How to Tell that a Microsoft Security Warning is Legitimate – Guide
Microsoft fake security alerts have been around for many years, but they are becoming much more problematic for two (connected) reasons: Many of these fake security warnings are very convincing and many of the world’s knowledge workers are still working on home as a result of the pandemic. Instead of working from consolidated corporate desktops integrated into a domain, these users often work from their own personal devices. This means that users who fall for a fake Microsoft security alert can put their personal and work environment at risk. As part of a security awareness program, it is important to teach end users what to look for to determine whether a Microsoft security alert is legitimate.
Microsoft Security Alerts: Signs of Fraud
First, if a security alert is displayed in a web browser, it is almost certainly fraudulent. While it’s true that a browser can occasionally indicate that a website you are about to visit is unsafe, Microsoft does not place warning messages inside the browser indicating that your computer has been compromised and that you need to download a patch or contact the technician Support, support. It is also important for users to know that Microsoft support does not contact people to let them know that their computers have been compromised. All these links are fraudulent. Other obvious signs that a security alert is fake can include alert text being read by a robotic voice, an alert being displayed in a way that’s hard to get rid of, or prompts indicating that you need to pay for support using any of the cryptographic coins or gift cards.
How legitimate Microsoft security alerts are displayed
When Microsoft security alerts are displayed within Windows, it is normal to momentarily see a black pop-up in the lower right corner of the screen. When this alert is cleared, it will also be listed in the Windows Action Center. One of the things you’ll notice about the security alert shown in Figure 1 is that it wasn’t written in a way designed to inspire fear. There are no warning tones, flashing fonts, or threats about what could happen if you don’t take immediate action. Any such language is a clear indicator that a message is false. Another way to confirm the authenticity of a message is to check the message context against Windows operating system settings. If, for example, a message indicates that Windows Firewall has been disabled, it’s easy to go into Settings to see if the firewall is really disabled. If the firewall is still enabled, the message is probably fake. To check the basic security status of a Windows 10 PC, go to Settings and click Update & Security. From there, select the Windows Security tab. As you can see in Figure 3, the Windows security screen comes back up the alert indicating that there is a problem with the Windows firewall, thus confirming that the warning was real.
Final note
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