We all know how dangerous it can be to try and open an email attachment from an address you don't recognize, so we don't do it, right? But that's only part of the problem. What if someone you know had their account compromised and is sending out malicious email attachments... Would you realize before clicking?
Google is well aware of this problem, with Gmail only last week being targeted by a very sneaky new phishing attack. To combat this, specific file type attachments are blocked by default, including .exe, .bat, .msc, and a whole host of other potentially dangerous file types. And in a couple of weeks another type is set to be added to the list.
From February 13, Google will start blocking JavaScript (.js) email attachments by default. JavaScript files are dangerous because they can trigger a download, which could have a malicious payload attached. Before you know it, your PC is infected.
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Anyone attempting to send a .js file using Gmail will automatically have it blocked before the email is sent. Trying to put the .js file inside an archive, e.g. a .zip file, will also be detected and blocked. This auto-blocking won't start happening until February 13, though, and the feature rollout could take as long as three days meaning you may not see it in action until February 16.
Of course, some users need to send one of the blocked file types over email. So instead of attaching it to an email, Google recommends uploading it to Google Drive. Alternatively, you could use one of the many other cloud storage services available to upload the file and then link to it in the email.
To protect yourself against this attack, you will need to pay close attention to your browser's location bar.
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How-To Geek is an ad-supported site, so we’re not exactly excited to show people how to disable ads, but we’ll admit – there are some sites online that have so many ads that you just can’t deal with it. Luckily you can block JavaScript for just a single site if you want to.
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