Trojan horse: Your money or your files

April 29, 2006

In another example of "ransomware," a new Trojan horse threatens to delete files unless the victim pays up, security experts have warned.

When activated, the Trojan horse, dubbed Ransom-A by antivirus company Sophos, displays some explicit images. It then shows an expletive message that demands a $10.99 payment, or it will delete one file every 30 minutes, security experts at SophosLabs said in a statement published Friday.

"This Trojan horse is designed to take your data hostage and tries to scare users into paying up quickly by threatening to wipe files one-by-one," Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos, said in the statement.

The Trojan asks for payment via the Western Union money transfer service and promises delivery of a special disarming code after the ransom is paid, Sophos said.

This is the second example of malicious software that seeks to extort money in as many months. In March, a Trojan horse that encrypts victims’ files and demands a $300 payment to have them decrypted and unlocked made the rounds. A similar attack was spotted in May of last year.

via zdnet.

Lost actress released from jail

Lost TV star Michelle Rodriguez has been released from jail in Honolulu after serving time for a drink-driving offence in Hawaii.

Rodriguez, Anna Lucia in the TV series, was sentenced to five days in jail but spent only 65 hours behind bars.

Time spent in custody after her arrest was taken into account.

Rodriguez is also serving three years’ probation after pleading no contest in 2004 in Los Angeles to three traffic violations, including drink-driving.

The actress shared a dormitory with 60 other women while in prison, a spokesman for the jail said.

"I kind of have to get back to my life, go back to making some money," she said outside court after sentencing.

Rodriguez, 27, and co-star Cynthia Watros were arrested within minutes of each other last December on suspicion of driving while under the influence.

The actress chose a jail sentence rather than perform 240 hours of community service.

via bbc.

In case you missed

  • Now you can play with Elisha Cuthbert all you want. Well, in digital form, anyway. (Hollywood elisha-cuthbertTuna)
  • Pete Doherty is a sick, sick freak. (Pink is the New Blog)
  • Is Tom Cruise a liar? Probably. Is he a tool? Definitely. (A Socialite’s Life)
  • Britney Spears is actually 5 months pregnant. Wouldn’t it have been better to admit it from the start, rather then let people think you’re a fat pig? (DListed)
  • Charlie Sheen is denying the accusations that he’s a crazy, abusive, drugged-out, child-porn freak. Well, wouldn’t you? (IDLYITW)
  • So, naturally, you’d think that now probably isn’t the best time for Charlie Sheen to be launching a clothing line for kids. (Hollywood Rag)
  • The Jolie-Pitt family continues to draw attention to Namibia. Maybe they should do something usefull like go to Darfur. (Just Jared)
  • At least George Clooney is doing something to bring attention to Darfur. (Defamer)
  • Rosie O’Donnell joins The View. Now even more reasons why not to watch. (Gawker)
  • Celebrity impersonators can be really creepy. Of course, so can real celebrities. (CityRag)

via egotastic.