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Welcome to the 'Windows laptop: Managing attachments' course. In this video, you will learn about safely saving email attachments and how to check them for viruses. You'll also learn how to attach a document to a new email, how to send it onto a friend, and how to print out an email attachment you've received. Email lets you send and receive documents and pictures using your computer. The files that come with an email are called attachments. Most attachments are safe, but sometimes they can contain viruses and other unwanted software that can damage your computer and the information you keep on it.
You can check that an email attachment is safe by saving it to your desktop and asking your computer to scan it for threats. Saving an attachment is different to opening it, so it's safe to do. While it can be safe to open and read an email, never click on a link or open an attachment you're unsure about. A link or file inside an email may contain viruses or other unwanted software. To show you how to scan an attachment for viruses, we'll use a flu vaccination pamphlet from our doctor as an example. In this demonstration, we are going to use the Outlook email app that comes with your Windows computer. When you sign into your computer with a Microsoft account, the Outlook app should be automatically set up. If you don't have an email address or get your email some other way, you can still follow along and see how it works.
First, let's find the email with the pamphlet attached to it. Let's open Outlook now. Your computer should be showing the desktop. Go ahead and click on the Start button. It's at the bottom of the screen and looks like a window. A panel appears, and from here the quickest way to find the Outlook app is to just start typing the word Outlook. You don't need to click anywhere first, just type. The panel will change to a Search box and once you've finished typing, you'll see Outlook at the top. Click on it.
The Search panel will close and the Outlook app will open. If this is the first time you've opened Outlook, you might see some panels appear with information about the app. You can just click Next or Close on each panel. Eventually, the main screen will appear showing your emails. New emails appear here in the middle column. Here's the email from our doctor. Click on the email once, and it appears in the reading pane to the right. The white box at the top of the message shows a reminder that the message contains an attachment. The white box in the email itself is the attached pamphlet. This kind of file is called a PDF. To read this PDF, you could click once on the white box in the email to open the attachment in a preview panel. But we want to be sure it's safe, so let's scan it for viruses first. To do this, right click on the white box and some options will appear. Click on Save As and a File Explorer window will pop up. On the left, you can see a list of different folders. Find Desktop. You might need to scroll using your mouse. Click on Desktop and then click Save.
The attachment is saved as a PDF file on the desktop and an icon for it will appear. If you can't see the icon, the Outlook app might be on top of it. You can move the Outlook app out of the way by clicking and holding it with your mouse, then dragging it. The Outlook window will move along with your mouse until you let go of the button. Move the Outlook window until you can see the icon for the attachment. Now you're ready to scan the attachment for viruses and other unwanted software. Now you've found the icon. Go ahead and use your mouse to right click on it. Some options will appear. First, click Show more options right at the bottom of the list. A different list of options will appear. Look for Scan with Microsoft Defender. Click on this option and the attachment will be scanned right away. Once it's finished, the results will appear on the screen under Scan options. The first line of the report is the overall result of the scan: No current threats. Under this, you can see some information about how long the scan took and how many files were scanned. You can be confident that the attachment does not contain any viruses and is safe to open and read. If the attachment was dangerous, a red box would warn you that your computer is under threat. Your computer will then take you through the steps to safely remove the virus.
Antivirus software can provide extra protection for your computer. You can buy it from a store or a website, and it can also protect some of your other devices. There are many to choose from and most offer a free 30-day trial, but make sure you carefully read all the fine print about ongoing costs before signing up. Look for our courses on antivirus software on Be Connected to find out more. Now, since we know the attachment we received from our doctor is safe, let's look at how to send it on to someone else. We'll use Outlook again, which should still be open on your screen. On the left of the Outlook panel, click on New mail. The reading pane changes to show a blank page ready for you to type a new email. Click where it says To. Some suggested contacts might appear, but you can just type in an email address. We are going to send this flu shot pamphlet to our friend. Click on Subject and write what the email is about. We're going to write, 'Free flu shots'. Next, click in the blank area under Subject. We'll write a quick note to our friend here, explaining why we're sending them this pamphlet.
Now it's time to attach the pamphlet to the new email. We'll use the drag and drop method, which is very easy. Find the file on the desktop and click and hold the mouse on it. Now, drag the file until it is on top of the white area in Outlook. The mouse pointer needs to be over the main part of the email, below the Subject. The white area will split into two panels. One says 'Upload to OneDrive and share link', and the other says 'Attach files'. Make sure the mouse pointer is completely on top of the Attach files panel. Now let go of the mouse button and the file will drop into the email. When you see the file in a white box like this, you've successfully attached it to your email. The file will also still be on your desktop. That's because whenever you attach a file to an email, your computer knows to keep the original. When you are happy with your email, look in the top left of the reading pane and click on Send. Your email will disappear. It's on its way to your friend with the attachment in tow.
To double-check you sent the email properly, look in the left column of the Outlook app and click on Sent Items. You'll now see any emails you have sent to other people. If you can see the email with the attachment at the top, you've successfully sent the email. You can close Outlook now, so go ahead and click on the X in the top right corner. Next, let's look at a quick and easy way to print the pamphlet using your home printer. If you have a PDF on your own desktop that you can use, you can follow along. Otherwise, you can just keep watching and see how this works. First up, let's double click on the PDF icon on the desktop. The Edge web browser will open and the pamphlet will appear. Up in the top right here, click on this little icon of a printer. The Print panel will appear. The name of your printer appears here. Now, click on Print. The Print panel will close and your home printer should print out the file for you to read. You should now know how to scan an email attachment for viruses, how to attach a new document to an email, and how to print out an email attachment you received. If you're unsure about any steps, you can rewind the video or click the chapter headings to jump to the start of a chapter. If you're ready to move on, there are many other courses to explore on Be Connected.