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Virus Hold Computer Files 'Hostage' for $200

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the it'd-be-funnier-if-it-wasn't-scary dept.

dwayner79 sent in a story about a new virus making the rounds- this one is unique because it locks your files and then demands a $200 ransom to get them back. It seems to me that this might leave some sort of tracable money trail. They don't have much information on any particular transmission mechanism, they just talk about web pages giving it up.

18 of 488 comments (clear)

  1. It won't get a penny from me... by yotto · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...Until I see a photograph of my files with today's paper.

    --
    Pulp Audio Weekly - Geek News and Reviews
    1. Re:It won't get a penny from me... by c0ldfusi0n · · Score: 5, Funny

      In other news, virus writers associate with milk producers to print the output of "dir" on the back of the milk cartons.

      --
      A computer makes it possible to do, in half an hour, tasks which were completely unnecessary to do before.
  2. Payment Options by BunnyClaws · · Score: 4, Funny

    Do they accept PayPal?

    --
    "Anything tastes good if you deep fry it."
  3. I use Bank of America... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    so I figure the virus author could deduct the money from my account, himself.

  4. Ransom by mcleaver · · Score: 5, Funny

    SOmeone wrote: "this one is unique because it locks your files and then demands a $200 ransom to get them back." Unique? sounds like a description of anti-virus software to me.

  5. Wow by NubKnacker · · Score: 5, Funny
    "This seems fully malicious," said Joe Stewart, a researcher at Chicago-based Lurqh who studied the attack software.

    Gee, I wonder how he figured that out....

  6. Isn't that a feature by overshoot · · Score: 5, Funny

    that Microsoft is adding to the next version of Office?

    --
    Lacking <sarcasm> tags, /. substitutes moderation as "Troll."
  7. Re:a fix by Mr+Guy · · Score: 5, Funny

    (or discover it through brute force if they dare wait that long)


    McAfee runs on an awful lot of enterprise networks, and tons of home users. I wonder how long brute forcing a key through distributed computing would really take. I wonder if McAfee is already using cycles for nefarious reasons. How long until McAfee becomes self aware!

    I need more tinfoil

    --
    Never confuse volume with power.
  8. Why so much press.. by technomancer68 · · Score: 5, Funny

    This has been out for years, it's called Windows XP Activation.

    --

    The Technomancer
    "Men of lofty genius when they are doing the least work are most active."-
  9. Yes, it's possible by 3770 · · Score: 4, Funny

    What the programmer needs to do is to buy a speed boat and have the victim drop the bag from a bridge into the boat and then flee and stage his own death with an explosion.

    I've seen it in the movies.

    The trick is to do that without spending more than $200.

    --
    The Internet is full. Go Away!!!
  10. New Variant by Timberwolf0122 · · Score: 5, Funny

    If you dont send the money with in two weeks they start sending the files back, bit by bit.

    --
    In the not too distant future, next Sunday A.D.
  11. Sounds familiar... by Source+Quench · · Score: 4, Funny

    This is what happened when I installed windows 98... it crashed and a dialog box appeared and demanded that I upgrade to windows XP in order to save my files from digital heaven.

  12. Re:Gives new meaning by njfuzzy · · Score: 4, Funny

    No, that's pretty much the original meaning.

    --
    My Photography - http://ian-x.com
    The Deathlings (comic) - http://thedeathlings.com
  13. Re:a fix by jschottm · · Score: 4, Funny

    I need more tinfoil

    There's a family in CA that would prolly be willing to make you a great deal on some tin foil, only slightly used. How big's your house?

  14. There will be no negotiations. by vertinox · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'm sorry, but we don't negotiate with terrorists. The files knew the danger when they took the job.

    C:\>format c:

    --
    "I am the king of the Romans, and am superior to rules of grammar!"
    -Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor (1368-1437)
  15. typo by commodoresloat · · Score: 5, Funny
    you misspelled "ls"

    Oh, wait a minute, never mind...

    I forgot we were talking about viruses.

  16. I have a *GREAT* idea to make this a good thing... by fzammett · · Score: 4, Funny

    Twoeasy steps:

    (1) Get this virus into the DMCA-supporters computers.

    (2) When they are screaming that all their data is encrypted, kindly inform them that you could create a crack for it and get all their data back, but unfortunately you would run afoul of the DMCA reverse-engineering laws and therefore cannot help them.

    Yes. Irony is *NOT* dead!!

    --
    If a pion (n-) collides with a proton in the woods & noone is there to hear it, does lamdba decay into the source pa
  17. Re:a fix by Your+Pal+Dave · · Score: 4, Funny
    "s/he" and "his/er" works quite well if you need to get anal about it.


    And what if something has no gender and is an "it", you insensitive clod?

    Clearly, to avoid offending anyone, we all must start saying "s/h/it".