[1]Recently, a new form of cyber-security attack has made headlines. The agent is being termed Ransomware, and it has been spotted infecting computers in Germany.
After the malware infects a computer, it displays an image which it claims is evidence that child pornography has been viewed on the machine in question- the virus then locks up the computer and only returns control to the owner if he pays a $100 fine online. The virus claimed to be collecting the money on the behalf of German copyright authorities and the country’s national computer security agency and infected only Windows PCs.
This case is a good example to introduce a class of malware called Ransomware, also known as cryptoworms, cryptotrojans, cryptoviruses and scareware. Dealing with Ransomware and Scareware can be quite tricky, as they can often employ complex social manipulation tactics to achieve their ends.
One popular tactic frequently used by criminals is to convince the users that their computers have been infected by a virus, and that the users need to buy a special anti-virus to remove it.
Another way to trick users to uninstall their legitimate anti-virus software (such as Microsoft Security Essentials, Norton Antivirus or NOD32), or turn off their windows firewall.
Always make sure you check that the URL of the website you’re trying to access is accurate. Phishers use exact replicas of popular login pages. The only difference is that the URL, or website address, of these pages is slightly different from the actual site. Once you use a phishing log-in, your username and password are compromised.
Links:
[1] http://103.241.136.51/04inte1jpg-444