The email was unexpected, the sender address was slightly wrong (invoice@pay-pal-support.com instead of support@paypal.com), and the file extension was .rar—a compressed archive that could hide anything. The Action Instead of opening it, Maya took a breath. She did not run the file.

She immediately to prevent the malware from reaching other devices or communicating with a server.

But something—maybe the frantic cybersecurity training video she had watched at work last week—made her pause. She realized she was about to make a massive mistake.

She the file and selected "Scan with Windows Defender" (or her anti-virus).

(if you tell me the file size or where it came from).

She used the anti-virus software to and delete the file permanently, skipping the Recycle Bin.