Bitcoin Forum

This new ransomware is not good news for Bitcoin as it specifically asks for payment in Btc via Tor browser which could obviously give people the impression that Bitcoin is linked to criminals.

http://www.symantec.com/security_response/earthlink_writeup.jsp?docid=2014-032622-1552-99
https://i.imgur.com/hiDFQ2d.jpg

Sadly it's nothing new.

I have seen cryptolocker 3-5 months ago...

As an I.T. consultant, I have had at least 7 clients get hit within the last 5 months...

I spend many hours of research to unlock or decrypt files... in most cases, it was a backup recovery. In others, a loss of not so critical data.

Bitcoin is linked to criminals. As are cell phones.

i'll just hand my computer over to the cops at that point.  they can decrypt everything, including child porn  :o

And email. Who hasn't heard of the Nigerian scams?

Depends on how hard you encrypt it.

Don't kid yourself - they cannot. Without the key, the files will not be decrypted. You have two choices - pay up and hope they give you the key, or wipe the drive and restore from backup/start over.

In either case, please for the love of all that is holy:

- Use a current, up to date router to access the Internet.
- Keep your PC up to date with security updates
- Don't run anything from an email. Ever.
- Don't download from disreputable sites.
- If someone from "Dell", "Windows", etc calls you and offers to help you with the security of your PC, hang up.

That's it folks. If my 74-year-old mother can learn from her mistakes and successfully run a clean PC for the last several years, anyone can do it.  If not, switch to an iPad.

just AES256 encrypt everything you send

FYP.

bitcoin is the burner phone of the currency world. No reason to use it unless you're doing something illegal.

Oh, and shit like the OP is why I run my web browsers sandboxed or in a VM.

I back my stuff up pretty often.. I insert OS cd and format.

How to avoid these kind of attacks? I normally don't backup my files.

...Back up your files man... It is a must.  If you are dealing with BTC and you don't have your wallet backed up on several USB's or have your private keys stored in a saftey box.. you shouldn't be in BTC.

Sandboxie
VMWare Workstation

I have pirate copies of both.

Or you could use VirtualBox for free fully legal.
Another way would be to switch to linux.

Yeah, linux is a pain in the ass to use.

And VMWare Workstation is a much better app then Virtualbox. It's easier to use and it's much more polished. You can also download VMWare Workstation from VMWare, all you need is a valid serial # (I have a keygen, I can give you one if you need it).

As far as hypervisor quality/security,  I don't know if either is better or worse then the other.

Also, Virtualbox only offers a hosted hypervisor, if you want a bare metal hypervisor you're going to have to go w/ a VMWare product.

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Romanian-Man-Commits-Suicide-After-Police-Ransomware-Tells-Him-He-Must-Pay-Fine-431882.shtml

Ransomware's are bad, too bad BTC will provide more anonymity to them.

Nice to know they clearly describe each site from which you can purchase bitcoins from! :P

All attention is good attention, right? :D

40-some people have paid that address a total of almost 47 BTC.
https://blockchain.info/address/1EmLLj8peW292zR2VvumYPPa9wLcK4CPK1

Damn.

Eventually you'll have to learn to do that.

is there a way to ban this guy.. he obviously doesnt hold any coin or have any understanding of bitcoin.. so why is he here?

Sadly ignorance isn't considered an offence to the same degree as scamming/spamming/trolling is, so I'm pretty sure it's not bannable. Anyways, people need to be more careful when downloading shady stuff - ransom ware can be a giant pain in the ass if you have critical files you haven't backed up.

You're the one who's lacking understanding.

As it currently stands, to effectively use bitcoin you have to go through the hassle and expense of converting it into.. you guessed it! real money!

Sure, there's a few places that accept bitcoin, but that's very limited, and those places only accept it because they use a payment processing system that immediately converts it into real money. If those businesses actually had to hold onto the bitcoin they wouldn't be taking it.

I'm going to go ahead and say he's a troll.  Most people who are smart enough to talk
about Linux and workstations,etc at least "get" bitcoin on a basic level.  Even if they
aren't a believer, they wouldn't say stupid shit like this, nor would they actively
participate on a bitcoin forum.  Plus we've seen a pattern of behavior from this poster.

VMWare is free to use. It's easy once you get use to it. A little tricky for the noobs but after a little learning it's a breeze. Please do not use a keygen. Most keygens contain a bot or virus.

Keygen I have is clean.

I run keygens sandboxed just to be safe.

And you can't get a virus from a text serial #. That was what I was offering (I'll run the keygen, and copy/paste you the serial generated)

VMware Workstation (the full featured professional application) is NOT free to use.