Shields Up!: Huge wave of ransomware floods net

A new wave of scareware hitting the net has nearly taken over the field. On February 8th and 9th the attack pumped out enough malware to end up accounting for over half the total malware distributed for the entire month. In other words, it’s huge.

The malware is called Security Tool and is distributed via spam and through poisoned search results and Black Hat SEO techniques. Unlike the fake anti-virus programs that have been glutting the net, Security Tool has a very nasty twist. It takes over the computer and locks down the apps and all data. The only way the user can get their access restored is to pay via the one app that’s not locked down-Internet Explorer. This goes beyond scareware and into the realm of ransomware.

The botnet responsible for this new malware wave is Cutwail/Pushdo, one of the largest botnets around. Cutwail is also responsible for the recent DDoS attacks on Twitter, Paypal, the CIA and the FBI.

How do you protect yourself? It is crucial that you keep your anti-virus software up to date at all times. Don’t click on links or open attachments in emails that come from people you don’t know or that come from people you do know but seem suspicious (emails with no subject and a message body with a link and nothing else are a huge red flag, especially if the link looks like gibberish.) When using search engines, stick to results that come from familiar, reputable sites. Don’t click on banner ads or pop ups, and
think twice about downloading from Bittorrent sites which are often infested with malware. Limewire is one of the worst!

Read [PCWorld]