You may be a security expert, or at least a very knowledgable person when it comes to computers, but the vast majority of people - even those, who work with computers on a daily basis - are not. Simple Instructions Over 'Correct' Instructions doc file on a Mac, but is that not true?Īs a bonus question, if it is still true today that opening a 'normal' file might install malware, what is the recommended approach to avoiding this, assuming you want to be able to open these files (and assuming you've checked it's from reputable sources, etc.). I know this used to be the case on old Windows machines in the 90s, but is it still the case on any computer? Obviously if you open a shell file or executable file or app that might be a problem, but at least on Macs, Apple has that warning popup.Īre they basically suggesting that there might be some exploitable holes in the software we use 'regularly' (like excel or Apple numbers, or Apple preview for PDFs), and they can exploit those loopholes to install something somehow? The loophole would be unknown to the company providing the software but known to the attacker? That's the only way I can see them getting access to your computer, is there another way? I would assume in today's world, there is 0% chance of getting 'infected' by opening a PDF or. Corporate security trainings keeps saying 'download a file from the web or email attachment and open it and you might become infected'.

How to scan a file for viruses on mac