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A new form of ransomware named after a Marvel super villain has some particularly evil features. The Thanos malware uses an approach more reminiscent of "physical world" blackmail. Despite the name, the malware thankfully doesn't imitate the ... character Thanos by - spoiler alert - deleting half the files in the entire universe. That said, it's still quite scary thanks to a couple of features beyond the usual tactic of encrypting files and demanding a ransom. Instead, the ransomware also seeks to spread across an entire local network and encrypt all the computers it can reach. This is especially ... (view more)

A security company has warned that a free tool claiming to remove ransomware is in fact ransomware itself. Sophos has also reported that businesses that pay ransoms end up with double the financial costs of those who don't. The company's Paul ... Ducklin examined a tool called "Decrypter DJVU". It's promoted as a way to undo the damage of a strain of ransomware that encrypts files, adds the extension ".djvu" to the name, and demands a payment to decrypt and restore access. (Source: sophos.com ) The tool asks users to type in a personal ID and a file extension, though it appears it doesn't take ... (view more)

Older computers might feel a little faster after the next major Windows 10 update. That's because Windows 10 is going to get a bit smarter in the way it powers its search tool. Windows 10's Start Menu (accessed by clicking the Windows logo at the ... bottom left of the screen) includes a search box that doesn't just search the names of files, but also their content. Since the system's release, an update means it will now searches all files on the C drive - not just those in specific libraries such as "Documents" or "Downloads." File Indexing Takes a Toll To ... (view more)

A security company says it found a simple way to turn antivirus software into a weapon for attackers. Most major manufacturers have now fixed the problem, but it's a reminder to keep such software updated. The discovery by Rack911 Labs effectively ... meant that a hacker could force the antivirus software to delete files on a computer. That would mean the hacker would need to have gained access to a computer first - whether internally on a network, or remotely using malware. The exploit is based on one of the most fundamental actions of any antivirus software: they scan files, check if they are a ... (view more)

A new ransomware variant takes advantage of a Microsoft Excel feature. It's a good reminder to keep security software up-to-date. The variant has been reported by security company Lastline. It involves a known ransomware called Paradise that ... operates in the familiar fashion: the attackers find a way to get remote access to a computer then encrypt files and demand a fee to restore access - sometimes in the tens of thousands of dollars, or much higher. In this case, the attackers try to trick victims into opening a file attachment that creates the opening for accessing the machine. The ... (view more)

Two different Windows 10 updates have caused a host of problems, including some files disappearing from the desktop, or deleted permanently. Microsoft has pulled one update and is investigating the other. The update with the more serious problems - ... which is the one Microsoft has withdrawn - is numbered KB4532693 and has a couple of major bugs. The first is that some users have discovered their desktop has returned to its default state. In other words, any customizations such as the arrangement of icons and short cuts, or a background image, have been removed. The most credible suggested ... (view more)

Ransomware attackers could turn a key Windows security tool against the system, according to new research. The tactic could also evade leading security tools. The research from SafeBreach Labs covered "EFS", otherwise known as Encrypting File ... System. EFS was released as far back as Windows 2000 (in the year 2000), and is somewhat similar to Bitlocker. The main difference between the two is that Bitlocker can encrypt an entire volume, while EFS can encrypt individual files and folders. In either case, the reason for encrypting files / folders or an entire volume is that if an ... (view more)

Researchers have spotted new ransomware with a nasty new twist. "Clop," as it's called, doesn't just encrypt files, but deliberately attempts to screw up applications as well. The move is most likely intended to reduce the chances of the ransomware ... being blocked, but also means an attack could be even more disruptive and make it more likely a complete rebuild of the affected PC is necessary. Normally ransomware's main task is to encrypt as many files as possible on a computer. The idea here is to extort the user by forcing them to pay a ransom to regain access to the locked files. ... (view more)

Most people know not to open an executable file or document attached to an email unless they were expecting it. But a new example of malware means even an audio file could trigger a payload. Researchers at Blackberry Cylance Threat recently ... uncovered malicious code hidden inside WAV files. That's a computer format for audio that was common for music on PCs before MP3 became established. The attackers are using a technique called steganography, which is a way to hide a file inside another file in a way that normally cannot be detected. Steganography has previously been used in image files, and ... (view more)

Another file deletion bug appears to have hit Windows 10's latest update. It's raised questions about Microsoft's review process. This is a separate issue to the recent bug that deleted user documents . The new problem - which is also related to the ... October Update - affects .ZIP files. ZIP files are used to store multiple files (and sometimes backups) into a single, archived file. Archives usually offer a high compression ratio, which means files inside the archive are shrunk. This makes .ZIP files especially useful for downloading files from websites because it takes less time. Duplicate ... (view more)