At least 100,000 groups in 150 countries hit by ransomware

[Knight]

At least 100,000 groups in 150 countries hit by ransomware
https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/lucky-break-slows-cyberattack-whats-042024123.html
LONDON (AP) — An unprecedented global "ransomware" attack has hit at least 100,000 organizations in 150 countries, Europe's police agency said Sunday — and predicted that more damage may be seen Monday as people return to work and switch on their computers.

The Windows vulnerability in question was purportedly identified by the NSA for its own intelligence-gathering purposes. Intelligence officials wouldn't comment on the authenticity of the claims. The tools appeared stolen by hackers, who dumped them on the internet.

Good thing hacking Hillary Clinton's servers was not possible <----- sarcasm for those that still want to believe Clinton's emails were of no importance.

I don't know if politifact leans left or right but the lies mounted up
Hillary's lies
http://www.politifact.com/personalities/hillary-clinton/statements/byruling/false/

 

[Don M.]

As I understand it, only older and non-supported versions of Windows were affected. So many people are still using XP that MS released a patch for that version.

https://www.theverge.com/2017/5/13/...y-patch-wannacry-ransomware-attack?yptr=yahoo

I know my system got several updates in recent days...W10, Avast Anti-virus, and MalwareBytes all had fairly substantial updates....probably as a result of this "hack". It also appears that the hackers made very little money off their ransom hack. I don't understand why anyone...especially corporations....would persist in using outdated software.

 

[Manatee]

As I understand it, only older and non-supported versions of Windows were affected. So many people are still using XP that MS released a patch for that version.

https://www.theverge.com/2017/5/13/...y-patch-wannacry-ransomware-attack?yptr=yahoo

I know my system got several updates in recent days...W10, Avast Anti-virus, and MalwareBytes all had fairly substantial updates....probably as a result of this "hack". It also appears that the hackers made very little money off their ransom hack. I don't understand why anyone...especially corporations....would persist in using outdated software.

They are probably put off by the cost of updating. I am told that many hospitals still use XP for that reason.

 

[Don M.]

They are probably put off by the cost of updating. I am told that many hospitals still use XP for that reason.

Yeah, cost is probably a factor...I doubt that MS offered W10 for free for businesses, like they did for individuals. However, with all the cyber attacks taking place in recent years, I wonder if it isn't more costly to recover....after the fact...than to upgrade as new Operating Systems become available, The hospitals in England that had to shut down may have put some patients lives at risk during this attack. I have upgraded several times over the years, and when W11, or whatever they call it, becomes available, I will probably quickly upgrade....loss of support creates more problems than it is worth.

 

[WhatInThe]

Ransom viruses mostly from clicked on advertisements/spam/emails. If it looks strange don't click on it period.

I know someone who paid $400 to the virus pop ad address to have it removed. They told them it was worth it since they got 1 year of security software with their "service". I told them you spend $400 it's time for a new computer or local repair tech.

Cheap trick that might work on a ransom ware attack.

1) break/halt your internet connection even if you have to physically pull an internet cable(not power). Viruses set in when the computer turned on/powered up
2) manually delete cookies if possible
3) run manual security scan if possible
4) pull up list of programs. I've had ransom load as program and show up in program directory(look for recent updates or installs)
5) delete or uninstall the recent activity
6) manually delete cookies again
7) run manual security scan again
8) turn internet back on
9) hope for the best