Warning about the explosion of kidnapping software

Security experts have warned that the number of data capture software is growing very fast.

Statistics from security firm Panda Software said the number of malware of this type has increased by more than 30% in the second quarter of this year.

Often known as 'ransomware', these malicious software once successfully hacked into the system will encrypt the data that is considered important by the user and then ask them to pay a fee. The money is then 'release' the data otherwise it will erase the whole.

For example, the Troj / Ransom-A that appeared in April this year threatens to delete a file on the user's system until they accept to pay it $ 10.99. To avoid detection, the authors of ransonware software often ask victims to pay through Western Union money transfer services. After they receive the money they will provide users with a key to disable the trojan and restore the files.

Or as the new ransomware Archiveus software that appeared last month has the ability to encrypt and set passwords that block access to files. And instead of accessing the desired data file, the user will be directed to another file with full information on how to recover the data.

However, security vendor Sophos soon decrypted the trojan and found a password to help users recover the data.

To protect themselves against ransomware malware threats, Panda Software recommends that users regularly update security software and conduct backup of important data.

At the same time, users should be careful with spam and P2P file sharing software. These are the main distribution channels of all kinds of ransomware software.

Hoang Dung