Phishing scam targets Windows update

MIG-31

A phishing scam emulating the Windows Update Service hit Australia yesterday, designed to not only emulate the update page perfectly, but circumvent current antivirus, spyware and adware programs.

The spam e-mail directs users to a page that pulls graphics from the Microsoft.com Web site and then recreates the page asking users to download a Windows update that is actually a malicious .exe file.

Director of SurfControl, Charles Heunemann, said the company discovered the virus late last night and that current heuristics and signatures used by core antivirus vendors are not picking up the malicious code.

"We are still trying to get to the bottom of it," Heunemann said.

"It is not a malicious attack for network resources but appears to send a message to the Internet advertising itself as a zombie machine - we think the .exe file pulls other code to turn the machine into a spamming server.

"The actual e-mail looks like a Microsoft e-mail but I don't think it is the practice for Microsoft to ask users to update their operating system by launching a link from an e-mail."
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Read More: PCWorld

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MitchRapp

i still don't get why people click on links they get in emails