More phishing!

[Jonzjob]

I have just read this and thought it a good idea to let you know?

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-35977227

[idun]

These are more than just phishing, this is very serious. I listened to You and Yours on Radio 4 today, quite frightening.

[Gardengirl]

I also heard 'You & Yours' and it was very worrying.

The Expert they worked with on today's programme allowed his computer to be taken over by the people who were working this scheme, knowing he could restore everything.

The advice was to make sure you keep up-to-date back ups and you can restore everything, despite what the criminals said.

[Loiseau]

Yes, I heard that too...

And NEVER click on any links in suspect emails from companies, and even charities, claiming that you owe them money.

Angela

[Jonzjob]

We had an e-mail from Orange today telling us that we had paid double last Sept and to click on the link to sort it. When I hovered the cursor oveIr anywhere on the page it showed an address somewhere in the US. It was unusual in that the cursor turned to a pointing finger anywhere over the page. I suppose that they were hoping for the possibility of an accidental click?

It didn't get the chance as it went straight in the bin!

[AnOther]

"One security expert warned clicking on the link would install malware"

Utter and complete bo**ocks !

Clicking the link takes you here which of itself is utterly harmless:

[img]http://i.imgur.com/BRaQrHa.jpg[/img]

However:

IF you're daft enough to download a file like that

AND then doubly stupid enough to try to extract it

AND then sufficiently mentally retarded to ignore the AV alert it triggers

AND then cretinous enough to double click on the file

you get ZERO sympathy from me.

Stupid is as stupid does !

[Jonzjob]

Crickey Ernie I never expected that kind of response from you! It must have been a bad day?

Not everyone is an 'expert' and with all of the problems around it would probably have been better to help rather than call people fools and stupid, but then again it has to be a very hard place when you are perfect and surrounded by stupidity [:D]

[AnOther]

It's nothing to do with being an expert or perfect John, that misses the point completely !

.

[Jonzjob]

I wasn't being totally serious Ernie, hence the [:D].. But I was surprised.

When I was an IBM hardware eng a hell of a lot of my customers were new to the computing world. FDs, MDs and such with no computing background . They used to be worried because they didn't really have a clue and I always told them 2 things. 1. The only stupid question is the one that you don't ask and 2. what questions do you ask when you don't know what questions to ask. So ask away and we will work it out.

I had a lot of happy customers.

[idun]

As a none expert, and having listened to the broadcast on You and Yours, I do rather believe the security expert they had on there.

He clicked on the link and he said that as something legalise popped up, within seconds his computer was infected and would have been held to ransome. Bit coins to unblock and the longer it was not paid, the higher the bill.

This man was quite clear about it. It was fast and dangerous.

So, for those of you who know stuff, well, maybe such things are or were just part of your bread and butter, but for the rest of us they are the stuff of nightmares. I can sort out next to nothing on here. My quick scan disappeared from my desk top, never to be found again. A friend who knows about this stuff could not find it either, anywhere and they really do know what they are doing, they reinstalled it for me.

[AnOther]

Having followed it on a sacrificial machine right through to unzipping the file - but short of actually running it - I can assure you that no such thing happened.

It took five discrete concious voluntary actions on my part to even arrive at the point where the malware could potentially deliver it's payload.

Open email

Click on link

Enter numeric code

Download zip file

Extract payload

[Chancer]

Hey Ernie, I have just recieved an E-mail from you, I'm terribly sorry to hear of your misfortune, being stuck in a foreign airport sleeping on a bench and about to be taken to jail, I really really would like to help you by sending the money via Western Union as you request but as you say, you deserve it [:P]

 

Actually as someone that spends their life challenging others saying "how do you know if you have never tried it" and "don't believe it just because others says its so, try for yourself" I applaud you for doing just that, being a Chancer its exactly what I do with things where I can manage the outcome and it has served me well, however with computers I am prety useless and there is only one person around at a pinch that can help me when things go wrong and whilts he is far better than I dont have that much confidence in him and if I said that I clicked on such and such or worse still "to see what happened"  he would probably do an Ernie on me [:D]