There is definitely bad publicity, and this is certainly part of it. It will popularize bitcoin, and force some to buy, so it won't be too bad. It might even be part of what is moving the price.
tens of millions of windows systems+some people have apparently paid the ransom without having their files restored. reg
Did you see they have video tutorials, and a customer service site up. It seems sophisticated, and even grandma friendly. I've noticed media has only focused on BTC as an option, ignoring MoneyPak.
generally I am against tainting coins as this affects fungibility however it would make this sort of thing difficult if the coins paid could not be used or mixed? its a toughie. reg good point about MoneyPak- I hope the New York legislature considering bitcoin transmission imposes the same restrictions on the largest funds transmitted on the internet and used for crime and terrorism eg USD, EURO,YEN etc.
