One of the most common ways for cybercriminals to steal money from people is through the use of fake security software, according to the most recent Microsoft Security Intelligence Report . This kind of software is also known as “scareware”...

You’ve probably been in this situation before: either your browser seems to throw up a warning for every link you click, or it doesn’t display any warnings at all. Internet Explorer 9 provides a more thoughtful warning system for potentially...

I recently received two email messages from people who had been the victims of cybercrime. These people weren’t just readers of our blog—they work on our team. That means that they spend almost every day thinking about viruses , online fraud...

Senior attorney for Microsoft’s Digital Crimes Unit (DCU), Richard Boscovich, appeared on Seattle’s NBC news last week to confirm that Microsoft will not cold call you to fix your computer. If you’ve received a call from someone who...

The Microsoft Security Intelligence Report (SIR ) provides information about current security threats to help protect organizations, software, and people. The report covers exploits, vulnerabilities, and malware based on data from over 600 million systems...

Microsoft releases security updates on the second Tuesday of every month. Today Microsoft released 2 security updates. Get the updates . Watch a video about the updates . To get more information about security updates and other privacy and security...

The FBI and U.S. Department of Justice announced an operation to take down the Coreflood botnet. The term bot is short for robot. Criminals distribute malicious software (also known as malware) that can turn your computer into a bot (also known as...

We used to recommend that you increase the security of your Hotmail account by creating a new account, one that you would give to online retailers or other organizations that might send a lot of unwanted email . Now, if you have a Hotmail account,...

Cybercriminals are circulating a new piece of fake security software that spoofs a Microsoft security tool. It’s called the “MS Removal Tool.” If you see a pop-up ad or an email for the “MS Removal Tool,” ignore it. If...

Today the Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC) posted details about the May security updates . On Tuesday, May 10 at approximately 10 AM Pacific Time Microsoft will release 2 bulletins: 1 critical and 1 important. The easiest way to get the updates...

If you’re searching for news about or pictures of Osama bin Laden, you might find malware instead. This week the FBI warned computer users to be especially careful of emails that claim to show photos or videos of bin Laden’s death. Cybercriminals...

I am my mother’s tech support person. As the only employee of Microsoft in our family, the role naturally fell to me. Even if you don’t work in the technology sector, I’ll bet that many of you are also charged with keeping your mom’s...