No More Ransom
Friday 2nd June, 2006 09:39 Comments: 0
The Archiveus virus is the latest example of so-called "ransomware" that tries to extort cash from victims. Analysis has revealed that the password to unlock the file containing all the hijacked files is contained within the code of the virus itself.
The 30-digit password locking the files is "mf2lro8sw03ufvnsq034jfowr18f3cszc20vmw". Using the password should restore all the hijacked files.
Archiveus was discovered on 6 May but it took the rest of the month for the first victim, Rochdale nurse Helen Barrow, to emerge. Ms Barrow is thought to have fallen victim when she responded to an on-screen message warning her that her computer had contracted another unnamed virus. The virus asks those it infects to buy drugs on one of three websites to get their files back.
If I remember rightly, when I first heard about the story it mentioned that her anti virus definitions weren\'t up to date, so it's hard to be entirely sympathetic.
The 30-digit password locking the files is "mf2lro8sw03ufvnsq034jfowr18f3cszc20vmw". Using the password should restore all the hijacked files.
Archiveus was discovered on 6 May but it took the rest of the month for the first victim, Rochdale nurse Helen Barrow, to emerge. Ms Barrow is thought to have fallen victim when she responded to an on-screen message warning her that her computer had contracted another unnamed virus. The virus asks those it infects to buy drugs on one of three websites to get their files back.
If I remember rightly, when I first heard about the story it mentioned that her anti virus definitions weren\'t up to date, so it's hard to be entirely sympathetic.