From Lancs Police All, Many of you will have seen on TV and read in the national press that the National Crime Agency along with similar organisations in other countries, have identified a specific threat relating to PC malware and viruses. Please see below a little more information and guidance with regard to the security of your computers and links to further sites which have been identified, that will assist you in running checks on your machines and advice on what to do if you have a concern. The activity of Law Enforcement and Private Industry announced in the media on 2/6/2014 provides an ideal window of opportunity for members of the public to clean their computers. Over 15,800 computers are known to be infected in the UK with Zeus GameOver malware that allows criminals to steal money form online accounts, capture passwords and personal data, turn on webcams remotely, or even morph into ransomware (such as CryptoLocker) that encrypts all the user’s files. The advice below is particularly pertinent now, but holds in general as sound advice to concerned members of the public. · Everyone (including businesses) should o Update their operating system ASAP, and check for updates weekly. These are free. O Install/Update Anti Virus or Security Software. This can be free for basic protection. It is recommended this is updated daily or ideally set to update automatically. O Use caution before clicking on unsolicited email attachments or hyperlinks… they are one of the most common ways to get infected. · Visit getsafeonline.org/ and run a clean-up tool of your choice. This excellent and trustworthy site provides plain English explanations, advice and host links to companies who have supported this activity and are offering clean up tools for free. · If people discover they have been infected with malware they should be advised to report it to actionfraud.police.uk/. They should also notify their bank and change all their passwords. · General password advice: the strongest passwords tend to be phrases, which are easier to remember, with a mixture of numbers letters and other characters. · Anyone who has been infected (whether theyve paid a ransom or not) should ensure they still update their operating systems and run Anti Virus/Security software on their vulnerable machine. · For CryptoLocker, prevention is better than cure. Users should backup copies of their most important files to a non-networked system (e.g. record on DVD or external hard drive that is unplugged once backed up). · Beware cold-calling from people offering to fix or remotely clean computers. This is invariably a scam. Always be sure of who is calling and if any doubt don’t grant them access to your computer. None of the legitimate tools designed to protect users require remote access to the computer. Members of the public should always seek advice from getsafeonline.org/ before taking unfamiliar steps. · At present this specific malware only affects Windows computers, but diligence is advised on all operating systems (including smartphones) as criminals seek to exploit every available platform. Andy Denton: West Division Watch Liaison Officer Sent to ALL West
Posted on: Tue, 03 Jun 2014 10:14:43 +0000