Lifehacker points to a post that gives step-by-step instructions on how to set up a temporary filter in your Gmail account to clear out attachments. Certainly a good idea for saving space. While they advocate removing the filter when you’re done, I have a more nuclear application for this filter, which I have had set up - permanently - in my Gmail account for some considerable time, as a security measure. All that spam which contains attachments - most probably viruses - are automatically nuked to the relative safety of the trash bin and are never downloaded to my computer.
Once in a while I have to fish out a genuine item that someone sends me and I have one or two close friends whom I allow to send me attachments. To allow those exceptions through, simply add their email addresses or names to the space where it says “Doesn’t have:” in the filter setup, for example:
It may seem like this attachment-bombing filter is verging on paranoia, but as I have repeated many times, you can’t slack on this when your computer’s security is your business livelihood.
If you found something you like here, why not subscribe?
Sponzurz
