How do viruses infect your computer and how are they spread?

The fact of the matter is that you can get a virus by reading email messages and by downloading an
attachment infected with the virus. You must be careful of files attached to email messages that must be
downloaded. If the attached file is an executable program (has the extension “.exe”), a Word document
or any other file that is capable of being infected with a true virus, it may have a virus in it.
REMEMBER, the email itself can carry a real virus therefore the best practice (if you do not have a
virus protection program) may be NOT to open emails from someone that you do not know or that have
been forwarded (“FWD” in the subject line) since many viruses attach to a user’s email address book
and forward themselves to others, unknowingly to the user.