I just want to confirm... when i open electrum, there should be no update message of any sort... unless if i were to send btc then maybe i get that phising message right... can anyone here confirm this?
The answer is that it depends... the new update notification was added in 3.3.3:
# Release 3.3.3 - (January 25, 2019)
* Do not expose users to server error messages (#4968)
* Notify users of new releases. Release announcements must be signed,
and they are verified byElectrum using a hardcoded Bitcoin address.
* Hardware wallet fixes (#4991, #4993, #5006)
* Display only QR code in QRcode Window
* Fixed code signing on MacOS
* Randomise locktime of transactions
Given you have 3.3.4, if you "opted-in" to this feature when you installed 3.3.3 or 3.3.4 then you would see a message displayed at the bottom of the Electrum window like this:
If you click that message, you will get a popup that looks like this:
However, you will not see this update notification if you did not "opt-in" to the new update notification feature and/or you disabled the setting in "Preferences -> General":
In that instance, you will only see a (fake) popup notification IF you are connected to a malicious server AND you attempt to send funds. If that happens, you can simply ignore the popup and your funds will still be safe.