Contributed By: Cliff Hobbs [MVP SMS]
I'm sure it's not just me, but I've been receiving a spate of different emails claiming to be from Microsoft and with various attachments from the latest hotfixes to cumulative security patches and more besides.

So I decided to check things out with Microsoft.  It seems such emails are a hoax.  Microsoft say they NEVER send emails out containing attachments unless they've pre-agreed it with you. Even then it will only be screenshots or documentation.  If you need the latest hotfix or a different file the email will point you to the Microsoft website or FTP site to obtain a Security Update.

Below are two URLs Microsoft have provided us with.  The first is a link to the Microsoft Security and Privacy site which is the first place you should visit if you think something is amiss.  The second is an article that gives you a list of things to check if you think an email isn't genuinely from Microsoft:

http://www.microsoft.com/security

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/treeview/default.asp?url=/technet/security/news/patch_hoax.asp

My golden rule is I never open an attachment that is an EXE file and if the email is either from someone I don't recognise or looks suspicious it gets deleted.