Ransomware: Get Ready for Cyber-age extortion!
Tuesday, December 27th, 2011 | Author:

What if somebody comes and put your computer on gunpoint and ask you for extortion money? You must say, it’s totally insane, or how it can be possible? But, yes it’s true as hackers have stumbled upon this idea and given their bewildering ideas a chance to turn into reality. They are now up with their novelistic gimmick- Ransomware. Alike to its name, Ransomware is more an iniquitous-to-the-core contraption, which has been formulated to siphon out your money by evoking your internal fear.

What all it takes to be a ransomware?

The formulation of new marketing tactics by cyber thugs is on as usual, but now in a very different avatar. In professional lingo, Ransomware is a malicious code that has born with a sole instinct to lock down your valuable files into an encrypted archive and then asking for money in lieu of restoring these files. A fast picking trend, ransomware deals with data, files, and end-user manipulation.

Getting to extortion business

Let’s anatomize the very core of this extortion affair. It all starts when you visit any compromised site and get dirtied by this malware through drive-by-download attack. Once installed, this lout encrypts the crucial of your documents in an archive and then impels you to pay ransom money through services such as Paysafecard or Ukash, in order to swab its dabs of deviltry. Once the ruffian gets the whiff of your money, then only it releases the password to disengage the files. More advanced ransomware scenarios now influence multiple forms of end-user manipulation and extortion.

Some ransomware attacks engage mortification and panic as their cog to run over their victims. In such a scenario, victims are shown a falsified vision by making claims that ransomware has get onto their systems by visiting inappropriate websites and also due to storage of porn materials. In recent, a Trojan detected in the wild display phony messages from law enforcement agencies in Europe and asks the users to pay fictitious fines within 24 hours otherwise data will be erased from their hard drives. Moving a step ahead, some ransomware even cause the code to self destruct by employing stealth tactics, after encrypting user’s files, making the process of unlocking files a herculean challenge.

Finally, let’s end the discussion on a good note. The good news is that there is no need to trigger your panic button on hearing about ransomware. All you have to do is to keep your PC high on security rules such as using reliable firewalls, antivirus and antispyware and keeping them up-to-date with latest patches. That’s all very enough to stop you from paying ransom money for your PC.

Category: Malware, Online Security, Ransomware  | Tags: antispyware, antivirus, firewall, malicious code, Ransomware