Greetings --
It's been well known for years now that posting/publishing a real
email address to _any_ newsgroup or web site is an open initiation to
be spammed. For years now, spammers have been using automated tools
to harvest email addresses from Usenet. What I don't understand is
why you're just now noticing the phenomenon.
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.
What you received is either a very common, malicious hoax or the
output of a computer infected by one of several widely publicized,
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 very probably 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
How to Tell If a Microsoft Security-Related Message Is Genuine
http://www.microsoft.com/security/antivirus/authenticate_mail.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.
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
It seems that after joining this newsgroup I'm bombarded with e-mails
that contain a "windows update" of some sort or "patch" however these
are virus e-mails, Seems kind of ironic to me. Does anyone know who
does this or whom?
