executing code. By changing the filename extension, quarantining prevents the attachment from opening without inspection. This helps protect you from worms, viruses, and other malware that hackers distribute as e-mail attachments.