Nasty Ransomware Holds PC Games Hostage

[Paul Wagenseil]

TeslaCrypt deliberately encrypts Windows gaming data, asking victims to pay at least $500 to regain their files.

Nasty Ransomware Holds PC Games Hostage : Read more

 

[agentbb007]

Wow that's a crazy malware, seems like the latest thing from these hackers is to ask for a ransom to gain access to your files/device again. Just last week my iPad 2 was hacked and put in lost mode with a passcode I didn't know and had a message in Russian which translated to email this address to regain access. The wifi was turned off so I couldn't turn off lost mode from iCloud. I was forced to restore it from iTunes on my PC.

 

[royalcrown]

We should start hacking off fingers of these people...

 

[Barantos1]

Wow that's a crazy malware, seems like the latest thing from these hackers is to ask for a ransom to gain access to your files/device again. Just last week my iPad 2 was hacked and put in lost mode with a passcode I didn't know and had a message in Russian which translated to email this address to regain access. The wifi was turned off so I couldn't turn off lost mode from iCloud. I was forced to restore it from iTunes on my PC.

But I was told that Apple was unhackable even by the CIA.......

 

[Paul Wagenseil]

Wow that's a crazy malware, seems like the latest thing from these hackers is to ask for a ransom to gain access to your files/device again. Just last week my iPad 2 was hacked and put in lost mode with a passcode I didn't know and had a message in Russian which translated to email this address to regain access. The wifi was turned off so I couldn't turn off lost mode from iCloud. I was forced to restore it from iTunes on my PC.

Can I ask a) if your iPad was jailbroken and b) whether your iTunes username and password were used for any other account?

 

[hoofhearted]

Robust antivirus software (the kind you pay for) should also be able to detect the Angler exploit kit's presence on websites.

Citation needed!

 

[John Wittenberg]

Thank God - for a minute there I thought that I might be vulnerable, but then I saw it only affects Opera and IE.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

"Fortunately, TeslaCrypt infection can be prevented by fully patching Microsoft and Adobe software. Robust antivirus software (***the kind you pay for***) should also be able to detect the Angler exploit kit's presence on websites. "

Kudos for emphasis on the limitations of free AV / malware prevention programs. "But I have an AV programs installed" is usually the last statement I hear from a PC Owner immediately before removing dozens of infections from the machine they brought in for me to diagnose problems on.

 

[Paul Wagenseil]

Robust antivirus software (the kind you pay for) should also be able to detect the Angler exploit kit's presence on websites.

Citation needed!

Not all free AV software products scan for malicious URLs, and of those that do, not all can adequately defend against code-changing malware or zero-day malware: http/www.tomsguide.com/us/best-antivirus,review-2588-5.html

 

[alidan]

why do people allow web browsers to operate outside of a sand box... all of these things should be sandboxed... how often does this crap happen anymore?

this browser can not execute files outside of the browser, the browser can't edit files outside of itself.... how hard is that.

windows takes 20-50gb to install, i dont care the resources necessary to make browsers sandbox only, just that it NEEDS to happen.

 

[TechyInAZ]

LOL! This virus is more hilarious than serious.

Oh no, my games are gone what shall I do! (sarcasm)

 

[closetwhisperer1]

You never hear this happening to Mozillia. Safest Browser I've ever used.

 

[dgingeri]

How would it lock up Blizzard games? Those are kept on Blizzard's servers. Wouldn't they just be accessible from another machine?

 

[computertech82]

Robust antivirus software (the kind you pay for) should also be able to detect the Angler exploit kit's presence on websites.

Citation needed!

Not all free AV software products scan for malicious URLs, and of those that do, not all can adequately defend against code-changing malware or zero-day malware: http/www.tomsguide.com/us/best-antivirus,review-2588-5.html

you just listed a site that shows FREE antivirus as the BEST BUY. Pretty sure bought versions will have the EXACT same issues as free ones.

 

[pjmelect]

The problem with this and similar ransom ware is that they ask a ridiculously large amount of money to unlock your files. No one will pay that sort of money. Now if they only asked for a few dollars then the percentage of infected people that would be prepared to pay would be quite high.

 

[unionoob]

could someone explain this to me. How could this actually endanger my Multiplayer game saves and history? Last time I checked all new games save my records on there servers and not on my computer. Like WoW.. If they crypt it I just reninstall my PC and install fresh WoW and continue to play and same goes with any new Blizzard game, EA game, Activision game and so on...

 

[bystander]

My brother got hit with this type of malware. They just locked his whole computer up, where it was unusable. I think he decided it was time to upgrade his laptop when it happened, as it was old and out dated at the time. He wasn't foolish enough to pay them. This was a work laptop, not one for games.

 

[Gman46]

They do try to friend you on Steam. They will send a message saying that they want to trade, then they send a link, the link has a download waiting to infect your computer. Don't accept friend requests from anyone.

 

[alextheblue]

Thank God - for a minute there I thought that I might be vulnerable, but then I saw it only affects Opera and IE.

I don't know about Opera but the article says this hole was patched by MS in 2013. If you haven't patched after that long, this is really on you.

why do people allow web browsers to operate outside of a sand box... all of these things should be sandboxed... how often does this crap happen anymore?

this browser can not execute files outside of the browser, the browser can't edit files outside of itself.... how hard is that.

windows takes 20-50gb to install, i dont care the resources necessary to make browsers sandbox only, just that it NEEDS to happen.

Sandboxing isn't absolute either, buddy. A security hole is a security hole. Search for "sandbox exploit" and look around. If you don't patch that's on you. If it's a zero-day... well like the article said you should have additional security and use good practices.

Also a Windows install does NOT require 20-50GB that's insane. I've seen modern installs of consumer versions under 10GB, and even much MUCH LESS than that if the device uses WIMBoot. Of course this can grow over time but you can reclaim that space too. Sheesh.

 

[bit_user]

We should start hacking off fingers of these people...

Good luck with that.

They're probably hiding in a jurisdiction where your laws cannot get to them. Perhaps they're even part of ISIS or some other terrorist group.