Microsoft issued a warning yesterday about the risk and possible impact of a campaign masquerading as ransomware, this despite the fact that the malware is actually malware that has been previously detected by Microsoft and the threat has already been mitigated.
As we have reported several times before, ransomware can be quite tricky to detect. There are many things that can go wrong; for instance, a victim can install a program that’s been flagged as malware or they can just be running a malicious executable. As a result, they are often mistaken for legitimate malware. Even the most basic forms of ransomware can be very difficult to detect for a computer, especially one without internet access.
Microsoft has been making some very good strides in the battle against ransomware. They have developed a new algorithm called the “Risk-Based Detection” to help computers find threats. It applies a series of measures based on factors such as the type of computer, the operating system, the amount of memory, and the user’s habits.
That’s good. It’s good that they’re doing that, but I’m not sure it’s going to make any difference. It’s not like these viruses aren’t going to be around for a while, they just won’t be as easy to detect.
One thing that is very clear is that the real problem isn’t the ransomware itself. The real problem is the fact that Microsoft is still in marketing mode. They are trying to convince people that the software they released last year is just as good as the newest Windows Vista. In other words, they are looking for clicks, but they seem not to be finding any. The fact is that the malware is only taking a handful of steps toward getting around the security of Windows.
That doesn’t make it any less dangerous. That is the whole point of the “free” software model, and the reason why some people are getting sick of Microsoft and moving on. The only way to stop this nonsense is for Microsoft to stop being so eager to try and convince people that the software they released last year is just as good as the latest Windows Vista.
So let’s see, the malware is taking a few steps toward getting around Windows’s security. However, the malware is getting further than that, and is also taking steps that are far too dangerous to be considered part of a campaign. And the developers of this campaign are so desperate that they’re actually telling us that we should be wary of the malware.
Now of course, this is a huge red flag to anyone who has ever had to deal with malware in the past. For the sake of argument, let’s assume that the code in question is genuine. What are the chances that the virus is not being used as part of some nefarious scheme? The odds of that are slim to none.
In fact, even if the virus was used for a scam, there would be a lot to the scam itself. The scammer would need to find a way to infect a computer with the ransomware. With a virus, it’s usually the user who needs to be infected in order for the ransomware to be installed. So this malware could be used to infect a computer through a compromised computer user. Even then, the malware would still need to be installed in order to run.
There are ways for malware to be used for scams, but the malware is already there. The malware is already there and the user has to go through the hassle of infecting the computer with the malware in order to run something that will run the ransomware. This is why the microsoft malware warning is so important. We need to know about these scams in order to put measures in place to protect the users from them.