Possible to Get Malware by Just Opening an Email?

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Opening a suspicious email can potentially expose users to malware, especially if the email contains embedded images or links. Even without clicking on links or downloading attachments, simply loading an image can trigger malware installation. Users are advised to mark such emails as spam and adjust their email settings to prevent automatic loading of images. Running malware scans is recommended for added security, especially after interacting with suspicious emails. Overall, exercising caution and maintaining updated security settings can help mitigate risks associated with phishing and malware.
  • #31
From an earlier paragraph in the article:
This basic technique has been developed further so that many types of elements can be used as beacons. Currently, these can include visible elements such as graphics, banners, or buttons, but also non-pictorial HTML elements such as the frame, style, script, input link, embed, object, etc., of an email or web page.
 
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  • #32
That is correct for a web page, but not for an email (well it may have been about 20 years ago when HTML emails were first a thing, but certainly not 'currently').
 
  • #33
It should be mentioned that email clients are not alike. I use gmail. The privacy of gmail sucks. But gmail does an excellent job of filtering out spam and malware mails.

Only 3 or 4 times per year does a suspicious mail make it through to my inbox.
 

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