Carlile Computers

ZeuS Trojan Spreads With Tax Spam

The ZeuS Trojan is reappearing, using a tax scam to spread.  It is using the October 15 tax filing extension to trick users.  The spam e-mail will have a subject line similar to one of these:

"LAST NOTICE:  Your Federal Tax Payment has been rejected in system" or

"Your Tax Payment ID:  0103778341 has been rejected.  Urgent Report Information."

This scam has been discovered by researchers at Cisco Systems and Solera Networks. As always, should you receive an e-mail such as this, your best defense is to simply delete it.  The IRS will never notify you of a tax problem by e-mail.  They will always contact you by standard mail via the United States Postal Service

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Fake Windows Security Update Emails Spread Worm

There is a new malware distribution campaign trying to pass an AutoRun worm as a critical Windows security update.  According to an article posted on the Softpedia website, the spam e-mail subject line reads "Update your Windows" and the header is forged to appear as if it comes from Microsoft.  The From address is no-reply@microsft.com [intentional domain typo].  The text of the e-mail claims that a security update was recently released for all versions of Windows from Windows 2000 on.  The e-mail includes an attachment (KB453396-ENU.zip) which is supposed to be the update.  The .zip file contains an executable that installs a worm that spreads via USB sticks.

Several elements of the e-mail mark it as a scam.  One is the poor spelling of the body of the message.  Another is that Microsoft NEVER distributes operating system updates via e-mail.  As always, users should be extremely cautious when they receive e-mail attachments, even when they appear to come from someone they know.

Read the entire article on the Softpedia website