Fake Windows 8 license spam going viral online, leads to malware

Windows users, beware: just as Microsoft released its newest flagship operating system Windows 8, cybercriminals are looking to infect computers by spamming victims with bogus Windows licenses.

 

Security vendor GFI Labs said the spam has been observed in the wild, with the sender claiming to offer a free license for the Microsoft Windows OS.

 

"Clicking the hyperlinked text leads recipients to a number of .ru websites hosting the file, page2.htm, which contains obfuscated JavaScript code that loads (a) Web page," GFI Labs' Jovi Umawing said in a blog post.

 

This spam is a launchpad for a Blackhole-Cridex attack on user systems, Umawing added.

 

The email's body tells the recipient he or she "can download your Microsoft Windows License here," along with a link.

 

Microsoft is to release on October 26 its Windows 8 OS, a radical departure from past versions.

 

Windows 8 is optimized for touch screens and can be used for tablets and mobile devices. — TJD, GMA News