We recently received an email that provided a great example of the tools in a cyberscammer's toolbelt. Here's the email. Can you spot the signs of a scam? Scroll down to read more.
Dear Account Owner
We are having congestion due to the anonymous registration of free Windows Live Account therefore we are shutting down some Windows Live Account. Your account is among those to be deleted, we are sending you this email to enable you re-confirm your account details in order to commence immediate upgrade of your account from being deleted. If you have the interest of proceeding your account with us kindly re-confirm your account by filling the space below after clicking the reply button. * Username: ........................................ * Password: ......................................... * Date of Birth: ..................................... * Country Or Territory: .......................... After following the instructions in the sheet, your account will not be interrupted and will continue as normal. Thanks for your attention to this request. We apologize for any inconveniences. Microsoft, Windows Live Account Services Hotmail is part of Windows Live. * This assumes a reasonable growth rate. Microsoft respects your privacy. To learn more, please read our online Privacy Statement. For more information or for general questions regarding your e-mail account, please visit Windows Live Hotmail Help.Microsoft Corporation, One Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA 98052-6399, USA © 2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Six signs of a scam
1. Request for passwords and other personal information. Most scams are designed to trick people into turning over their passwords, user names, social security numbers, or other personal information. You should never send this information in an email message. For more information, see How to reduce the risk of online fraud.
2. Use of the Microsoft name. Cybercriminals often use the names of well-known companies, like Microsoft, to increase legitimacy and convince you to release your personal information. For more information, see Avoid scams that use the Microsoft name fraudulently.
3. Threats that require you to take action. In the scam above the cybercriminal claims that your account will be deleted if you do not respond with your personal information. Microsoft does not send threatening messages and will not ask for personal information in an email message.
4. Use of real information about Microsoft. The email above uses the correct Microsoft address and a link to the Microsoft privacy statement. Don't be fooled by these details or others such as Microsoft logos or language you've seen on official Microsoft email.
5. Bad grammar and misspellings. Our copyeditors would never have allowed mistakes like the ones in this email to pass their desks. For more information, see How to recognize phishing emails or links.
6. Generic greeting. Legitimate messages are not often addressed to "Account Owner." If Microsoft needs to send you official correspondence about your email account, for example, we will address you by name. However, bear in mind that cybercriminals do have ways of getting your name from your email address. Check for other signs of a scam, even if an email is addressed directly to you.
If you think you might have been a victim of a scam, see What to do if you've responded to a phishing scam.
Yesterday Microsoft announced the latest effort in the fight against crafty cybercriminals who try to steal our personal data from the Internet.
Internet Fraud Alert is a centralized alert system powered by Microsoft technology and managed by the National Cyber-Forensics and Training Alliance (NCFTA). This powerful tool will quickly inform financial and online companies about compromised customer account credentials (such as online usernames and passwords) or stolen credit card numbers.
For more information and to watch a video about how Internet Fraud Alert works, see A New Tool to Fight Against Fraud at the Microsoft on the Issues blog.
Microsoft is aware of a vulnerability that affects only Windows XP and Windows Server 2003. If you use Windows 2000, Windows Vista, or Windows 7, you are not affected.
If your computer is running Windows XP, visit this Microsoft Fix it page to fix this problem automatically.
Don't know what version you're running? If you're not using Windows XP, the Fix it page will display a message like the one below and that means that you don't need the update.
What is Microsoft Fix it? Microsoft Fix it is an online solution center designed to help you automatically diagnose and fix common computer problems.
How widespread is this problem? There have been limited reports that cybercriminals have exploited this vulnerability, but all of these exploits have since been taken down and we are not currently aware of anyone attempting to attack this issue. However, now that the vulnerability has been made public, we do anticipate that others might try to take advantage of it.
Where can I get more information? For the most current information about this security advisory, follow the Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC) blog and Microsoft Security Response on Twitter.
For basic information on how to help protect your computer, see 4 steps to protect your computer.
Our friend Ed from Microsoft Office recently stopped by to fill us in on how to reduce the risks associated with opening potentially unsafe files.
Here's what Ed has to say:
With hackers working overtime to create sophisticated tricks, computer viruses, worms, and other huge hassles that cost us all time and money, the folks at Microsoft Office took action. They created the new Protected View feature in Office 2010.
This feature gives you fair warning that there might be trouble with the file you're opening--namely it may have been created by someone up to no good, or it's a corrupt file, or one that won't work with your system.
When you see the Protected View Message Bar, decide how you want to proceed:
See What is Protected View? to read more about using Protected View, or see how it works in the video Turning off Protected View.
The popular technology site lifehacker reported the results of independent testing by AV-Comparatives.org showing that Microsoft Security Essentials is the best at "figuring out what's bad—while also avoiding annoying false positives." Download a copy of the test results from the lifehacker site.
Most of us know that we should keep our passwords and other credentials a secret. However, it’s easy for cybercriminals to create a "spoof", a copy of a familiar website. You might think you’re entering your credentials into your web-based email accounts, social networking sites, or bank websites, but you’re really typing them into a phishing website that was created to steal this information.
Cybercriminals have been using this ploy on websites and in pop-up windows for some time, but there are reports of a new phishing technique that takes advantage of the increased use of browser tabs.
Example of a browser tab
Many of us surf the web with several tabs open at once. If you browse to a malicious website, you might become a victim of what phishing researchers are calling “tabnabbing.”
If you open another tab but leave the malicious site open in its own tab, a cybercriminal could refresh the page so that it now looks like your web email or other sensitive website.
If you enter your password on this refreshed page that mimics the original site, you could be handing it over to a cybercriminal.
Despite tabnabbing’s clever name, this technique isn’t that different from a standard phishing attack. And the way Internet Explorer can protect us against this kind of attack isn’t that different either.
3 tips to avoid tabnabbing when you use Internet Explorer
1. Update your browser. The most recent version of Internet Explorer is Internet Explorer 8 and it helps protect against phishing scams, including tabnabbing.
2. Check that the lock icon appears on the address bar and that the web address of the page is correct (“https” rather than “http,” for example) before you enter personal information on any website.
3. Turn on SmartScreen Filter. SmartScreen blocks millions of malicious or potentially malicious pages and can help protect you from tabnapping.
For more information, see Reduce the risk of online fraud.
Microsoft releases security updates on the second Tuesday of every month. Today Microsoft released 10 new security updates.
Get the updates
Watch a video about the updates
The Kentucky Department of Education announced today that it is moving to live@edu, the cloud-based education system from Microsoft. This is Microsoft’s largest deployment to cloud services, involving over 700,000 students, faculty, and staff and saving Kentucky $6.3 million.
What is live@edu?
Live@edu offers educational institutions free hosted email, calendars, document sharing, instant messaging, video chat, and more. Students can familiarize themselves with Microsoft tools that they are likely to use in the workplace. Institutions can be confident that live@edu will help keep the information it stores in the cloud safe and private.
For more information about live@edu, see Free student email accounts and more. To learn more about how Microsoft protects data in the cloud, see Privacy in the Cloud.
Windows 7, the newest operating system from Microsoft, includes several new and improved security features, including an Action Center that lets you review and resolve security issues and perform maintenance on your computer.
To make sure you’re taking advantage of all the security features that Windows 7 has to offer, see Security Checklist for Windows 7.
Microsoft has created a series of videos featuring real Microsoft parents. In How to use Parental Controls in Windows, a father of three busy boys shows you what happened when he left them alone with the Sesame Street website and how he helps prevent that from ever happening again.
To see more videos that cover everything from how to create a family journal to how to bring your TV shows with you on vacation, go to Microsoft at Home: Video.