What do I do if I have opened an infected email attachment or clicked on spam?

 

If you have inadvertently opened an infected email attachment or responded to a spam message there are some steps you should take immediately to keep yourself protected.

If you open an infected attachment or respond to spam using a lab or library PC you should immediately contact the IT Service Desk.

Change your password

You should change your University password as soon as possible. You can do this by visiting royalholloway.ac.uk/myaccount and selecting the 'Change Password' option, or logging in to any campus computer, pressing the Control + Alt + Delete keys and choosing the ‘Change a password…’ option. 

Run a virus scan

You should run a virus scan and/or malware check on the device you were using.

If your antivirus finds any suspicious files after completing a scan, follow the instructions to remove them and re-scan your machine.

Check your email settings

You will need to log in to webmail to check your email settings, you can’t do it in the Outlook app. 

Log in to your email account and click on the settings cog, which should be in the top right hand corner of your screen. A settings window will appear. Scroll to the bottom and click on ‘View all Outlook settings’.

A new box will appear. In the middle column there will be a list of categories. Check ‘Rules’, ‘Sweep’, and ‘Forwarding’ for any settings that you don’t recognise. Remove any options you didn’t add yourself.