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Virus Alert - This has come from our IT department

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ProfilePosted byOptionsPost Date

Staffs Col

Staffs Col Report 26 Nov 2013 10:54

Please be very aware that there is a very nasty virus being propagated via email.
It encrypts all of the documents on your local PC before telling you that the PC is infected.
Even if we manage to clear the virus off the PC, all of the files on it will be useless as they will still be encrypted, and so will not be useable.

We have had a user who opened a zip file attachment from an unusual sender, and his PC has had to be rebuilt from scratch.

If the email you receive is from a company you do not recognise, or the email address doesn’t match the name, or if you appear to be one of a long list of recipients, then be very suspicious of any attachments.
If the attachment is meant to be an excel spreadsheet or pdf file, but the icon in the attachment is yellow (like a folder on your PC) then it may not be what is says it is.

JustJohn

JustJohn Report 26 Nov 2013 11:03

http://www.hoax-slayer.com/really-bad-virus-warning.shtml

Researching:
Amelie my granddaughter's ancestry. My ban until 1 Jan 2021

AnninGlos

AnninGlos Report 26 Nov 2013 12:13

Thanks Col and John. Seems it is valid and we should be aware. Main thing is not to open any attachments from an unusual or unknown source.

Researching:
Photo spring Researching Somerset, Dorset, Hampshire, Derbyshire, Staffs, Devon, Glamorganshire. Ingram, Masters, Tamblyn, Knight, Warner, Bate, Allen, Riggs, Dominey, Duffin

Wend

Wend Report 26 Nov 2013 13:16

This morning I received the DHL one someone mentioned yesterday. Is this the same thing?

Researching:

AnninGlos

AnninGlos Report 26 Nov 2013 15:34

No Wend, I think it is a different one.

Researching:
Photo spring Researching Somerset, Dorset, Hampshire, Derbyshire, Staffs, Devon, Glamorganshire. Ingram, Masters, Tamblyn, Knight, Warner, Bate, Allen, Riggs, Dominey, Duffin

AnninGlos

AnninGlos Report 26 Nov 2013 15:34

The DHL one is particularly nasty this time of year when they know so many people will be buying on line and expecting parcels.

Researching:
Photo spring Researching Somerset, Dorset, Hampshire, Derbyshire, Staffs, Devon, Glamorganshire. Ingram, Masters, Tamblyn, Knight, Warner, Bate, Allen, Riggs, Dominey, Duffin

Wend

Wend Report 26 Nov 2013 15:41

I agree Ann - easy to get caught out with that one. I always hover the mouse over the e-mail first and if it's all gobbledegook I know it's spam. Think that may have been mentioned yesterday.

Researching:

InspectorGreenPen

InspectorGreenPen Report 26 Nov 2013 19:07

It is known as Ransom Ware.

There was an article about this in one of the computer mags I get. It should, according to them, is needs to be taken very seriously. The one currently doing the rounds is called Cryptolocker.

Apparently a trojan is usually delivered via a zip file and if you open it it starts encrypting files in the background without you knowing about it. It is only when it has completed its dirty work that it lets you know, demanding a fee of up to $300 to fix things.

Once infected there is currently no certain cure with reports that even paying the ransom there is no guarantee of a fix. What you end up losing is all of your data files, documents, spreadsheets, photos etc.