bitcoin

Wed
23
Aug
John Lister's picture

New Malware uses PC Power to Make Cash

Hackers could use your computer to literally make money. That's thanks to an unusual malware attack that doesn't involve any files, making it harder to detect. The "Coinminer malware" takes advantage of a Windows and browser bug nicknamed Eternal ... Blue. That's the same bug that was exploited in several high-profile ransomware attacks recently . While Microsoft has issued updates, it seems some users haven't installed the security patches. Malware Runs Inside Memory One big problem with the Coinminer malware is that it works in the computer's memory, rather than as ... (view more)

Mon
31
Jul
Dennis Faas's picture

How to Fix: Remove SystemTask.exe / SystemTaskInfo.exe Virus (100% CPU Usage)

Infopackets Reader Michael B. writes: " Dear Dennis, Thank you so much for helping me to patch my Windows 2003 Server against the SMB attacks and for removing Windows_Update.exe virus a few weeks back . A have yet another problem that is causing ... high CPU usage! In Task Manager of Windows Server 2003, I see two processes that are eating 50% of my CPU each, namely: SystemTask.exe and SystemTaskInfo.exe . If I try and delete either process, it simply comes back and starts eating my CPU again, which makes everything else on the server painfully slow. Can you please help? " My response: I asked ... (view more)

Mon
26
Jun
Dennis Faas's picture

How to Fix: Remove Update_Windows.exe / Update.exe Virus (100% CPU Usage)

Infopackets Reader Mike B. writes: " Dear Dennis, I run a Windows Server 2003 box that has been fine until two days ago. Now, my CPU usage is 100% with multiple 'Update_Windows.exe' processes running. I've deleted the Update_Windows.exe tasks in ... Task Manager, but it keeps propagating. I did a virus scan, but it did not find anything; Malwarebytes antimalware also is not reporting anything. Prior to the infection, I installed the emergency May 2017 update to avoid the Windows SMB exploit / WannaCry ransomware infection . I understand Windows Server 2003 is no longer supported by Microsoft and ... (view more)

Tue
19
Jul
John Lister's picture

'Lazy' Ransomware Deletes Every File in Sight

Is there fair play amongst ransomware scammers? A particularly lazy variant of "ransomware" is making its rounds, though researchers say that paying up will never pay off. For the most part, ransomware usually involves a nasty malware program ... encrypting files on a PC, followed by a promise of a decryption key - but only if the victim pays a ransom. It would make sense that if people stopped believing this would happen, they would stop handing over the cash. Files Deleted Rather Than Encrypted Now security company Talos has spotted a variant where there's absolutely no prospect ... (view more)

Tue
27
Jan
John Lister's picture

Financial Regulators May Oversee Bitcoin

Two Facebook millionaires want US officials to regulate an exchange for buying and selling the controversial "cryptocurrency" Bitcoin. The move follows a scandal when the largest such exchange in Japan went out of business . The Bitcoin currency ... isn't issued by any government or backed by any assets. Instead, each new unit of the currency is created when a computer successfully solves what's effectively a puzzle designed to slowly increase the amount of Bitcoins in circulation. Every time one user pays a Bitcoin to another, a publicly available ledger of transactions is ... (view more)

Wed
18
Jun
John Lister's picture

US Government to Auction Virtual Currency

US Marshals are to auction off almost 30,000 Bitcoins, a controversial "virtual currency." The coins have a current market value of around $18 million dollars. The government confiscated the virtual currency when it raided an underground online ... trading site named Silk Road. Silk Road was not part of the ordinary World Wide Web, and could only be accessed using special web browser software. That made it extremely difficult to trace anyone using the site and their activity. The site was well known in the digital underground community for buying and selling services of both a legal and ... (view more)

Fri
28
Feb
John Lister's picture

$473 Million Lost In Online Currency Scandal

One of the largest businesses that allowed people buy the online currency Bitcoin is filing for bankruptcy protection. The collapse means customers have almost certainly lost nearly half a billion US dollars in "real money." Mt Gox is a Tokyo-based ... business founded in 2009 as a trading card exchange (Source: wikipedia.org ). It has recently filed for bankruptcy protection because it has debt worth $63.6 million, but assets worth only just half over that. Customers had a total of around 750,000 Bitcoins stored in the Mt Gox equivalent of a bank account, which translates to around $ ... (view more)

Mon
02
Dec
Dennis Faas's picture

Rising Bitcoin Value Makes CryptoLocker Crooks Rich

A new report suggests that the cybercriminals behind the now infamous CryptoLocker ransomware scam are making huge profits. The main factor driving that revenue: the rapidly rising value of bitcoins . CryptoLocker is a form of Trojan horse known as ... ransomware. After being installed on a system -- usually following the opening of a malicious email -- it takes control of a user's system. Those behind the scam then demand the victim pay up if they want to regain control of their computer. The usual ransom: between $300 and $600 in bitcoins, a relatively new type of Internet-based currency. So, ... (view more)

Tue
21
May
Dennis Faas's picture

Bitcoin Faces Dept. of Homeland Security Crackdown

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has taken control of two bank accounts belonging to a company that exchanged US dollars for the 'Bitcoin' virtual currency. The department claims the accounts had not been properly registered with financial ... regulators. Bitcoin is not issued by any real-world financial institution. Instead, each unit of currency is represented by a unique piece of code generated by an algorithm. Whenever somebody makes a payment using Bitcoins, the details of the transaction are shared using a peer-to-peer network, similar to they way some users share music and video ... (view more)

Fri
07
Sep
Dennis Faas's picture

BitFloor Faces Disaster, Hackers Pull Huge Heist

Bitcoin currency exchange BitFloor is in big trouble after a security blunder resulted in the theft of $250,000. The heist at the BitFloor "exchange" came after operators did the online equivalent of leaving the keys in the door. Bitcoin is a ... virtual currency that isn't controlled by a government and therefore isn't subject to any seizure of funds. With no government backing, Bitcoin has value only so long as enough people agree to use it. Unlike most currencies, Bitcoin exists only online, with no physical currency (like coins or bills). Each Bitcoin exists solely as a unique identification ... (view more)

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