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Mosaic Musings...interactive poetry reviews _ General Site Information -> Scribe's Stylus _ Watch out for a particularly nasty virus

Posted by: Imhotep Nov 30 13, 10:43

Hey all. Not really sure where the best forum for this would be (I'm sure Cleo will move this somewhere where if need) but there's a particularly nasty virus running around. Not that I generally post about these things (another virus running around, ho hum) - but this one encrypts all the documents, pictures, and various other useful files on your hard drive and then pops up a window asking for money to get the decrypt key. You need to pay within 3 days or they delete the key and you will never get those files back unless you have an unencrypted copy of them backed up somewhere. It's quite the nasty little piece of work.
As always taking some routine measures will help you avoid the problem. It's mostly sent as an email attachment (although there are some anecdotal references to it being also spread from infected websites). Remember to keep your antivirus software updated, and don't open email attachments from people you don't know. The current version hides as a .PDF from "ups" or "the post office" or "the irs" or "inland revenue". Most of which wouldn't have your email address or email you about "your package" or "your refund" anyway.
Some more detail: http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/features/security/3491195/how-protect-yourself-from-cryptolocker-attack/
So - word to the wise. Think before you click, keep your antivirus and malware software up to date, and if you don't have versioned backups of your data (so you don't back up an encrypted file and lose it anyway) - might be a good thing to look into.
Safe surfing,
I

Posted by: Cleo_Serapis Dec 1 13, 14:55

Peter for the heads up!
~Cleo