Within the computer world, viruses and other derivatives are the order of the day, affecting from giant companies to small users. This week, a new ransomware virus, a threat that hijacks your files and demands ransom money to free them, has been discovered under the name Magniber and masquerading as a fake Windows 10 update.
The information comes from the Virus Total site where they tell Windows users to be cautious if they receive an update to their Windows 10. This ransomware is aimed at common users and not large companies or business customers. The ransom to release your files is $2,500, a really low amount compared to what is normally asked for in these cases.
Magniber is said to be distributed under names like Win10.0_System_Upgrade_Software.msi and Security_Updgrade_Software_Win10.0.msi. At the moment, it is not known exactly how this malware gets installed on computers. It is speculated that it spreads via fake sites posing as Microsoft update websites.
Another source would be sites where they promote cracked software. Once downloaded and installed, Magniber starts to encrypt all your files leaving an HTML document which gives you the instructions to recover and pay the ransom for your data. The recommendation is simple, do not download any Windows update from sites other than the official Microsoft ones or simply by using the Windows Update application of Windows 10 itself.