Fake Microsoft update

A mass e-mail being circulated by hackers purporting to be a Microsoft Windows update alert directs computer users to a fake website where a Trojan virus is installed, security experts said. The security firm Websense said it began receiving reports this week of the e-mail claiming to be from Microsoft, coincidentally after the software giant announced it was making security updates. "This e-mail spoofs users into thinking that they must update their windows software," Websense said yesterday. "Upon clicking on the link, users are forwarded to a fraudulent website. This website is hosted in Australia, and was up at the time of this alert. The website appears very similar to the real windows update site." But when a user attempts to perform the update, a Trojan horse virus is installed that allows hackers access to the infected computers, the company said. Anti-virus experts at Sophos has a set of guidelines which users can follow to help them practice safe computing, which I would recommend all my blog readers take a look at.