Microsoft and the National Consumer Agency have issued a warning to consumers about a scam that targets people running Microsoft Windows.

The bogus callers, who claim to be from Microsoft, request that users download a file from a website in order to remove a virus supposedly on their computer. This file acts as a trojan horse allowing the scammers access to the consumers computer. From here they can obtain information such as financial details, account logins and passwords etc. In some cases they have also requested credit card details over the phone from people.

If you happen to receive one of these calls the NCA advise that you hang up immediately and report the call to them on 1890 432 432.

A new scam that’s popping up online is where hackers send e-mails containing an attachment of a screen saver. A security hole in Microsoft Windows allows these screen savers to install malicious software on your machine. Once this software is installed all keystrokes and online activity will be recorded and forwarded off to unscrupulous individuals who will take over your email or facebook account and even your credit card.

While antivirus programs do keep put a halt to some of these trojans they can only stop the ones that have already been detected. Hackers are constantly innovating and working on new ways to get around antivirus software. Depending on the skills of the hackers they could even access and download all the files on your computer.

Along with keeping your antivirus up to date, common sense also needs to be employed in order to protect yourself from these attacks. Next time you see something that looks good, or looks in some way odd think for a couple of seconds before you click that link. It could save you a lot of hassle in the long run.

According to research from German Antivirus Company G Data, Windows is still the popular choice of target for hackers. In 2009, 99% of all malicious software was intended for computers running Microsoft Windows operating systems. Cyber criminals operate from an economic standpoint and repeatedly go after the largest target, in this case Microsoft Windows.

While Windows is the operating system most targeted there are steps that can be taken to minimise the risk. These include:

• Installing the latest operating system patches
• Keep your anti virus/spyware/malware software up to date
• Use Firefox or Chrome instead of Internet Explorer
• Don’t click on that advertisement informing you that “You have just won $500″ or “You have just won an Ipod”
• Use hard to guess passwords with at least 8 characters incorporating numbers, lowercase, uppercase, symbols etc. or use something like PWDHash
• Don’t always assume that the origin of a message is from who it appears to be from.

If you are a home user with a little technical knowledge I would highly recommend changing over from Windows to Ubuntu.