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+--- Thread: Beware of Ransomware (/showthread.php?tid=762)
Beware of Ransomware - dmcowen674 - 08-20-2015
I have a friend that answered a landline call from Indian accent people that managed to scam her and after they were in her computer remotely when she booted the computer now has a Ransomware screen asking for money to get the password to un-encrypt her now locked computer.
I looked online about but doesn't look good.
Anyone know of a way to get around the Ransomware lock?
RE: Beware of Ransomware - SickBeast - 08-20-2015
(08-20-2015, 05:38 AM)dmcowen674 Wrote: I have a friend that answered a landline call from Indian accent people that managed to scam her and after they were in her computer remotely when she booted the computer now has a Ransomware screen asking for money to get the password to un-encrypt her now locked computer.
I looked online about but doesn't look good.
Anyone know of a way to get around the Ransomware lock?
I got one of these calls a long time ago and I used some really choice words with the guy. They called my parents too. I'm really glad they didn't fall for it but they got really worried and they asked me about it. It's a horrible scam and there's not much law enforcement or our government can do about it because they are based overseas.
I would say to get around the lock maybe try booting up a live Linux distro via USB and then backup and copy all their files over to a USB hard drive. Then format and reinstall Windows and everything.
RE: Beware of Ransomware - ocre - 08-20-2015
You need a boot antivirus, superantispyware portable scanner
If you can, Google whatever info you can to see if there is anything more specific about the hijacking you are dealing with.
Also, you can also pull out the drive and scan it on another pc
RE: Beware of Ransomware - dmcowen674 - 08-20-2015
Her desktop is about 6 years old. With desktops being so cheap and Windows 10 is out I think we'll start with a new box.
RE: Beware of Ransomware - SickBeast - 08-20-2015
What is the thing locked down at the BIOS level? Can you not just format the hard drive? You have to buy a whole new computer?
RE: Beware of Ransomware - dmcowen674 - 08-20-2015
(08-20-2015, 09:36 AM)SickBeast Wrote: What is the thing locked down at the BIOS level? Can you not just format the hard drive? You have to buy a whole new computer?
The boot sector for the Hard Drive is encrypted.
RE: Beware of Ransomware - SickBeast - 08-20-2015
(08-20-2015, 09:40 AM)dmcowen674 Wrote:(08-20-2015, 09:36 AM)SickBeast Wrote: What is the thing locked down at the BIOS level? Can you not just format the hard drive? You have to buy a whole new computer?
The boot sector for the Hard Drive is encrypted.
So then why not just replace the hard drive? It seems like overkill to me to buy an entire PC.
RE: Beware of Ransomware - dmcowen674 - 08-20-2015
I'll bring the machine home so can work on it and report progress on it. She is on other side of town so not sure when will get it.
RE: Beware of Ransomware - SickBeast - 08-20-2015
Good luck Dave! That sounds like a nasty bug.
RE: Beware of Ransomware - dmcowen674 - 08-21-2015
I got a call from her that a friend of hers knew a guy familiar with getting rid of Ransomware and he did it for $75. He put new Anti-virus on and she said the machine is running great.
RE: Beware of Ransomware - BoFox - 08-21-2015
All free:
[IMG] TFC - to clean unneeded temporary files.
[IMG] Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware - to scan your system from time to time in search for malware.
[IMG] Malwarebytes' Anti-Exploit - to prevent plenty of mostly exploited vulnerabilities. (live INTERNET browsing protection)
[IMG] McShield - to prevent infections spread by removable media.
[IMG] CryptoPrevent - to secure yourself from very severe CryptoLocker infection.
[IMG] Unchecky - to prevent from installing additional foistware, implemented in legitimate installations.
[IMG] FiheHippo.com Update Checker - to keep your programs up-to-date.
[IMG] Adblock - to surf the web without annoying ads!
Not everything is necessary (for experts who don't need stuff like FileHippo, which isn't recommended for experts anyway)
And there's more - I used PeerBlock with the Spyware blacklist enabled, Spybot Search & Destroy (just the Immunize function is recommended, that's all), and SpywareBlaster (which only builds the Windows Hosts blacklist file - you can also compress the hosts file for faster execution time).
Also, avoid Adblock Plus - it has become corrupt for selfish corporate reasons. Just use Adblock, not Adblock Plus.
RE: Beware of Ransomware - SickBeast - 08-21-2015
That's great news, Dave! It's still a shame that it cost them money but at least it's fixed now.
RE: Beware of Ransomware - dmcowen674 - 08-21-2015
She has her important data offline at Carbonite.