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Cryptolocker ransomware - Update

Jazzy

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A virulent form of ransomware has now infected about quarter of a million Windows computers, according to a report by security researchers.

Cryptolocker scrambles users' data and then demands a fee to unencrypt it alongside a countdown clock.

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Dell Secureworks said that the US and UK had been worst affected.

It added that the cyber-criminals responsible were now targeting home internet users after initially focusing on professionals.

The firm has provided a list of net domains that it suspects have been used to spread the code, but warned that more are being generated every day.

"Anecdotal reports from victims who elected to pay the ransom indicate that the Cryptolocker threat actors honour payments by instructing infected computers to decrypt files and uninstall the malware," added the security firm.

"According to reports from victims, payments may be accepted within minutes or may take several weeks to process."

However, Trend Micro, another security firm, has warned that giving into the blackmail request only encouraged the further spread of Cryptolocker and other copycat schemes, and said that there was no guarantee of getting the data back.

Full article

Question: Would you pay the ransome? Why / Why not?
 
No, of course not.

You pay the 'ransom', and nothing happens.

Ransomware is a growing problem that is now affecting many computer users around the world. This video gives a brief introduction to this type of malicious threat and outlines some basic steps users can take to avoid them.
With video:
https://www.symantec.com/tv/products/details.jsp?vid=1954285164001



Unfortunately, once the encryption of the files is complete, decryption is not feasible. To obtain the file specific Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) key to decrypt a file, you need the private RSA key (an algorithm for public key cryptography) corresponding to the RSA public key generated for the victim’s system by the command and control server. However, this key never leaves the command and control server, putting it out of reach of everyone except the attacker. The recommended solution is to scrub your hard drive and restore encrypted files from a backup.
http://www.fbi.gov/scams-safety/e-scams
 
The recommended solution is to scrub your hard drive and restore encrypted files from a backup.
Well, if it happens to me, I have a current backup. Do you?
 
I keep back ups on my old PC I use as server now and on 2 external hard drives.

The worst thing these guys can do to me is making me spend an afternoon formatting and reinstalling stuff
 
Jazzy said:
Nebulous said:
Hell no I wouldn't pay them. :lol:
Do you have a backup?

not currently but I do have important pics and files buned to cd's and/or on flash drives. Having a back up doesn't always mean you'll be okay after something bad happens to your computer.
 
Nebulous said:
Having a back up doesn't always mean you'll be okay after something bad happens to your computer.

What do you mean by that? You have all your files somewhere safe = you lose nothing. =/
 
Kirito said:
Nebulous said:
Having a back up doesn't always mean you'll be okay after something bad happens to your computer.

What do you mean by that? You have all your files somewhere safe = you lose nothing. =/

I've had unfixable computers before.
 
Nebulous said:
Kirito said:
Nebulous said:
Having a back up doesn't always mean you'll be okay after something bad happens to your computer.

What do you mean by that? You have all your files somewhere safe = you lose nothing. =/

I've had unfixable computers before.

You can restore those files onto a different machine.
 
^ ^ What Princess said.

You'll need a new computer but there's no reason to also lose all your files.
 
Ah I see. I have an additional hard drive on my computer to hold backups but I've been too lazy to set it up. I should do that.
 
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