Cryptolocker Virus/Malware warning

[TenMile]

Hey all,

For all you Windows based users out there (you know who you are), make sure your antivirus is up to date. There is a new type of Virus/Malware circulating called "Cryptolocker" that is extremely nasty. Cryptolocker comes usually via email but can also come as Malware you can download or from an infected website. Up until late last week, many Anti-Virus programs were not catching this one.

Cryptolocker runs in the background on your machine and encrypts all your personal files (documents, pictures, music etc) with an unbreakable encryption key. Once running, it will find and encrypt all files, folders and drives your computer can access -- that includes USB keys, Network Attached Storage, and machines on your network with shared drives. After it has encrypted all these files, you will be prompted with a screen that demands a $300 ransom paid within 72 hours to get the encryption key to unlock the files. If you don't pay, these files are permanently locked and you cannot decrypt them.

Anti-virus programs, can remove Cryptolocker, however, once it has done it's work the anti-virus programs can't get your files back.

How to protect yourself:

Read this blog and watch the video (no it's not a malware site): http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/201...-learn-about-prevention-cleanup-and-recovery/

Here are five "top tips" for keeping safe against malware in general, and cyberblackmailers in particular:

• Keep regular backups of your important files. If you can, store your backups offline, for example in a safe-deposit box, where they can't be affected in the event of an attack on your active files. Your backups will be rendered useless if they are scrambled by CryptoLocker along with the primary copies of the files.
• Use an anti-virus, and keep it up to date. As far as we can see, many of the current victims of CryptoLocker were already infected with malware that they could have removed some time ago, thus preventing not only the CryptoLocker attack, but also any of the damage done by that earlier malware.
• Keep your operating system and software up to date with patches.This lessens the chance of malware sneaking onto your computer unnoticed through security holes. The CryptoLocker authors didn't need to use fancy intrusion techniques in their malware because they used other malware, that had already broken in, to open the door for them.
• Review the access control settings on any network shares you have, whether at home or at work. Don't grant yourself or anyone else write access to files that you only need to read. Don't grant yourself any access at all to files that you don't need to see - that stops malware seeing and stealing them, too.
• Don't give administrative privileges to your user accounts.Privileged accounts can "reach out" much further and more destructively both on your own hard disk and across the network. Malware that runs as administrator can do much more damage, and be much harder to get rid of, than malware running as a regular user.
• Switch to secure cloud based email services like Gmail, install and use Google Drive. Gmail stops these types of files from getting to you in the first place, and provides an safe and secure way for backing up your personal files and folders (via Google Drive) to the Cloud.