On Mon, 2 Jun 2008 11:27:03 -0700, Jimmy Jim <Jimmy
Hi. I received an e-mail with an attachment that was a PDF file. I opened
it to only get code. Is there somewhere in Windows where I need to enable
PDF files? Please advise. Thanks in advance.
No, what you need is a *program* that knows how to open pdf files. The
standard program is Adobe Reader, which is a free download at
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html
However there are other free choices you could consider.
If you already have Adobe Reader installed, the association for pdf
files is set incorrectly. Right-click on any pdf file and choose "Open
with," then choose Adobe Reader and check the box "Always use this
program..."
Also let me point out that opening E-mail attachments indiscriminately
is one of the most dangerous things you can do with your computer. You
often see advice not to open attachments from people you don't know. I
think that that's one of the most dangerous pieces of advice you see
around, because it implies that it's safe to do the opposite--open
attachments from friends and relatives. But many viruses spread by
sending themselves to everyone in the infected party's address book,
so attachments received from friends are perhaps the *most* risky to
open.
Even if the attachment legitimately comes from a friend, it can
contain a virus. I'm not suggesting that a friend is likely to send
you a virus on purpose, but if the friend is infected without
realizing it, any attachment he sends you is likely to also be
infected.
Personally I never open attachments at all, except from a *very* few
trusted sources, and then only when I'm expecting them.
