I have noticed, recently, an increase in the number of incoming emails purporting to be from a well known software company advising the email recipient of a special software “fix” being sent via email. The email goes on to recommend the user install the software patch immediately – DO NOT.

The email messages I have seen certainly do sound quite convincing but I know of no large software company worth their salt that would send a program in this way asking end users to install software directly. For a start many companies do not register software against specific users – this would be very hard to manage.

Large software companies issue software patches either on official media or via their own websites – a good rule of thumb is to never visit a software company website to download a patch by clicking on a link in an email. Always type the web address into the browser manually or use the options built in to the software package to check for updates. Most of the time, the IT department will manage updates directly so end users do not have to worry about them – in fact most IT departments go to great lengths to ensure users cannot install software directly; imagine the chaos that could occur if this was possible – not to mention the legal implications.

Software programs sent as email attachments are most probably malware sent from dubious sources in attempts to get you to install something nasty on your computer by pretending to sound official (in the same way that spammers pretend to use official Bank notifications to trick you into giving away personal data). Unless you are specifically expecting something sent by email then always treat attachments and links suspiciously.

If you are in any doubt, contact your IT department or the software company directly – but never by clicking a link contained within the email.

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