Can A Png Image Within A Gmail Have Infected Me?

I've been cleaning up my various gmail accounts to discontinue mail-forwarding to my yahoomail accounts (since i'm trying to bail out of yahoomail due to verizon-oath takeover).

In the process, I noted a 2014 email from apyy@tenne.net and clicked on a PNG image within it, (i figured it's safe to click, since i assumed Google cleans malware prior to enabling them in gmails).

It was entitled AT YOUR DOORSTEP - and the image was actually a soliciation letter hailing from Ghana. Which is when Red-Flag bells began ringing in my head... so i rushed to do a quick-scan followed by a slow-scan in MSE.

MSE results - no problems were deted.
The email still resides in my gmail inbox.

So am i safe?

 

Its not uncommon for malicious payloads to be hidden within image files, however it would depend mainly if this code required user input for execution, or whether it is capable of self execution via some sort of Java-Script command or similar?

Many payloads and other malicious scripts are possible within these types of transmissions, so its very difficult to say whether your situation is completely safe, or not.

Having said this, I wouldn't expect any repercussions malware wise from a solicitation letter........these sorts of attacks rely mainly on socially engineering the victim to follow directions given, rather than any sort of complicated malicious payload.

My advice would be to delete the email if you dont require it, keep a close eye out for unexpected behavior within your system and possibly run some extra scans using root-kit software etc.

 

Replicator, thanks so much for reassuring me! Sorry for the delay, as i was at this migration-biz days on end, sometimes around the clock, with no sleep (aside from my usual life which is also runaway.