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Tech: Microsoft e-mail: for real?
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Subject: Tech: Microsoft e-mail: for real? From: michaelr Date: 22 Oct 03 - 08:48 PM Got an e-mail the other day from "MS Program Security Center" titled "New Microsoft Security Upgrade". The message is 153k and includes an attachment. I seem to remember reading that Microsoft never sends out unsolicited e-mail. Is that correct? I deleted the thing, but it's back again today. Has anyone else gotten this? Could it be for real? Any advice would be appreciated. Cheers, Michael |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Microsoft e-mail: for real? From: NicoleC Date: 22 Oct 03 - 09:38 PM No, this is a virus/worm and/or hoax... I can't remember which and with a name like that it's hard to find in the regular virus encyclopedias. Delete it. The only way you get security updates form Microsoft is to download them yourself. MS *DOES* send out unsolicited email though... |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Microsoft e-mail: for real? From: GUEST Date: 22 Oct 03 - 09:50 PM Patch QUICK!But you knew that, didn't you? -Joe Offer- |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Microsoft e-mail: for real? From: open mike Date: 22 Oct 03 - 09:52 PM no no no do not do it,,, it is a trap! my norton says these microsoft pretenders contain a virus called dumaru... looks official, though don't it?! i think there is another thread on this.. |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Microsoft e-mail: for real? From: GUEST Date: 22 Oct 03 - 09:54 PM Why would Bill Gates lie to you?
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Subject: RE: Tech: Microsoft e-mail: for real? From: michaelr Date: 22 Oct 03 - 10:19 PM Yep, it looks official, MS colors and all. Thanks Nicole and open mike, and Guest, well, hmmm. Should Norton be alerting me when something like this shows up in my e-mail? Cheers, Michael |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Microsoft e-mail: for real? From: artbrooks Date: 22 Oct 03 - 11:09 PM I got a message, allegedly from Microsoft, that said something like "install this patch immediately." Norton caught it. If your Norton didn't, could it be that you haven't updated your virus definitions in the past few weeks? |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Microsoft e-mail: for real? From: NicoleC Date: 22 Oct 03 - 11:31 PM Norton won't catch it unless you try to open it... and only then if your definitions are up to date enough (like Art's were). |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Microsoft e-mail: for real? From: open mike Date: 23 Oct 03 - 12:21 AM MY NORTON CAUGHT IT FINALLY- after a dozen or more others squeaked by un noticed... my servber also has a virus scan feature which gets some other baddies that norton misses. |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Microsoft e-mail: for real? From: The Fooles Troupe Date: 23 Oct 03 - 12:50 AM A variant on this one is the one that claims to be bouncing an email from somebody/somewhere. It looks realistic, but it carries the 144-150Kb viral load too. You have been warned - do NOT do anything but delete it - do NOT open it... Mailwasher allows you to see that there is the attachment, and you can see the obvious subject line, and if you want you can peek at the headers or the first segment of the text body. Robin |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Microsoft e-mail: for real? From: GUEST,jennifer Date: 23 Oct 03 - 02:00 AM I have had to close down my junk mail folder because I was getting so many of these things it was going over the limit in less than a day. I have updated Norton several times since it started, and scan the discs with it frequently. There is also a theme of messages that goes "virus found in your email to..." I am assuming that is the same thing and hoping it doesn't mean I really have got it and am passing it on. But does this only affect Windows 2000 and XP? |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Microsoft e-mail: for real? From: masato sakurai Date: 23 Oct 03 - 02:16 AM It very probably contains virus called Swen. See this page: Symantec Security Response. |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Microsoft e-mail: for real? From: mack/misophist Date: 23 Oct 03 - 02:28 AM ie. Many virus's fake the return address. It was probably on the drive of some one who had your address. Same thing happened to me. |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Microsoft e-mail: for real? From: artbrooks Date: 23 Oct 03 - 06:57 AM Norton has a "check e-mail" setting. If this is on, it should scan all mail as it arrives, and let you know if there are problems before you try tp open a message. My ISP (Earthlink) has caught dozens of copies of the same "Microsoft" message. |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Microsoft e-mail: for real? From: JohnInKansas Date: 23 Oct 03 - 09:26 AM artbrooks - We did have some problems with Norton's "check e-mail" setting on a Win2K machine. It seems that the version in Norton 2002 AV doesn't, and it significantly hinders efficient emailing. An upgrade to Norton 2003 Pro was handy as part of some other changes to this machine, and it seems to have solved the problem. If you're on subscription for virus signature updates, you may occasionally be offered "core" or "driver" updates, but I don't know if the email problem would be fixed by these. The problem appears to apply only to Win2K and Norton 2002. No similar difficulties with the same program version on WinXP, at least, and older AV versions that I used on Win98 didn't show it. But if you have any question about a particular file, you can pop Norton up and scan that file (or your email dbase) manually before you open something. John |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Microsoft e-mail: for real? From: Jim McLean Date: 23 Oct 03 - 09:31 AM Yes, it's the W32Swen virus, which I have cleared from a few clients' PCs. Microsoft never sends attachments so that is the pointer. |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Microsoft e-mail: for real? From: Peter K (Fionn) Date: 23 Oct 03 - 05:39 PM Why was a guest outed? Is this now the norm where identities (or at least originating PCs/Macs) are known? |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Microsoft e-mail: for real? From: Ebbie Date: 23 Oct 03 - 05:52 PM