A new malware posing as Microsoft Security Essentials is being distributed through a drive-by download as either hotfix. exe or mstsc. exe as these file names are not suspected by most users.

Microsoft Security Essentials is a free antimalware protection program from the security giant. The fake version was identified by security firm, F-Secure. The fake alert uses Microsoft Security Essentials brand, including the little blue fortified castle icon.

The malware programme displays a complete list of antimalware solutions like Trend Micro, McAfee, Panda, and Symantec. It is also capable of identifying those antimalware solutions that are capable of detecting and blocking it.

A blog post by F-Secure read, "Surprisingly, the only products that seem to be capable of handling the infection are AntiSpySafeguard, Major Defense Kit, Peak Protection, Pest Detector and Red Cross. Never heard of these? No wonder. They are all fake products."

The hackers aim to convince users to buy these fake protection tools. However, as all these programmes are malware they open the system to further system compromise and hacking.

Meanwhile, Microsoft has recently expanded the availability of Microsoft Security Essentials to small businesses and also made it free to install on up to ten systems.