New Computer Virus Alert - from my IT Dept.

**just got this e-mail from my IT dept. Thought I'd share**

The latest buzz has been Cryptolocker:

CryptoLocker is Trojan horse malware which surfaced in late 2013, a form of ransomware targeting computers running Microsoft Windows. CryptoLocker disguises itself as a legitimate attachment; when activated, the malware encrypts certain types of files stored on local and mounted network drives using RSA public-key cryptography, with the private key stored only on the malware's control servers. The malware then displays a message which offers to decrypt the data if a payment (through either Bitcoin or a pre-paid voucher) is made by a stated deadline, and says that the private key will be deleted and unavailable for recovery if the deadline passes. If the deadline is not met, the malware offers to decrypt data via an online service provided by the malware's operators, for a significantly higher price in Bitcoin.

How do you become infected with CryptoLocker

This infection is typically spread through emails sent to company email addresses that pretend to be customer support related issues from Fedex, UPS, DHS, etc. These emails would contain a zip attachment that when opened would infect the computer. These zip files contain executables that are disguised as PDF files as they have a PDF icon and are typically named something like FORM_101513.exe or FORM_101513.pdf.exe. Since Microsoft does not show extensions by default, they look like normal PDF files and people open them.

Re: New Computer Virus Alert - from my IT Dept.

I shared that with my company too.

I do ghost images of all the user machines and daily backups of servers so even if we were infected, I'd have a plan to get us back online.

It's saved me a lot from viruses, hardware and software failures. The best defense against these crazy viruses, I think.