Computer viruses and trojans are a routine part of the electronic world, so most office email servers automatically check incoming messages and attached files for the malicious hitchhikers. If a message contains unknown executable programs that resemble viruses, the scanning software often plays safe and deletes the file, or doesn鈥檛 open it. However, this means important messages can get lost or delayed.
Simon Wiseman suggests a better way: encrypting suspicious messages, so that any code in attached programs becomes scrambled and is therefore put out of harm鈥檚 way (US 2004/0139334). A copy would then be shunted to a 鈥渟andbox鈥� in the form of a separate PC or a partitioned area of the main PC.
The suspect file is then decrypted so that at least the accompanying text message can be read safely. If reading the message triggers a virus, the infection is contained in the sandbox. The scanning software in the email can then be updated to recognise the virus and the sandbox wiped, re-installed and rebooted.
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