How do you select which program to view attachments with?
Two points:
1. You can not choose a single program to view attachments with. What
program you open an attachment with depends on what kind of
attachment--what format--it is. For example, if the attachment is a
Microsoft Word document, you need to open it with Microsoft Word, or
some compatible program. If it's a graphic image, for example a jpg
file, you need to open it with a graphics viewer that handles jpg
files (such as Irfanview).
2. Attachments are very risky. 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.
So I recommend not opening attachments.
