Safe to open??? Installer463.exe and Q333491.exe

  • Thread starter Thread starter smanilow
  • Start date Start date
S

smanilow

I seem to remember a bulletin from Microsoft from a long
time ago that said they never send files, updates, or
other downloads as email attachments.
Is that correct?
Today, I found two different emails from senders
with "microsoft.com" in the subject and/or sender fields.
One had an attachment file named "installer463.exe"
The other had one named "Q333491.exe"

Are these real or are they possible spam, virus or
dangerous? Or am I over-cautious?

I just went to Microsoft.com download site and searched
for these two names and the search came up blank, which
suggests to me that these are phoney.

Anyone know?
 
You did not receive an update notification from Microsoft. You
received a virus-laden email message from a devious imposter!

A devious imposter is "spoofing" Microsoft and attempting to deceive you
into installing a malicious VIRUS in your computer! Delete the VIRUS
laden message immediately!

Microsoft never sends file attachments with email messages!

Please take a moment to read the following articles:

Information on Bogus Microsoft Security Bulletin E-mails
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

How to Trim the "Spam" from Your E-Mail Diet
http://www.microsoft.com/security/articles/spam.asp


--
Nicholas

-----------------------------------------------------------------------


| I seem to remember a bulletin from Microsoft from a long
| time ago that said they never send files, updates, or
| other downloads as email attachments.
| Is that correct?
| Today, I found two different emails from senders
| with "microsoft.com" in the subject and/or sender fields.
| One had an attachment file named "installer463.exe"
| The other had one named "Q333491.exe"
|
| Are these real or are they possible spam, virus or
| dangerous? Or am I over-cautious?
|
| I just went to Microsoft.com download site and searched
| for these two names and the search came up blank, which
| suggests to me that these are phoney.
|
| Anyone know?
 
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 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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having both at once. -- RAH
 
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