Google just made a new announcement that will affect everyone who is fond of JavaScript Gmail attachments. Starting on Feb. 13, all attachments containing Javascript files will be blocked for security reasons. More hackers are using ".js" files as malicious programs and this could potentially harm users.
Malicious JavaScript attachments in Gmail can endanger the user since the file could be used to gain access to the contents of a PC. Hence, hackers can steal information stored in the device and they can also do so much damage when they take control of a system.
JavaScript is one of the most common languages in web development applications. These files can also be loaded as part of a web page. However, opening JavaScript files from an unknown source can be dangerous. By default, JavaScript runs in the Windows Script Host and from there it can launch executable files on Windows.
JavaScript files will join the expanding list of files considered as malware such as batch files (.bat), Windows standard executable files (.exe) and Microsoft management console file (.msc). All of these files can no longer be shared as a Gmail attachment. Hiding JavaScript under a zip file or any similar compressed file will not work either as the new algorithm can still detect that there is a ".js" file in the attachment. Instead of sending it as an attachment, users can save it in Google Drive or another cloud storage facility that supports file sharing.
When users upload a file that is banned in Gmail, they will be warned that the attachment is blocked for security reasons. It has not been indicated if the receiver will also get an alert that someone attempted to send an email with a banned file. Based on the images floating around the web, banned files cannot be uploaded as an attachment. Users who attempt to do so will see that the file size remains to be 0K. The notification "Blocked for security reasons!" will also be displayed. The Help option besides the warning offers more explanation why Gmail JavaScript attachments are blocked.
