Introduction to the antivirus protection - Which extensions are (un)safe
Probably each of us knows (or at least guesses) what is the use of extensions EXE, ZIP, DOC, JPG etc. There are more extensions in the computer - on the following lines you can meet at least the basic ones that are important for the computer security and antivirus protection.
Operating system DOS:
|
Extension
|
Description
|
Note
|
| APP |
Digital Research DR-DOS executable |
DOS executables (16 bit) |
| BIN |
Device driver/binary image |
DOS executables (16 bit) |
| BO? |
Boot sector image |
Compressed executable boot images |
| COM |
Executable program file |
DOS executables (16 bit) |
| COM |
DIET, PKLITE, CRYPTCOM, ICE etc. |
Compressed executable files |
| DEV |
Device driver |
DOS executables (16 bit) |
| DRV |
Device driver |
DOS executables (16 bit) |
| EXE |
DIET, PKLITE, LZEXE, UPX etc. |
Compressed executable files |
| EXE |
Executable program |
DOS executables (16 bit) |
| EXE |
Self-extracting archives |
File archives |
| IM? |
Disk image |
Archive |
| MB* |
MBR image |
System |
| OV? |
Overlay |
DOS executables (16 bit) |
| SYS |
Device driver |
DOS executables (16 bit) |
| TD0 |
Deledisk diskette images |
Compressed boot images |
| 00? |
Xtree overlays |
DOS executables (16 bit) |
Operating system Windows:
|
Extension
|
Description
|
Note
|
| ACM |
Audio Compression Module add-on |
Windows System file |
| CMD |
Windows NT batch file |
Windows 32-bit Executables |
| CPL |
Control Panel extension |
Windows 16-bit Executables |
| DEV |
Device driver |
Windows 32-bit Executables |
| DLL |
Dynamic Link Library |
Windows 16-bit Executables |
| DL? |
Dynamic Link Library |
Windows 32-bit Executables |
| DRV |
Device driver |
Windows 32-bit Executables |
| EXE |
DIET, PKLITE, LZEXE, UPX etc. |
Compressed Executable files |
| EXE |
New Executable |
Windows 16-bit Executables |
| EXE |
Portable Executable |
Windows 32-bit Executables |
| HLP |
Help files |
Windows 16-bit Executables |
| LNK |
Shortcut file |
Windows Executable |
| MOD |
Kernel Module |
Windows 16-bit Executables |
| MSC |
Microsoft Common Console Document |
| MSI |
MS Windows Installer File |
File archives |
| MSP |
Windows Installer Patch |
| PCI |
Windows PCI Miniport system file |
Windows Executables |
| PIF |
Program Information File |
Windows Executables |
| REG |
Windows Registry files |
| SCR |
Screen saver |
Windows 16-bit Executables |
| SYS |
Win NT device driver |
Windows 32-bit Executables |
| TSP |
Windows Telephony Service |
Windows Executables |
| VXD |
Virtual Device Drivers |
Windows 32-bit executables |
| VWP |
Audio plug-in |
Windows Executables |
| WIN |
Window file |
Windows 32-bit executables |
| ?? |
MS Compress/Expand |
Compressed executable files |
| 286 |
Device driver for Windows 2.0 and 3.x real mode |
| 386 |
Virtual device driver |
Windows 16-bit Executables |
| HT? |
HTML Document |
Possibly contains JavaScript |
| HTML |
HTML Document |
Possibly contains JavaScript |
Unsorted:
|
Extension
|
Description
|
Note
|
| PRC |
PalmOS application |
| PDB |
PalmOS Database |
Applications for Windows:
|
Extension
|
Description
|
Note
|
| ADP |
Microsoft Access Project |
| ASD |
MS Word Auto-backup file |
Possibly contains macros (VBScript) |
| CDR |
Corel Draw vector graphics |
| CNV |
