Fake or authenic MS email security patches?

I have received 4, 154k emails asking me to download .exe
file upgrades from Microsoft. My virus scan indicated a
virus named WormAutomat.AHB was contained in all 4. I am
confused as to what to do. Should I ignore the virus
alert and download? Should I download all 4 or just the
latest one? Should I delete them? Need help fast. My
computer seems to be slowing down.

 

Whatever you do, DO NOT RUN THOSE ATTACHMENTS!!! ...they're not from
Microsoft.
http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/

 

FAKE, DELETE THEM.
I've had a ton of them.
Microsoft does not send attachments. They are fakes. Put
a filter through you e-mail account, block the address,
and empty your e-mails' bulk mail folder, and e-mail
account trash folder often.

 

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/

W32.Dumaru_mm
http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/

W32.Gibe_mm
http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/

Microsoft never has, does not currently, and 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

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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You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. -- RAH

 

I've received unteen gillion automat.AHB attachments
which Norton catches each and every time. Just keep
letting your anti-virus program find those nasty files
that that the anti-virus program will move to a
quarantined storage area. You can delete the quarantined
files from that folder later.

 

Unbelievable

 

Greetings --

Isn't it just, though?

Bruce Chambers

--
Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. -- RAH