New ransomware holds Windows files hostage, demands $50

By Gregg Keizer, Computerworld

Cybercrooks have hit on a new twist to their aggressive marketing of fake security software, and are duping users into downloading a file utility [computerworld.com] that holds users’ data for ransom, security researchers warned today.

By Gregg Keizer, Computerworld


Cybercrooks have hit on a new twist to their aggressive marketing of fake security software, and are duping users into downloading a file utility [computerworld.com] that holds users’ data for ransom, security researchers warned today.

While so-called “scareware” has plagued computer users for months, those campaigns have relied on phony antivirus products that pretend to trap malware, but actually only exist to pester people into ponying up as much as $50 to stop the bogus warnings.

Read the full story [computerworld.com]

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