MS Word Data conversion support file |
| D?B |
AutoCad |
| DOC |
MS Word Document |
Possibly contains macros (VBScript) |
| DOT |
MS Word Document template |
Possibly contains macros (VBScript) |
| DVB |
AutoCAD Project files |
| DWG |
Autocad Drawing files |
Possibly contains macros (VBScript) |
| GMS |
Corel products Global Macro Storage |
| MD? |
MS Access Office database files |
Possibly contains macros (VBScript) |
| MDE |
MS Access MDE Database |
Possibly contains macros (VBScript) |
| MPD |
MS Project Database file |
Possibly contains macros (VBScript) |
| MPP |
MS Project 98 Document |
Possibly contains macros (VBScript) |
| MPT |
MS Project 98 Template |
Possibly contains macros (VBScript) |
| MSG |
Outlook message files |
Possibly contains macros (VBScript) |
| MSO |
MS Office 2000 files saved as HTML |
Possibly contains JavaScript |
| OBZ |
MS Binder Wizard |
Possibly contains macros (VBScript) |
| OCX |
Active-X OLE control |
| OLB |
OLE Object Library |
| OLE |
OLE Object |
| OTM |
MS Outlok macro (VBA) storage |
Possibly contains macros (VBScript) |
| POT |
MS PowerPoint presentation template |
Possibly contains macros (VBScript) |
| PPS |
MS PowerPoint show |
Possibly contains macros (VBScript) |
| PP? |
MS PowerPoint presentations Office |
Possibly contains macros (VBScript) |
| PWZ |
MS PowerPoint Wizard |
Possibly contains macros (VBScript) |
| RTF |
MS Rich text format (embedded and renamed OLE2) |
| SHW |
Corel Presentation Show |
| SMM |
AMI Pro macro file |
Possibly contains macros (VBScript) |
| TLB |
OLE library file |
| VS? |
MS Visio documents |
Possibly contains macros (VBScript) |
| WBK |
MS Office workbook |
| WIZ |
Microsoft wizards |
Possibly contains macros (VBScript) |
| WPD |
Corel WordPerfect 9 with VBA |
Possibly contains macros (VBScript) |
| WPT |
WordPerfect Document Template |
| WRI |
MS Write |
| XLB |
MS Excel Worksheet |
Possibly contains macros (VBScript) |
| XL? |
MS Excel Spreadsheet |
Possibly contains macros (VBScript) |
| XLT |
MS Excel Spreadsheet Template |
Possibly contains macros (VBScript) |
Archives and compressed files:
|
Extension
|
Description
|
Note
|
| ACE |
ACE Archiver file |
|
| AIN |
AIN-compressed file |
| ARC |
PKARC Archiver file |
| ARJ |
ARJ Archiver file |
Holds also for extensions .A0?, .A1? etc. |
| B64 |
Encoded base64 MIME archive |
| BO? |
Boot sector image |
| BZ |
BZIP compressed file |
| BZ2 |
BZIP2 compressed file |
| CAB |
MS Cabinet file |
| CAR |
Crypted Archive |
| COM |
Self-extracting archives |
| COM |
DIET, PKLITE, CRYPTCOM, ICE etc. |
| CPIO |
Unix Archive file |
| CPT |
Compressed MAC file |
| EXE |
DIET, PKLITE, LZEXE, UPX etc. |
| GZ |
GZIP compressed |
| ICE |
ICE compressed |
| IM? |
Disk image |
| JAR |
Java Archive |
| LIM |
Limit compressed |
| LZH |
LHA compressed |
| MSI |
MS Windows Installer file |
| PAK |
PkPak compressed |
| RAR |
RAR compressed |
Holds also for extensions .R0?, .R1? etc. |
| TAR |
Unix TAR compressed |
| TAZ |
Unix Compressed TAR file |
| TD0 |
TeleDisk diskette images |
| UU |
UUEncoded Unix file |
| UUE |
UUEncode |
| Z |
Unix Compress file |
| ZIP |
PKZIP, WinZip |
| ZOO |
ZOO Compress file |
| ??_ |
MS Compress/Expand |
Related references
Main page
Introduction to the antivirus protection
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