Gargoyle ain't no guest, Fionn. :) |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Microsoft e-mail: for real? From: GUEST,Ron Davies Date: 23 Oct 03 - 09:51 PM This may not speak to this specific question, but for a long-term solution you may want to read the Wall Street Journal article by their computer columnist. The Wall Street Journal, that well-known leftist rag, supports Microsoft editorially to the hilt--indeed the editors have never met a monopoly they didn't love----but they let their reporters and columnists have free rein to call it as they see it. Today's column by Walter S. Mossberg, the Journal's computer columnist, is headed "If you're tired of fighting viruses, consider a new Mac". "Windows is riddled with security flaws and new ones turn up regularly. It is increasingly susceptible to all kinds of viruses, malicious Trojan horse programs and spyware. As a result, Windows users have been forced to spend more of their time and money supporting their computers. Almost every week, they are supposed to install patches to the already patchy operating system to plug these security holes" In addition to stating the obvious (Microsoft will be the #1 target for virus-writers for the foreseeable future) the article points out other reasons the Mac is much less susceptible to viruses; thus users have much less to contend with. Food for thought. |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Microsoft e-mail: for real? From: open mike Date: 24 Oct 03 - 02:54 AM whasts this about guests outed? |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Microsoft e-mail: for real? From: GUEST,Peter from Essex Date: 24 Oct 03 - 03:08 PM These "Microsoft e-mail" viruses usually reveal the infected account in the header. My two golden rules of email are: 1. Review everything on the server and delete without downloading if at all doubtfull. 2. Don't use Outlook |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Microsoft e-mail: for real? From: wildlone Date: 24 Oct 03 - 05:58 PM If you need a free anti virus program, This is the one I use Free anti virus program scroll down to the bottom of the page to download I also use a Firewall Zone alarm is a pretty good free one but I have upgraded to zone alarm pro dave |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Microsoft e-mail: for real? From: Burke Date: 24 Oct 03 - 06:46 PM I always seem to get the MS patch e-mail and the Returned mail message in pairs. For a while there I was getting over a dozen a day. It's tapered off to one or two, so I guess there's lots of computer cleaning going on. Our mail sever catches & deletes the file with the MS message. I still have to delete the message, but at that point it's just like deleting SPAM. That Returned mail message does something sneaky & somehow gets past the mail server. Sophos was detecting them, but the automatic shredding I had profiled was being denied for a while. A later update to the definitions must have fixed that because they are being shredded now. I got these messages about the same time our IT Dept. was really messing up the maintenance of our virus definitions. With Windows XP they are pushed out & I can't control them. One day it was detecting viruses the next it wasn't, when I knew there had to be a virus. I was deleting them but I did not like the fact that they were getting through undetected. I must have spent 15 minutes with our help desk just to convice them to check out what was happening. They never did acknowledge a problem or thank me. We did however get updated files within an hour or so of my call. Unfortunately they messed up a download again about a week later & I had to call them again. This time I just left a phone mail message. No acknowledgement again, just another Emergency upgrade to the definition files. I now know far more than I ever thought I needed about how these files are updated & maintained. |
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Subject: 3 IMPORTANT RULES From: GUEST,ASTONISHED Date: 24 Oct 03 - 07:19 PM RULE NO. 1: Do not OPEN any E-mail from any party that you do not recognize the E-mail address of the sender, or with a subject line of dubious nature. RULE NO. 2: Apply Rule No. 1! RULE NO. 3: Apply Rule No. 1! |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Microsoft e-mail: for real? From: Jeri Date: 24 Oct 03 - 09:05 PM Of course, if you have a text only e-mail program, you can safely open any message. Just be careful with attachments. I've received infected e-mails that apparently come from people I know pretty well. They weren't from them, however. The REAL (unintentional) sender is usually given in the "Reply to:" address, not the "From:" address. |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Microsoft e-mail: for real? From: Mark Clark Date: 24 Oct 03 - 11:50 PM We discussed computer security in a thread called Tech: popups. There I posted a short list of essential security tools. If you use AVG Antivirus as several of us including wildone above suggest, you'll have a free (for home use) solution that is equal to or better than either Norton or McAfee and it's architected to work better with your Windows operating system. AVG Antivirus won't cause those odd problems with other software that you get with Norton and McAfee. The free version will still give you the latest updates, also for free. The Kerio Personel Firewall product is better than the ZoneAlarm product, and is the one I'd redommend, but if talk of ports and IP addresses puts you off, stick with the simpler ZoneAlarm. If you regularly run the Windows Update procedure from the Tools menu in IE and use the tools I've recommended and keep them up to date and run defrag every week or two, you'll have very little trouble with your MS operating system. It isn't costly to keep your system safe and running smoothly but it does take a little time and discipline. - Mark |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Microsoft e-mail: for real? From: Max Date: 25 Oct 03 - 12:00 AM Don't trust any emails. Phone bills, Ebay, Paypal, Microsoft, Electric Company, etc. Go directly to anybodies Web site that you do business with, never click any of their emails. Be especially concerned if anything in the address spot in the top of you browser is only an ip address like 12.32.42.132 or any set of 4 sets of only digits (x.x.x.x). Don't trust links in emails, type it into your browser. |
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