New scam holds your computer files for ransom

[Jazzy]

Spread via email, bogus websites and Facebook videos, the malware encrypts the contents of your hard-drive, making it impossible for you to retrieve your files. The moment the virus infects your computer, it tells you with a ransom note that demands hundreds of dollars in untraceable payments to "decrypt" your system. But according to the FBI, decryption is not possible.

Once files have been corrupted, the only computer that can get into them is owned by the attacker. The FBI says the only way to fix your system is to wipe it clean and restore your data with a backup copy of your files.

Chris Duque, a retired Honolulu police detective who has become an expert in cyber crime, says he thinks the virus is most likely to be caught by Facebook users, many of whom click on shared videos. The tip-off is likely to be a message that says you'll need to download some software to watch. Don't do it. The moment you authorize the software download, it opens your system to the malware. The next warning is the pop-up ransom demand. And then it's too late.

Cryptolocker software is no joke, Duque says. It can render your computer completely unusable, so think twice before becoming so curious about that video that you're willing to accept a suspicious download. Worse, though Facebook appears to be a likely way to spread the virus, law enforcement officials are unsure about where the virus starts and how it spreads. If you often search the web and are likely to download files, be sure to backup your system.

Source

Have you ever clicked on Facebook shared videos? If so, did you get a message that you needed to download software to watch the video?

 

[gaze-universe]

Never come across this. But usually on any video player that tells me I need to install something to be able to view the video, I find an alternative video that doesn't tell me that

 

[Crusader]

New? This has been around for a good few months if not longer. I've come across it in my job as a few clients have had it.

 

[DrLeftover]

It's just a retread of the "FBI Moneypack" ransomware.

It's a nasty one, and many virus/malware programs can't kill it.

Yet another reason not to just click on everything that comes along on the social sites.

 

[~KAGE-008]

I never click on Facebook statuses with non-YT videos. So I think I'm still safe.

 

[TechWiz18]

I have actually came across quite a few client computers that have had various versions of this virus.

Many of which completely lock the user from even doing so much as logging into their computers.

 

[Combo]

I have actually came across quite a few client computers that have had various versions of this virus.

Many of which completely lock the user from even doing so much as logging into their computers.

I'm in the IT field. I get a lot of staff computers coming to us with this sort of virus. They are easy to rid of but they're also very effective to those who aren't very technical.