Increasing the Security of your PC with Visible File Extensions.

The makeup computer files is determined by the program that had been used for creating them. File extensions identify a file's name, which helps you understand what can be found in the file.

The program that developed a certain file is determined by its file extension.

Computer files will not open if the improper program is being used to open them, which can lead to a crash in the system. File extensions are the name given to the ending of a file name, and they are used to assist the computer in using the right program to open the file.

File extensions are helpful in a couple of ways such as .jpg, .gif or .part. They help you figure out the document's type. For example, files that end with .jpg means they are photos, or files that end in .txt means they are word-processor documents. After selecting a file, its file extension will let your computer automatically open the proper program.  It's a convenient feature, but your computer can still face a crash because of infectious files.

As a default setting, most computers hide the file extension. When you have a file named 'Book.rtf,' it will appear on your desktop as 'Book' since the file extension is hidden. Computer hackers learned how to fool computer users into opening programs containing viruses through invisible file extensions once file names had the ability to be written with more than one full stop.

Sometimes you might receive an email that comes with an attached file that appears as 'Picture.jpg.' There's a possibility that the file is really called 'Pig.gif.exe,' a file that is not a photo, but instead, a virus. The .exe file extension would be hidden by the hacker so the user will think it's just a photo and open it. The virus will compromise the computer after the user opens the file. If you see a rar, that’s pretty much safe as it’s known to be a compressed file. But note that you must scan those files still.

When you change your computers settings to allow file extensions to be visible, you will protect yourself from such viruses. The change can be made in your computer's menu called Folder Options. Once you uncheck 'hide extensions,' you will be able to view file extensions. After it is unchecked, you will be able to see the entire file name, making it easier to identify bad files.

Keeping your computer free of viruses and risks of crashing is vital, so consider increasing the security of your computer with this first step.

We hope this article about boosting your computer's security with viewable file extensions was informative, and we hope you will remain safe from viruses and the hackers that send them.