Post by HeadMarshal on Aug 9, 2015 10:19:43 GMT -5
I wanted to alert and educate members and guests of this forum if they were not aware of the dangers of online CryptoRansomware. Now what is CryptoRansomware and why is it bad, first off Ransomware is where malicious computer hackers develop software to take a victim's computer hostage. Usually victims download the ransomware under the guise of going to porn sites, reading infected emails, infecting Flash downloads, downloading music videos, using torrents, going to infected websites, etc. After the ransomware is installed, the victim's computer is rendered unusable and can only be unlocked by paying the ransomware creators a money fee.
Originally ransomware creators simply locked the victim's desktop with this big message saying you have to pay, sometimes claiming to be from the FBI or other global authorities. People discovered how to get around that and deleted the program. Next they rewrote the master boot record of victim's computers, but people discovered how to rewrite the program with computer tools. So now they have figured out a way to install these ransomware programs on victims computers and mostly bypass professional antivirus programs, and encrypt victims files.
So here we have Crypto Ransomware. If you install Crypto Ransomware programs, most recently by the name of Cryptowall and Cryptodefense, your files will be encrypted so they are rendered unreadable and the key code is only on the ransomware creator's computer. The most recent ransomware is designed to destroy the shadow copies of your files so that cannot be used to get your files back. And the Crypto Ransomware is designed in such a way that if you delete the ransomware program, your files are still encrypted. There are only two ways at the time to get your files back, pay the ransom (which doesn't work 100% of the time), or wipe your computer and install file backups. To pay the ransom, you download the TOR browser which was used by Wikileaks and the campaigners in the Arab Spring uprisings (as well as numerous child pornographers), and pay in the anoyomous currency, Bitcoin.
Anyone can be a victim of these nightmare programs. Victims have ranged from Law Enforcement in Maine to the City of Detroit, Michigan. Usually these programs originate in Russia and Eastern Europe. The creators have made an incredible amount of money off victimizing computer users, since many people don't back up their files (I should really be doing this as well) and only a few antivirus programs can stop Crypto Ransomware, and even then they have to keep updating since the virus programs keep updating as well.
www.bleepingcomputer.com/virus-removal/cryptowall-ransomware-information
www.nytimes.com/2015/01/04/opinion/sunday/how-my-mom-got-hacked.html?_r=0
Originally ransomware creators simply locked the victim's desktop with this big message saying you have to pay, sometimes claiming to be from the FBI or other global authorities. People discovered how to get around that and deleted the program. Next they rewrote the master boot record of victim's computers, but people discovered how to rewrite the program with computer tools. So now they have figured out a way to install these ransomware programs on victims computers and mostly bypass professional antivirus programs, and encrypt victims files.
So here we have Crypto Ransomware. If you install Crypto Ransomware programs, most recently by the name of Cryptowall and Cryptodefense, your files will be encrypted so they are rendered unreadable and the key code is only on the ransomware creator's computer. The most recent ransomware is designed to destroy the shadow copies of your files so that cannot be used to get your files back. And the Crypto Ransomware is designed in such a way that if you delete the ransomware program, your files are still encrypted. There are only two ways at the time to get your files back, pay the ransom (which doesn't work 100% of the time), or wipe your computer and install file backups. To pay the ransom, you download the TOR browser which was used by Wikileaks and the campaigners in the Arab Spring uprisings (as well as numerous child pornographers), and pay in the anoyomous currency, Bitcoin.
Anyone can be a victim of these nightmare programs. Victims have ranged from Law Enforcement in Maine to the City of Detroit, Michigan. Usually these programs originate in Russia and Eastern Europe. The creators have made an incredible amount of money off victimizing computer users, since many people don't back up their files (I should really be doing this as well) and only a few antivirus programs can stop Crypto Ransomware, and even then they have to keep updating since the virus programs keep updating as well.
www.bleepingcomputer.com/virus-removal/cryptowall-ransomware-information
www.nytimes.com/2015/01/04/opinion/sunday/how-my-mom-got-hacked.html?_r=0
