The Redmond giant has apologized for unintentionally serving malware ad banners on its MSN sites. These ads prompted the users to download and install a malware application.
The malware application is called Winfixer, which comes along with a software package of an application called SystemDoctor.
SystemDoctor claims to be an anti-spyware application, and when users click on the banner ad they are taken to SystemDoctor’s website. Microsoft’s employees also noticed that when users refreshed the page a JavaScript dialogue popped up and claimed the users to download ErrorSafe, which claims to be another anti-malware application.
None of the users think that these applications are malware and will eventually harm their systems particularly when they are browsing a Microsoft website.
Microsoft has claimed that it has now removed these banner ads and has also stated that:
“Microsoft was notified of malware that was being served through ads placed in Windows Live Messenger banners. As a result of this notification we immediately investigated the reports and removed the offending ads, as this is a violation of our ad serving policy. We can confirm that the ads are no longer being served by any Microsoft system. We apologize for the inconvenience and are reviewing our ad approval process to reduce the chance of an occurrence such as this happening again. To help customers protect their PCs from malware threats, Microsoft recommends customers follow our Protect your PC guidance at www.microsoft.com/protect.”
Since then no such virus outbreaks have been reported. But the damage has already been done and that too from a Microsoft Website.
Via: arstechnica
