Microsoft Security Essentials is a Trick

A virus labeled “Microsoft Security Essentials” has been deployed to trick unsuspecting users into downloading malicious software.

Reported by security experts at antivirus firm F-Secure, the rogue security update disguises itself as a legitimate Microsoft program, but it is a piece of malware distributed via drive-by-download – a bug that automatically infects a user’s system without having to be explicitly clicked on.

In addition to looking like a legitimate Microsoft program, the fake warning, or scareware, contains a list of antivirus companies and their logos. The companies in the list that claim to be able to rid the computer of the virus are called “Red Cross,” “Peak Protection,” “AntiSpy Safeguard,” “Major Defense Kit,” and “Pest Detector,” but they are all corrupted links.

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