The Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Unit are warning county residents of malicious “Ransomware” computer programs circulating the county designed to hold your computer files hostage until a ransom is paid.
The Ransomware scam has been
reported in over 20 countries in Europe and has been circulating
regularly in the U.S. infecting computers, according to a news release.
There is no known cure or way to reverse the latest variant of
Ransomware once your computer is infected, authorities said.
The malicious software can be
installed from a website the user has visited, from an email, instant
message or a message on a social network received by the user.
Authorities said, when Ransomware infects your computer it will cause the computer to lock up. Ransomware can also create a pop up window or a webpage warning, advising the user that they have been engaged in some type of illegal activity on the internet. The computer system is then rendered unusable until the Ransomware is removed. The message from the cyber-criminal advises the user that once the fine is paid the machine will be unlocked or the user will be sent a code to unlock the machine, the news release said.
Authorities said, when Ransomware infects your computer it will cause the computer to lock up. Ransomware can also create a pop up window or a webpage warning, advising the user that they have been engaged in some type of illegal activity on the internet. The computer system is then rendered unusable until the Ransomware is removed. The message from the cyber-criminal advises the user that once the fine is paid the machine will be unlocked or the user will be sent a code to unlock the machine, the news release said.
Unless you have a back-up of the
files on a secondary storage device you will not be able to recover the
files. Consumers can avoid being a victim of Ransomware by keeping all
security software on the computer up to date, keep your firewall turned
on, do not open spam email messages or links to suspicious websites and
most importantly by backing up all important files to a secondary
storage device.
Authorities said no one should send
money in response to this type of activity. Any questions about
Ransomware can be reported to the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, High
Tech Crimes Unit at (732) 929-2027. For more tips on how to avoid
computer scams contact the Ocean County Department of Consumer Affairs
at (732) 929-2105.
Contact: 609-513-6686
No comments:
Post a Comment