This post originated from an RSS feed registered with .NET Buzz by Doug Thews. Original Post: New E-Mail Scam/Virus Feed Title: IlluminatiLand Feed URL: http://apps5.oingo.com/apps/domainpark/domainpark.cgi?client=netw8744&s=JETBRAINS.COM Feed Description: A technology blog for people enlightened enough to think for themselves Latest .NET Buzz Posts Latest .NET Buzz Posts by Doug Thews Latest Posts From IlluminatiLand

Well, we're in the midst of another e-mail scam/virus. This one is merely an executable attached to an e-mail, but the real problem is that the authors "make" the e-mail look authentic by using Microsoft's font, graphics, and faking an SMTP senders e-mail address.

While you & I may know not to just run any ol' executable (not to mention that Microsoft never sends executable updates via e-mail, the victims will be those poor unsuspecting casual users out there. They've heard so much about viruses and critical updates lately, that they might easily fall for this old trick.

This kind of thing really disturbs me. If the people who think up of these things would only spend 1/3rd of their time on legitimate activities as they do this crap, the world would be a better place.

Anyway, here's the body of the e-mail (it seems to be the same from multiple senders):

this is the latest version of security update, the "September 2003, Cumulative Patch" update which resolves all known security vulnerabilities affecting MS Internet Explorer, MS Outlook and MS Outlook Express. Install now to maintain the security of your computer. This update includes the functionality of all previously released patches.