Microsoft Spoof
I received a mail today purported to be from Microsoft updates. The mail was just this:
URGENT: Please intall critical Windows XP/2000/2003/Vista update!
Urgent Install Get critical update (obligatory)
Concerned about privacy? When you check for updates, basic information about your computer, not you, is used to determine which updates your programs need. To learn more, see our privacy statement.
Now, the only link present in the original e-mail was the “Get critical update (obligatory)” one. No link to the privacy statement. No link to a Microsoft Security Advisory, nothing. And that link was to another site designed to look exactly like the Microsoft Update website.
The scary thing is that this kind of e-mail is very effective. Most people who don’t have any clue of what is going on would just click on the button, resulting in an installation that would bring in viruses, Trojans, spyware, malware, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.
That’s why there are a lot of warnings all over. Don’t click on any link in e-mail messages, even if you believe it to be true.
(Or better yet, use Linux)
February 6th, 2008 at 4:57 pm
[...] | IT News Digest | TechRepublic.com wrote an interesting post today on Microsoft SpoofHere’s a quick excerpt…just click on the button, resulting in an installation that would bring in viruses, Trojans, spyware, malware, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. [...]