Instead, this is really an executable VisualBasic Script file and could do serious damage. If you’ve forgotten that extensions are actually turned off you might think this is a text file and open it. But, with extensions turned off if someone sends you a file named you will only see BAD.TXT.
TXT is safe as it indicates a pure text file.
Most everyone has been conditioned, for example, that the extension. If you do that, however, you can easily be fooled by files with double extensions.
#DOUBLE PDF EXTENSION FILE WINDOWS#
To make your viewing easier, Windows offers the option of turning off the viewing of file extensions. When opened, the operating system determines what the content is and acts accordingly.įinally, there is the issue of double extensions. DOC extension.Īnother variant of this behavior on Windows computers would be the Scrap Object file which actually can contain most anything from simple text to complex programs. Some Word macro viruses take advantage of this characteristic and save infected files in template format with a. DOC, if the file is a template file will open the file as a template (.DOT) file instead. Microsoft Word, for example, will actually examine a file it’s asked to open and, despite the name ending in. Such behavior is starting to appear under Windows as well. This already exists on the Macintosh where the file creator information is in the file itself so the file name and extension is no indicator at all of the type of file. That’s not necessarily a good thing as extensions can be misleading.One of the most asked questions lately is “What extensions should I scan and/or watch for in E-mail attachments?” While a valid question, some caveats must be attached to the answer.įirst, it’s important to note that over time Microsoft (and others) appear to be working toward making file extensions as the sole indicator of file content and creator unnecessary. There is currently a big push toward relying heavily on recognizing “bad” file extensions and acting solely on this knowledge.
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