Recently we have reports from clients of an increase in the number of persons calling claiming to be from Microsoft. These individuals are attempting to gain access to workstations with the assistance of users. They might offer to help solve your computer problems or sell you a software license. Once they have access to your computer, they can do the following:

• Trick you into installing software that could capture sensitive data, such as online banking user names and passwords. They might also then charge you to remove this software.
• Convince you to visit legitimate websites (like http://www.ammyy.com) to download software that will allow them to take control of your computer remotely and adjust settings to leave your computer vulnerable.
• Request credit card information so they can bill you for phony services.
• Direct you to fraudulent websites and ask you to enter credit card and other personal or financial information there.

Neither Microsoft nor our partners make unsolicited phone calls (also known as cold calls) to charge you for computer security or software fixes.

Telephone tech support scams: What you need to know

Cybercriminals often use publicly available phone directories, so they might know your name and other personal information when they call you. They might even guess what operating system you’re using.

Once they’ve gained your trust, they might ask for your user name and password or ask you to go to a legitimate website (such as http://www.ammyy.com) to install software that will let them access your computer to fix it. Once you do this, your computer and your personal information are vulnerable.

Do not trust unsolicited calls. Do not provide any personal information.

Here are some of the organizations that cybercriminals claim to be from:

• Windows Helpdesk
• Windows Service Center
• Microsoft Tech Support
• Microsoft Support
• Windows Technical Department Support Group
• Microsoft Research and Development Team (Microsoft R & D Team)

Last Friday, Adobe confirmed two new “critical” zero-day flaws in the Adobe Flash Player browser plugin 18.0.0.204 – and earlier versions – for Windows, OS X, and Linux, now, a third flaw was found. Adobe Flash Player is a widely distributed multimedia and application player used to enhance the user experience when visiting web pages or reading email messages.

We strongly recommend disabling Adobe Flash until the exploits are fixed.

We recommend you do the following:

• Remove or disable Flash until Adobe sends out a fix.
• Once a patch is released by Adobe, update immediately.
• Run all software as a non-privileged user (one without administrative privileges) to diminish the effects of a successful attack.
• Avoid visiting websites or following links provided by unknown or untrusted sources.
• Avoid clicking on links contained in emails or attachments from unknown sources.

To verify the version of Adobe Flash Player installed on your system, access the About Flash Player page, or right-click on content running in Flash Player and select “About Adobe (or Macromedia) Flash Player” from the menu. If you use multiple browsers, perform the check for each browser you have installed on your system.