"Microsoft Security Patch" e-mails

Has anyone had any e-mails claiming to be from Microsoft and containing an
106 KB attachment. They are mostly .exe (some claim to be Q824145.exe) and
some .txt & .dat. They look very genuine with MS logo etc but are obviously
not from "Microsoft". I've now seen them popping up in other newsgroups.
I've copied the text only so you can see what they say

Any thoughts

Steve Smyth


Microsoft All Products | Support | Search | Microsoft.com Guide
Microsoft Home


Microsoft Customer

this is the latest version of security update, the "January 2004, Cumulative
Patch" update which fixes all known security vulnerabilities affecting MS
Internet Explorer, MS Outlook and MS Outlook Express. Install now to
continue keeping your computer secure from these vulnerabilities, the most
serious of which could allow an attacker to run executable on your system.
This update includes the functionality of all previously released patches.


System requirements Windows 95/98/Me/2000/NT/XP
This update applies to MS Internet Explorer, version 4.01 and later
MS Outlook, version 8.00 and later
MS Outlook Express, version 4.01 and later
Recommendation Customers should install the patch at the earliest
opportunity.
How to install Run attached file. Choose Yes on displayed dialog box.
How to use You don't need to do anything after installing this item.

Microsoft Product Support Services and Knowledge Base articles can be found
on the Microsoft Technical Support web site. For security-related
information about Microsoft products, please visit the Microsoft Security
Advisor web site, or Contact Us.

Thank you for using Microsoft products.

Please do not reply to this message. It was sent from an unmonitored e-mail
address and we are unable to respond to any replies.

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The names of the actual companies and products mentioned herein are the
trademarks of their respective owners.

Contact Us | Legal | TRUSTe
©2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Terms of Use | Privacy
Statement | Accessibility

On Tue, 6 Jan 2004 20:28:23 -0000, Steve Smyth wrote:

> Has anyone had any e-mails claiming to be from Microsoft and containing an
> 106 KB attachment. They are mostly .exe (some claim to be Q824145.exe) and
> some .txt & .dat. They look very genuine with MS logo etc but are obviously
> not from "Microsoft". I've now seen them popping up in other newsgroups.
> I've copied the text only so you can see what they say
>
> Any thoughts
>
> Steve Smyth
>
>
> Microsoft All Products | Support | Search | Microsoft.com Guide
> Microsoft Home
>
>
> Microsoft Customer
>
> this is the latest version of security update, the "January 2004, Cumulative
> Patch" update which fixes all known security vulnerabilities affecting MS
> Internet Explorer, MS Outlook and MS Outlook Express. Install now to
> continue keeping your computer secure from these vulnerabilities, the most
> serious of which could allow an attacker to run executable on your system.
> This update includes the functionality of all previously released patches.
>
>
> System requirements Windows 95/98/Me/2000/NT/XP
> This update applies to MS Internet Explorer, version 4.01 and later
> MS Outlook, version 8.00 and later
> MS Outlook Express, version 4.01 and later
> Recommendation Customers should install the patch at the earliest
> opportunity.
> How to install Run attached file. Choose Yes on displayed dialog box.
> How to use You don't need to do anything after installing this item.
>
> Microsoft Product Support Services and Knowledge Base articles can be found
> on the Microsoft Technical Support web site. For security-related
> information about Microsoft products, please visit the Microsoft Security
> Advisor web site, or Contact Us.
>
> Thank you for using Microsoft products.
>
> Please do not reply to this message. It was sent from an unmonitored e-mail
> address and we are unable to respond to any replies.
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> ----
> The names of the actual companies and products mentioned herein are the
> trademarks of their respective owners.
>
> Contact Us | Legal | TRUSTe
> ©2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Terms of Use | Privacy
> Statement | Accessibility

Microsoft never has, does not, and will never send patches by email. The
sender is not Microsoft and the attachment is a virus and should never be
opened/executed.

Thanks Curt

I've never wanted to open one to find out but as I only started to receive
them yesterday, thought this might be a new scam and wanted to try to warn
others about it. The fact that they look so genuine, could catch out the
unwary.

Steve Smyth

"Curt" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:goosjlpzz39m$.(E-Mail Removed)...
> On Tue, 6 Jan 2004 20:28:23 -0000, Steve Smyth wrote:
>
> > Has anyone had any e-mails claiming to be from Microsoft and containing
an
> > 106 KB attachment. They are mostly .exe (some claim to be Q824145.exe)
and
> > some .txt & .dat. They look very genuine with MS logo etc but are
obviously
> > not from "Microsoft". I've now seen them popping up in other newsgroups.
> > I've copied the text only so you can see what they say
> >
> > Any thoughts
> >
> > Steve Smyth
>
> Microsoft never has, does not, and will never send patches by email. The
> sender is not Microsoft and the attachment is a virus and should never be
> opened/executed.