Windows Activation Trojan Horse spotted in the wild

Windows Activation Trojan Horse spotted in the wild

Security software developing companies are warning of a new Trojan Horse appearing on the web which lures the user into submitting their Credit Card information to activate their Windows OS.

The Trojan Horse tries to pretend like the Windows activation program and informs the user that their copy of Windows has been activated by someone else.

The message delivered to the user adds: “To help reduce software piracy, please reactivate your copy of Windows now. We will ask you for your billing details, but your credit card will NOT be charged.”

If the user refuses to put in the information, the machine is turned off by the malicious code. If he presses yes, he is instructed to put in his name and credit card information, which is then transmitted to the hacker’s server.

Symantec claimed that the Trojan affects several Windows platforms including Windows 95, 98, 2000, NT and Server 2003. Some of these operating systems from the company are not even covered by the Windows Activation system.