Friday's ransomware outbreak is ongoing, and while researchers work to stem the tide of infection, businesses, governments, and individuals can help the cause by making sure they have protected themselves.
If your country or region isn't listed here, Microsoft recommends that you contact your country or region's federal police or communications authority. For an illustrated overview about ransomware and what you can do to help protect yourself, see The 5Ws and 1H of ransomware. Microsoft Releases XP Patch for WannaCry Ransomware. Broadly available for download,” Microsoft said. Must not be too important because you can't even find a working link for the patch. Protect your PC from ransomware. Content provided by Microsoft. Learn more about Windows Update. Microsoft recommends that you contact your country or region's federal police or communications authority. How to protect your computer against the ransomware attack. As a result of Microsoft’s first patch, users of Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8.1 can easily protect themselves against. Microsoft Security Bulletin MS17-010 - Critical.; 12 minutes to read Contributors. In this article Security Update for Microsoft Windows SMB Server (4013389) Published: March 14, 2017. Version: 1.0. Executive Summary. This security update resolves vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows. How to Check if MS17-010 is installed (Wannacry Ransomware patch). This article describes various options for checking if Microsoft Windows Update patches which patch the MS17-010 vulnerability are present on a Windows device. Download the Report file & Parameters file.
ransomware attacks
The attack is due to a kind of ransomware called Wanna Decryptor, also known as WannaCrypt, WanaCrypt0r, and WannaCry. The malware not only infects targets through traditional means -- such as phishing campaigns, malicious emails, and dodgy attachments -- but once a system has been infected, the malicious code scans for additional targets through networks and jumps to fresh victims.
When a system has been infected with WannaCrypt, the malware encrypts everything it can -- including the PC's hard drive and any connected devices, such as USB sticks and external storage devices.
The ransomware then locks users out of the system, throws up a landing page, and demands a $300 ransom payment in the virtual currency Bitcoin in return for files to be unlocked. This amount then doubles within a few days if payment is not forthcoming. Users are also threatened with the mass deletion of files within a week if they resist paying.
Read also: Remove ransomware infections from your PC using these free tools
If you've already been unfortunate enough to become infected with the ransomware, do not give in and pay up. The threat actors behind WannaCrypt have already made roughly $43,000 from the campaign, but there is no guarantee that you will gain your files back if you do.
Instead, unless -- or until -- a decryption key is released by security experts, the best option is to hold tight or restore your system from a backup. Alternatively, businesses can reach out to security professionals to see if infections can be eradicated without damaging their systems.
In order to be protected against this threat, it is necessary to understand that the attack only impacts those running on older Windows operating systems.
A security fix was released in March. It resolved the problem for Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012, Windows 10, Windows Server 2012 R2, and Windows Server 2016, which are still supported.
If you are running these versions and have not downloaded Microsoft Security Bulletin MS17-010, you should do so now manually, or allow Windows Update to do the work for you.
If Windows Update has been enabled, then automatic updates will be applied. If not, you should re-enable the system and do not disable it again so you receive security fixes as soon as they are available for future threats.
Users of Windows 10 are not affected by the ransomware.
In response to the threat, Microsoft has also released an emergency patch for legacy Windows operating systems, which (as out of cycle products) are no longer supported -- unless special support contracts are in place.
Axis and allies iron blitz patch download. After about 2 years of addiction, the disk broke and all attempts to find another ended in failure. I found it online, and I play it a lot now. I gave up looking until about a month ago. I tried regular A&A (the disk comes with Iron Blitz) after the disk broke, but having played Iron Blitz, regular A&A was so drab and bugtastic that I quit that after about a week.
Simple attacks plus user willingness to pay ransoms to get their files back means ransomware is on the rise, warn Kaspersky researchers.
Security updates can be download and deployed manually for Windows Server 2003 SP2 x64, Windows Server 2003 SP2 x86, Windows XP SP2 x64, Windows XP SP3 x86, Windows XP Embedded SP3 x86, Windows 8 x86, and Windows 8 x64 directly from Microsoft.
Grab the necessary security updates here.
Microsoft has also added a signature to the Windows Defender antivirus to detect the ransomware.
If it is not possible to patch, as noted by security expert Troy Hunt, you should disable Windows' Server Messenger Block (SMBv1) to prevent WannaCrypt exploit.
Failing this, another alternative is to lock-down machines and prevent them accessing the internet, or at least make sure network settings are as restricted as possible.
What the malware cannot reach, it cannot infect.
This should be a wake-up call for anyone and any business that still relies on antiquated operating systems that haven't been sold in decades. Threats that can cripped a business or destroy irreplaceable, personal content are real -- and security updates, however annoying, are important.
Microsoft Ransomware Security Patch
We are yet to see the full extent of how much damage WannaCrypt has caused, and new variants have already been spotted, so if there's any time to update systems and get them to modern OS standards, which are given regular security updates, it is now.
Read also:New WannaCrypt ransomware variant discovered in the wild | Ransomware attack: Hospitals still struggling in aftermath of WannaCrypt's rampage | Ransomware attack: The second wave is coming, so get ready now | WannaCrypt ransomware: Microsoft issues emergency patch for Windows XP | Ransomware: An executive guide to one of the biggest menaces on the web | Why patching Windows XP forever won't stop the next WannaCrypt (TechRepublic)
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Security Cloud Big Data Analytics Innovation Tech and Work CollaborationUpdate -- After reading this article, if you want to know, what has happened so far in past 4 days and how to protect your computers from WannaCry, read our latest article 'WannaCry Ransomware: Everything You Need To Know Immediately.'
