Virus writers or the persons who create viruses, have found a new way of bypassing your email provider’s virus scanners or to prevent the same scanners from detecting their computer viruses. They do this by compressing the virus into a Zip file or adding it to an archive, and then password protecting the same file. Now, a virus scanner will need the password for this compressed file in order to scan it for viruses, and without the password, the file cannot be scanned and the same virus file will be sent undetected.
The two most popular compressed or Zip files end with the extension ".zip" and ".rar".
How Can You Protect Yourself against These Virus Password Protected Zip or Compressed Files?
If you are given a password in an email message and asked to open an attached password protected Zip file in the same email message with the password, please do not.
This is what these cybercriminals do, they put the password in the email message for you to use and open the malicious Zip file. Now, in order for the virus to infect your computer, the Zip or the compressed file must be opened with the password, and then the virus open by clicking on it.
Why is my Anti-virus not able to detect and remove the virus once it is opened?
If the virus is known to your antivirus software, it will be able to detect and remove it. But, if the virus is a new one and is not known to your antivirus software because your antivirus maker has not yet created a cure or signature, then the virus will run undetected on your computer.
Also, if your antivirus software maker created a cure, but your antivirus has not yet updated itself with the new cure, then the virus will run undetected on your computer. Once your antivirus software updates itself with the new cure, it will be able to detect and remove the new virus.
That is why it is important that your antivirus software updates itself frequently, because a virus can do a lot of damage to your files, steal your passwords and infect other devices that are connected to your computer long before it is detected and removed.
Click here for a list of email attachments that you should never open, regardless of where they came from.