One more time: If you didn't ask for the file, don't open it

The new exploit for Microsoft PowerPoint once again highlights one of the points we have to make clear to our users:  Never open a file that someone sends you out of the blue.  There's been a lot of press devoted to this exploit, but the defense against it is very simple and is what we should already be training our users to do on a daily basis.  Unluckily, there's always goiing to be at least one user in your system that clicks on that file.

What I find disturbing is that this sort of vulnerability is likely to be used; not by random hackers but by people who are targeting specific companies for information .  I've heard from several sources that industrial espionage is on the rise, but so far this is annecdotal only.  There's never been a better time to explain to your CEO why he has to have his anti-virus enabled at all times.  Even if he did ask for the PowerPoint presentation from the company he's considering the merger with, there's no guarantee they're not trying for a little bit of pre-merger intellegence.