Hoax email from Microsoft

There is currently an email circulating that claims to be a security update from Microsoft, and contains an attached file which it encourages you to install immediately to update your system. This file is a trojan, and will start sending out copies of itself to anyone it finds in your address book.

Microsoft never distribute patches via email. They do send out security alerts, but you need to have subscribed to a mailing list from them, and the email will not contain attachments, but only links to where you can download a patch. Any legitimate patch from Microsoft will come from a domain name ending with microsoft.com.

It is a good idea to keep your PC up to date with the latest security updates. if you are running IWindows XP or Windows 2000 with Service Pack 3 or greater, there is a tool to automatically download and install updates in the background whenever you are online.

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