Microsoft Word Is Under A Hack Attack: Do Not Open Documents Named '.RTF' [View all]
Source: Yahoo News
Microsoft Corp. on Monday issued an emergency security warning saying that hackers have found a way to booby-trap certain common Word files with the .rtf extension.
Microsoft says it's aware of attacks going on now, but there's no fix yet to stop the hackers. It's working on a way to stop the bug.
The only way to be sure your computer won't get infected is not to open a document with the .rtf file extension until Microsoft says it's fine to do so.
This is the worst kind of attack. A hacker who manages to get you to open a booby-trapped file can gain control of your computer. From there, the hacker can do all kinds of things. For instance, the hacker can turn your computer into a so-called zombie by putting it on an illegal botnet. That means hackers can use your computer as part of a bigger network of computers to do all kinds of illegal things — like send spam, spread viruses, and commit fraud.
Read more: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/microsoft-word-under-hack-attack-184132816.html
Microsoft says in the article to block any .rtf files from your computer. There is a link to a download at the link above.
DON'T view in Outlook either.
Stay safe, DU 'puters!
Hosts, if this is a dupe or not SOP for this forum, please lock.
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