In the wake of the largest ransomware attack in the history that had already infected over 114,000 Windows systems worldwide since last 24 hours, Microsoft just took an unusual step to protect its customers with out-of-date computers.
Also Read --Google Researcher Finds Link Between WannaCry Attacks and North Korea.
Microsoft has just released an emergency security patch update for all its unsupported version of Windows, including Windows XP, Vista, Windows 8, Server 2003 and 2008 Editions.
So, if your organization, for some reason, is still running on Windows XP or Vista, you are strongly advised to download and APPLY PATCH NOW!
WannaCrypt, or also known as WannaCry, is a new ransomware that wreaked havoc across the world last night, which spreads like a worm by leveraging a Windows SMB vulnerability (MS17-010) that has been previously fixed by Microsoft in March.
A large number of successful infections of the WannaCry ransomware at an astonishing pace concludes that either significant number of users have not yet installed the security patch released in March (MS17-010) or they are still running an unsupported version of Windows for which Microsoft is no longer releasing any security update.
So far, Criminals behind WannaCry Ransomware have received nearly 100 payments from victims, total 15 Bitcoins, equals to USD $26,090.
Moreover, if you are using Windows 10, you are on the safe side.
'The exploit code used by WannaCrypt was designed to work only against unpatched Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 (or earlier OS) systems, so Windows 10 PCs are not affected by this attack,' Microsoft says.Once infected, WannaCry locks files on the computers and requires victims to pay $300 in Bitcoins to get back the control of their systems, along with a threat to double the price to $600.
But there's no guarantee of getting your files back even after paying the ransom.
How is WannaCry Spreading?
Such ransomware infection typically leverages social engineering or spam emails as a primary attack vector, tricking users into downloading and executing a malicious attachment.WannaCry is also leveraging one such social engineering trick, as FoxIT researchers uncovered one variant of the ransomware that is initially distributed via an email containing a link or a PDF file with payload, which if clicked, installs WannaCry on the targeted system.
Once executed, the self-spreading WannaCry ransomware does not infect the targeted computers immediately, as malware reverse engineers found that the dropper first tries to connect the following domain, which was initially unregistered:
hxxp://www[.]iuqerfsodp9ifjaposdfjhgosurijfaewrwergwea[.]comIf the connection to the above-mentioned unregistered domain fails (which is obvious), the dropper proceeds to infect the system with the ransomware that would start encrypting files.
But if the connection is successful, the dropper does not infect the system with the WannaCry ransomware module.
A security researcher, tweeting as MalwareTech, did the same and registered the domain mentioned above, accidentally triggering a 'kill switch' that can prevent the spread of the WannaCry ransomware, at least for now.
Malware Tech registered this domain by spending just £10, which makes the connection logic successful.
'In other words, blocking the domain with firewall either at ISP or enterprise network level will cause the ransomware to continue spreading and encrypting files,' Microsoft warned.If infected, the malware scans the entire internal network and spread like a worm into all unpatched Windows computers with the help of SMB vulnerability.
The SMB vulnerability has been identified as EternalBlue, a collection of hacking tools allegedly created by the NSA and then subsequently dumped by a hacking group calling itself 'The Shadow Brokers' over a month ago.
Demo of WannaCry Ransomware Infection
Meanwhile, Matthew Hickey, a security expert and co-founder of Hacker House, has provided The Hacker News two video demonstrations, showing packet traces that confirm the use of Windows SMB vulnerability (MS17-010).
And Second one..
Hickey also warned: Since, the WannaCry is a single executable file, so it can also be spread through other regular exploit vectors, such as spear phishing, drive-by-download attack, and malicious torrent files download.
So Far, Over 114,000 Infections Detected in 99 Countries
WannaCry Ransomware attack has become the largest ransomware infection in history within just a few hours.- A total of 16 U.K. organizations has been affected by the ongoing attack, including the National Health Service (NHS), which was forced to reject patients, cancel operations, and reschedule appointments due to malware infection.
- WannaCry also targeted Spanish telecom giant Telefónica infecting by some of its computers on an internal network, but did not affect clients or services.
- Other victims of the attack include Portugal Telecom and Russia’s MegaFon.
- Delivery company FedEx was also a victim.
- Users from Japan, Turkey, and the Philippines were also affected.
7 Easy Steps to Protect Yourself
Currently, there is no WannaCry decryption tool or any other solution available, so users are strongly advised to follow prevention measures in order to protect themselves.
- Keep your system Up-to-date: First of all, if you are using supported, but older versions of Windows operating system, keep your system up to date, or simply upgrade your system to Windows 10.
- Using Unsupported Windows OS? If you are using unsupported versions of Windows, including Windows XP, Vista, Server 2003 or 2008, apply the emergency patch released by Microsoft today.
- Enable Firewall: Enable firewall, and if it is already there, modify your firewall configurations to block access to SMB ports over the network or the Internet. The protocol operates on TCP ports 137, 139, and 445, and over UDP ports 137 and 138.
- Disable SMB: Follow steps described by Microsoft to disable Server Message Block (SMB).
- Keep your Antivirus software up-to-date: Virus definitions have already been updated to protect against this latest threat.
- Backup Regularly: To always have a tight grip on all your important files and documents, keep a good backup routine in place that makes their copies to an external storage device that is not always connected to your PC.
- Beware of Phishing: Always be suspicious of uninvited documents sent an email and never click on links inside those documents unless verifying the source.
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