8mm Forum: Windows users, watch out for the Cryptovirus.

This is topic Windows users, watch out for the Cryptovirus. in forum General Yak at 8mm Forum.

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Posted by Pete Richards (Member # 2203) on November 05, 2013, 09:08 PM:

I should preface this with the fact that my day job is as an IT Manager, and that unlike a lot of other virus warnings that are a hoax, I have seen this one first hand.

There is a new variant of an old virus doing the rounds, basically if you are on windows, and run the 'attachment' from your email, it will download a payload and infect your Windows PC. It will then encrypt your data and demand a ransom to receive the decryption key.
It uses 1024bit encryption, so there is no way to decrypt your files without the key.
I personally left Windows behind a few years ago due to the unacceptable amount of virus and malware threats out there, but if you are still on Windows, be extra vigilant with being careful.
In case you think it is a hoax, check it out on Snopes
http://www.snopes.com/computer/virus/cryptolocker.asp
and Kaspersky has a detector and advice. There is not an easy way to remove this virus if you have it, and it can infect your backup drive as well if connected.
Be careful out there folks.
If you are on Mac OSX or any version of Linux, this won't affect you.

quote:
"If you haven't got a backup and you get hit by CryptoLocker, you may as well have dropped your PC over the side of a bridge," says Paul Ducklin, security adviser for anti-virus software company Sophos. Even if you had backed up your files, he says, if your back-up device was connected to your computer when CryptoLocker struck, you may not be able to recover them. Similarly, all the files in shared network drives that were connected at the time of the attack could also become encrypted and inaccessible.

Posted by Maurice Leakey (Member # 916) on November 06, 2013, 03:24 AM:

Would this affect attachments on any email, even from known senders such as relatives?

Posted by Pete Richards (Member # 2203) on November 06, 2013, 05:03 PM:

It can, as a lot of malware/viruses hijack people's address books and sends an email from their infected comuter to yours.
So be wary of any executable attachments, even if it is from a known sender.

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