TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Download From a Trusted Source
• Only Accept Files From People You Trust
• Are All Files Dangerous?
• Always Run it by IT

We work with computer files every day. That’s pretty obvious, but what’s changed in the past few years is how many of those files are kept online rather than on our individual computers. With so many businesses using cloud-based storage, you’re probably downloading files on a regular basis without even thinking about it. In addition to that, sometimes a client might want to share a file with you through a third-party sharing site, or you might find a program online that you think might be useful for doing your job. There are a lot of reasons to want to download a file, but you might be wondering if it’s always safe to do so. Unfortunately, it isn’t… but with the following tips, you can safeguard yourself from dangerous downloads.

You should only download files from websites you trust. Make sure the site’s address starts with https:// and look for the padlock icon that says the site is secure. You should also check the address to make sure it’s the site you’re expecting and not an imitation. Check out our article on Website Security for more information about identifying safe and unsafe websites.

As long as you’ve verified that the site is legitimate, and it’s a site you’re familiar with like one of PacRes’s own SharePoint sites or another well-known service, it should be safe to download files from it.

Use the information in the address bar of a website to see if it’s secure and legitimate.

If someone shares a file with you, they might use a sharing service like Dropbox, Google Drive, or OneDrive. These sites are legitimate, but you should only download files shared with you by people you know and trust. Even if you do trust the person who shared the file, double check the legitimacy of the site before downloading anything.

Not all files are dangerous, but it’s tough to tell these days what’s innocuous and what’s actually a wolf in sheep’s clothing. In general, malicious files contain executable code – instructions that tell the computer to do something directly – that lets them do something nefarious. That typically means dangerous files are programs (.exe files) or installers for programs. However, sometimes files can contain executable code when you wouldn’t expect them to; PDFs, Word Documents, and Excel Spreadsheets have historically been known to sometimes harbor malware. That’s why it’s extremely important to only download files from sources you are 100% certain you can trust.

Whenever you want to download a new program, make sure to contact the IT Helpdesk beforehand. We can tell you if the file can be safely installed on your computer. Don’t hesitate to also reach out to the IT Helpdesk if you’re ever suspicious about a download, either; we can look at any link for you and tell you if it’s safe to proceed.