Ransomware Rears Its Ugly Head Again
We just received information about a so-called ‘zero day’ threat of ransomware being propagated through the Flash player in your browsers.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-adobe-systems-cyber-ransomware-idUSKCN0X502K
Adobe has issued a security update, but you need to install it. On my computer it usually offers the update after a reboot, but if you want to actively install it, go here:
https://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/
But, I recommend unchecking the McAfee Anti-virus and True-Key Options. You’ll have to download and install the update. Make sure it asks you to close down your browsers during the install. Flash has 2 programs, one for browsers and one for your computer, but it worked on my machine.
As an added threat, a couple of weeks ago I received an email from someone complaining about sending them an invoice when she didn’t recognize our company. Attached was a Word file. I copied it to my laptop, unplugged it from the ethernet and scanned it with MSE and Malwarebytes, neither of which showed any red flags.
Feeling like a member of the Bomb Squad, I cautiously opened it with OpenOffice, which said it had MS Word ‘macros’ in it that OpenOffice couldn’t run. Macros in an invoice? I deleted the file, emptied the recycle bin and heaved a sigh of relief.
Now people are receiving similar emails with their name and address in the text to seem more legitimate.
So, a word to the wise. Don’t just click on email links when you don’t know who the email came from, and especially don’t open attachments, even if they seem to be harmless Word files.
One trick is to hover over an email link in a legitimate looking email and see where the link goes. If the email is supposedly from American Express but the link goes to somewhere in Bulgaria, delete the email.
Ransomware is a nasty business now attacking hospital systems and news agencies and it looks like there’s no end to it.
