New Worm Poses As Microsoft Security Patch

A new worm called Sober.d is doing the rounds masquerading as a security patch from Microsoft. arrives in an e-mail message with a subject that reads "Microsoft Alert: Please Read!" (The worm also comes in a German flavor, with a matching headline of "Microsoft Alarm: Bitte Lesen!")

If the recipient launches the attachment, the worm scans the PC to see if it's already infected. If not, Sober.d displays a dialog box titled "Windows Update --MS-Q4232361791-" with the message: "The patch has been successfully installed."

If the computer has been infected, the dialog's message changes to: "This patch does not need to be installed on this system," giving users an even greater false sense of security