Nowadays Internet has brought us much convenience in various kinds of our daily pursuits such as social networking, education, leisure, and business activities. Meanwhile, the convenience of cyber technology has created a big threat because criminals will also spread malware for gains through this platform. A particularly nasty piece of malware is called CryptoLocker.
What is CryptoLocker?
CryptoLocker is a form of ransomware, which spreads through Trojan horse malware. It typically propagates as an innocuous e-mail attachment appearing to have been sent by a legitimate company. Once the computer is infected, CryptoLocker generates a 2048-bit RSA public and private key pair. The public key will then encrypt commonly used documents, restricting the user from accessing. For decryption purposes, the private key will be stored on the cyber criminal's server. It will then demand for a ransom paid to the creator of the malware by the infected users in order to decrypt their files. It will threaten to delete the private key if a payment is not received within three days. If this period elapses, the malware's creator will claim the private key required to decrypt files will be destroyed and hence the user's files might be lost forever.
At present, CryptoLocker is extremely difficult to be repaired. Below are some security tips to mitigate the risk of dealing with CryptoLocker.
1. Periodically backup your valuable data on an external device or media.
2. Ensure your anti-virus protection is updated.
3. Never open any file or link in an email or on a social website originating from unknown sources. Even from trusted sources, remain careful when opening suspicious attachments as their email may have been hacked.
4. Keep your operating system and all software patches updated.
5. Be careful when downloading and installing free software from the Internet.
