Email Updates

  • Thread starter Thread starter Dig
  • Start date Start date
D

Dig

I get at least 2 or 3 emails a day that claim they are
from microsoft and contain updates in them.

Are these for real? My virus software usually deletes the
attachments. I remember one that got thru and looking at
it. It was an .scr file which I could not believe was from
Microsoft.

I check the update site regularly and update my Win2K that
way.

Any information appreciated.
Thanks
 
They are all fakes, without exception. Microsoft does not
send out updates - you have to go and get them from the
secure Microsoft site.
 
Dig said:
I get at least 2 or 3 emails a day that claim they are
from microsoft and contain updates in them.

Are these for real? My virus software usually deletes the
attachments. I remember one that got thru and looking at
it. It was an .scr file which I could not believe was from
Microsoft.

I check the update site regularly and update my Win2K that
way.

Any information appreciated.
Thanks
Click to expand...
These are being caused by the "Worm.Automat.AHB" worm as known by
Symantec (it will have other aliases from other antivirus vendors). All
messages like that should be deleted.

--
Chris Szilagyi
Technical Consultant
______________________________________________________
Apex Internet Solutions - http://www.apex-internet.com
Complete Internet Hosting Solutions, Custom Websites
 
Greetings --

What you received is either a very common malicious hoax or the
output of a computer infected by one of several wide-spread, mass
emailing worms. The most widely-known are:

W32.Swen.A_mm
http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/[email protected]

W32.Dumaru_mm
http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/[email protected]

W32.Gibe_mm
http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/[email protected]

Microsoft never has, does not currently, and very probably never
will email unsolicited security patches. At the most, if, and only
if, you subscribe to their security notification newsletter, they will
send you an email informing you that a new patch is available for
downloading.

Microsoft Policies on Software Distribution
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/treeview/?url=/technet/security/policy/swdist.asp

Information on Bogus Microsoft Security Bulletin Emails
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/treeview/default.asp?url=/technet/security/news/patch_hoax.asp

How to Tell If a Microsoft Security-Related Message Is Genuine
http://www.microsoft.com/security/antivirus/authenticate_mail.asp

Any and all legitimate patches and updates are readily available
at http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/. (Notice that this is the true
URL, rather than the bogus one that may have been contained in the
email you received.) Any messages that point to any other source(s) or
claim to have the patch attached are bogus.

You're receiving these emails because your email address is in
the address book of someone infected with a worm, and/or because you
posted your real email address somewhere on-line, either in a forum
accessible to the public and spambots, such as Usenet, or on an
untrustworthy web site that subsequently sold your address as part of
a mailing list. One thing you can do is notify _everyone_ with whom
you've ever corresponded via email that one or more of them may be
infected with a mass emailing worm, and should take the appropriate
steps.

There's probably no way of blocking all of the bogus messages, but
you can greatly reduce the number you get by creating a rule, based
upon the most commonly used subject lines, to delete the emails from
the server without ever downloading them.


Bruce Chambers

--
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