New Ransomware Encrypts Files, Steals Your Discord Account
Ransomware has been evolving at an alarming rate, with more new strains appearing each year. One of the latest developments in this area is the ability to hack popular gaming apps and platforms, including Fortnite, Overwatch, and Discord. In fact, the risk is so severe that one 17-year-old was previously imprisoned as a result of his admission to stealing the usernames and passwords of 400 million users. Here’s what you need to know about this new kind of ransomware and how you can protect yourself and your account from the cybercriminals behind it…
What is ransomware?
New Ransomware Encrypts Files, Steals Your Discord Account is a type of malware that prevents or limits users from accessing their system. It typically encrypts files on the system’s hard drive and then either displays a message demanding payment to decrypt. The files or offers to decrypt them if the user pays in some other way.
Ransomware has been around for over 20 years, but it has become much more prevalent and dangerous in recent years as technology has improved. As new varieties are being released every day, a wide variety of ransomware varieties have arisen during the last few years. Some examples include WannaCry, Jigsaw, Gameover ZeuS, and CryptoLocker.
How does this new ransomware work?
New Ransomware Encrypts Files, Steals Your Discord Account is called Mamba and was discovered by MalwareHunterTeam. This malware encrypts your files and then demands a ransom for the decryption key. It also deletes the Windows Shadow Volume Copies so you cannot recover them from another drive. Mamba also steals your Discord account data so that it can access your contacts to send spam messages. Mamba is only seen as targeting Portuguese speakers at this point but if other languages were supported, this could have an international reach.
What should I do if I’ve been infected?: Since there are no known free decrypters available. You will need to purchase the software or contact support through an email address given in the ransomware message. Make sure to not pay the ransom or give any personal information!
We recommend backing up your computer on a regular basis and installing antivirus software such as Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 2019.
What can you do if you’re infected?
Don’t panic! You have a few options if you’re infected with this new ransomware. First of all, DO NOT PAY the ransom. The instructions that come with the malware are likely to be incorrect and will result in the loss of your files anyway. Second, you can use a backup to restore your files from before they were encrypted. If you don’t have a backup (or can’t find it), then there are free tools available on the internet. That may be able to decrypt your files for you as long as you have an up-to-date version of Windows
How can you protect yourself from ransomware?
Ransomware is a type of malware that encrypts your files and demands a ransom payment to unlock them. The best way to protect yourself from ransomware is to back up your files! Encrypting your data can help prevent ransomware from encrypting it and demanding a ransom. If you back up your files (ideally on an external hard drive or in the cloud). Store the backups in a location separate from the original files, then you’ll have access to all of your data even if someone tries to encrypt it with ransomware.
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