We’ve seen a recent rise in “ransomware” that infects and encrypts computers, then demands money for you to get your data back. I reported back in March 2011 having seen ransomware demanding $200. Today, it is asking for $300 within 10 hours. The name of the virus is CryptoLocker. The US Computer Emergency Readiness Team has
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There are lots of fake websites out there designed to fool you into thinking they’re real. Sometimes they’re sites that you’re sent to because your system has been compromised, such as through DNS Malware. Other times they’re just mistyped URL’s. I recently typed “yourube” instead of “youtube” and got this:
Flashback Flashback is the first malware (malicious software or virus) for the Mac that people should worry about. It can infect computers through a vulnerability in Java. It’s estimated that 600,000 Macs have been infected, about 1% of Macs in use. Flashback collects personal information such as bank and login information. To see if your
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Viruses Abound Every week I remove viruses from Windows computers. Here’s a common scenario: Someone gets a fake alert like this and realizes that they have a virus. When they call me, I tell them to turn off the computer. This is because a virus can continue to inflict more damage. It can install other
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The Microsoft Security Intelligence Report (SIR) outlines PC security threats and is based on data captured by Microsoft. Here is a download to the latest volume, covering the first half of 2010. Much of the report covers recent botnets. Botnets start when a virus infects a computer, either through spam or an infected web page.
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