WANTED BY THE RCMP - WHAT IS RANSOMWARE?

WANTED by the RCMP - What is Ransomware?

According to our antivirus friends at Trend Micro, ransom ware is another type of malware that prevents or limits users from accessing their system. It then forces its victims to pay a ransom to get their own systems or data back.

Imagine you’re on the web looking for a larf when all of a sudden your PC freezes up. Then a window pups up with your picture saying it’s the FBI. The window claims you’ve violated certain laws and are now wanted  and have 72 hours to pay a fine of $200 or else not only will your computer and data continue to be withheld from you, you will also be arrested. At this point the metaphorical cr%p has hit the figurative fan.

Welcome to the digital age of hostage taking.

Unfortunately, since you now mistakenly think you’re wanted by the FBI, you sure as heck aren’t gonna walk into a Best Buy and risk being caught by the police. Nor will you call over your best friend for help because you can’t handle the embarrassment. Honestly, you’ll NEVER hear the end of it.

“So,” you say to yourself, “how the heck am I gonna get myself outta this pickle!??” Rich people might start by looking into buying a new computer, but for most of us this is out of the question. So instead, you read over the message again and think “Well… what’s 200$ to keep my current computer and avoid humiliating myself...?” After weighing your (admittedly bad) options, you pay off the ransom and your computer is released back to you.

Now, let me explain what happened here. Sometimes malicious users will create legitimate looking websites that offers answers to common questions like “what’s this pop-up about,” “why is my computer behaving like this,” and “how do I fix this problem.” If you search for any of these questions and the scammer has done a good job, their answers will be on the top of the first page of the search results. While you’re reading about how the scammer’s site can help you, it’s quietly sending a malicious instruction to your browser to download a file.

Running without your knowledge or consent, the file gives your computer a series of instructions such as disable the antivirus program, enable the webcam, close all windows, and hide the taskbar. Basically it’s game over, or as us hackers like to say , “you’ve been pwned” (owned).

At this point, seemingly your only option is to pay if you want access restored. But since these are all scams, there’s really no problem with taking your computer to a repair shop or calling over a buddy (minus the embarrassment). Once again, Psy Ops aim to psyche you out and then exploit your confusion and they’re pretty good at it.

If your data has not been encrypted, there are file retrieval methods that can get your files back so you can avoid having to pay the ransom. Some you can even do this yourself but generally it’s best left to a pro. Unfortunately, if your files have been encrypted then there’s really no choice but to pay, unless you have a backup to restore from. Your services and/or computer should be restored after payment though. Good luck!

Technically, if the virus is running in Windows and you booted up your computer with a Linux no install live boot disk, you’d have access to your files in 5 minutes and could even remove the infection. However, if you don’t know what you’re doing DONT TRY IT, GET A PRO!

Finally, please know that viruses are generally made for and only work on the specific operating systems they’re targeting. According to Wikipedia, “[a]n operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware and software resources and provides common services for computer programs.”1 Some examples of operating systems include Microsoft Windows, Google Android, Apple OS X, and Ubuntu Linux. So a Windows virus generally won’t be recognized by a Linux or Apple operating system, for example. Neat huh?