MailSafe alerts
MailSafe alerts let you know that Zone Labs security software has quarantined a potentially dangerous attachment to an incoming e-mail message. By clicking OK, you're not letting anything into your computer.
Why these alerts occur
MailSafe alerts can occur due to violations of Inbound or Outbound MailSafe protection settings. For example, an Inbound violation occurs when you open an e-mail that has an attachment whose filename extension is on the list of extensions to be quarantined in the Attachments tab of the E-mail Protection panel. In such a case, the alert informs you that Zone Labs security software has changed the extension to prevent the attachment from being opened without warning. A violation of Outbound MailSafe protection settings, such as an e-mail that has too many recipients, or too many e-mails within a short time, can cause a MailSafe alert to occur.
What you should do
How you respond to MailSafe alerts depends upon whether the alert was caused by a violation of Inbound or Outbound MailSafe protection settings.
If the alert was caused by an Inbound MailSafe violation, do the following:
- 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.
- Contact the sender by telephone or e-mail before opening the attachment to make sure the message is genuine.
- Open the attachment--only if you are certain the attachment is harmless. You can open the attachment by clicking the quarantine icon (which replaces the normal file icon).
|
When you try to open a quarantined attachment, Zone Labs security software will
display a warning dialog box to remind you that the attachment is potentially
dangerous.
|
If the alert was caused by an Outbound MailSafe violation, do the following:
- Examine the alert carefully. Does the activity noted describe actions you were recently performing? For example, did you recently attempt to send out a legitimate mailing to a large number of recipients, or to send many e-mails in a short period of time? If so, you may want to modify your Outbound MailSafe settings to better accommodate your needs. See Outbound MailSafe protection .
- Verify that your e-mail address is listed on the approved sender's list. If you selected the if the sender's e-mail is not in this list option, and if your e-mail either is not on that list or is misspelled, add your valid e-mail address to the list.
How to 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.
