Surely as night follows day, fake Microsoft updates now follow Microsoft’s genuine monthly security updates. The real Microsoft updates come out on the second Tuesday of each month. By the second Wednesday of each month, there are fake patches being spammed around, each of which is, of course, really a virus.
This month’s fake Microsoft patch is a memory-resident virus called w32.pinfi, which, once leashed, can travel across networks and to attached hard drives.
W32.pinfi, also known as the Pate or Parite virus, is being borne in email which advises the user that the attached “patch” closes security holes in IE, Outlook, and Outlook Express, and is targetted at Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows ME systems.
An advisory on the Microsoft site cautions users that “Microsoft sends e-mail to subscribers of our security e-mail notification services when we release information about a security software update or security incident.
Unfortunately, malicious individuals have been known to send fake e-mail notifications that appear to be coming from Microsoft, a tactic known as spoofing. Some of these messages lure recipients to Web sites to download malicious code, while others include a file attachment containing a virus,” and then explains that “We never attach software updates to our security e-mail notifications” and “We never send notices about security updates or incidents until after we publish information about them on our Web site. If you are ever in doubt about the authenticity of a Microsoft security e-mail notification, check the Security site on Microsoft.com”
Explained a representative for Microsoft, “This is a common scam. It’s important to remind customers that Microsoft will never attach software updates to security e-mail notifications,” and adding that “users should always exercise extreme caution when opening unsolicited attachments from both known and unknown sources.
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to resolve all these problems just buy a mac cause pcs suck
req.for os windows 2000srv.
w32pinfi virus removel tool
I just mentioned one of your articles in my newsletter.
Thanks Aunty, you’re the best …
Clif
http://clifnotes.mybesthost.com/
Dedicated to promoting freeware and free information
Apparently millions will continue to be suckered into these false patches by the fake emails. Sotware and computers are a great gift but humanity has screwed up every opportunity since the garden of eden!
What good or effect will that have….this article indicates the virus is sent in an email attachment?
Wouldn’t it be better to just turn off automatic updates? As soon as I hit “say it!” that’s what I’m gonna do.
Thanks for alerting us.
Tim