Forums
New posts
Search forums
News
Security News
Technology News
Giveaways
Giveaways, Promotions and Contests
Discounts & Deals
Reviews
Users Reviews
Video Reviews
Support
Windows Malware Removal Help & Support
Mac Malware Removal Help & Support
Mobile Malware Removal Help & Support
Blog
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search titles only
By:
Search titles only
By:
Reply to thread
Menu
Install the app
Install
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Forums
Security
Guides - Privacy & Security Tips
Destructive malware "CryptoLocker" on the loose - here's what to do
Message
<blockquote data-quote="nishaddesilva" data-source="post: 139429" data-attributes="member: 2254"><p>SophosLabs has asked us to remind you about a destructive malware threat that calls itself <em>CryptoLocker</em>.</p><p></p><p>Sophos Anti-Virus detects it by the name <strong>Troj/Ransom-ACP</strong>, because that's exactly what it does: holds your files to ransom.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: #000080">Demanding money with menaces</span></strong></p><p></p><p>Malware that encrypts your data and tries to sell it back to you, or else, is not new.</p><p></p><p>In fact, one of the earliest pieces of malware that was written specifically to make money, rather than simply to prove a point, was the <a href="http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2012/09/25/ransomware-would-you-pay-up/" target="_blank">AIDS Information Trojan</a> of 1989.</p><p></p><p>That Trojan scrambled your hard disk after 90 days, and instructed you to send $378 to an accommodation address in Panama.</p><p></p><p>The perpetrator, one Dr Joseph Popp, was tracked down in the USA, extradited to the UK to stand trial, displayed increasingly shambolic behaviour, and was ultimately kicked out of Britain and never convicted.</p><p></p><p>Fortunately, his malware was similarly shambolic: it used simplistic encryption algorithms, and every computer was scrambled in the same way, so free tools for cleanup and recovery soon became available.</p><p></p><p>Sadly, the crooks behind the <em>CryptoLocker</em> malware haven't made the same coding mistakes.</p><p></p><p>The malware seems to do its cryptography by the book, so there is no way to recover your scrambled files once it has triggered. (You could, I suppose, try paying the ransom, but I recommend that you do not.)</p><p></p><p><img src="http://sophosnews.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/th-170.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>Read more: <a href="http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2013/10/12/destructive-malware-cryptolocker-on-the-loose/" target="_blank">http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2013/10/12/destructive-malware-cryptolocker-on-the-loose/</a></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="nishaddesilva, post: 139429, member: 2254"] SophosLabs has asked us to remind you about a destructive malware threat that calls itself [i]CryptoLocker[/i]. Sophos Anti-Virus detects it by the name [b]Troj/Ransom-ACP[/b], because that's exactly what it does: holds your files to ransom. [b][color=#000080]Demanding money with menaces[/color][/b] Malware that encrypts your data and tries to sell it back to you, or else, is not new. In fact, one of the earliest pieces of malware that was written specifically to make money, rather than simply to prove a point, was the [url=http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2012/09/25/ransomware-would-you-pay-up/]AIDS Information Trojan[/url] of 1989. That Trojan scrambled your hard disk after 90 days, and instructed you to send $378 to an accommodation address in Panama. The perpetrator, one Dr Joseph Popp, was tracked down in the USA, extradited to the UK to stand trial, displayed increasingly shambolic behaviour, and was ultimately kicked out of Britain and never convicted. Fortunately, his malware was similarly shambolic: it used simplistic encryption algorithms, and every computer was scrambled in the same way, so free tools for cleanup and recovery soon became available. Sadly, the crooks behind the [i]CryptoLocker[/i] malware haven't made the same coding mistakes. The malware seems to do its cryptography by the book, so there is no way to recover your scrambled files once it has triggered. (You could, I suppose, try paying the ransom, but I recommend that you do not.) [img]http://sophosnews.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/th-170.png[/img] Read more: [url]http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2013/10/12/destructive-malware-cryptolocker-on-the-loose/[/url] [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Top