Beware new javascript ransomware
A new ransomware attack, designed to kidnap your computer and demand money from you before releasing it, has been written entirely in javascript and is thus more dangerous because many email programs, like Gmail, will not block the running of the .js file.
The bottom like is always the same: Don’t run attachments sent to you unexpectedly, even from friends. Check with them to confirm that they meant to send it, and if they don’t confirm, delete it.
I could also label this story as another reason I don’t use gmail, but that really is a different story entirely.
From the press release: In this ground-breaking new history of early America, historian Robert Zimmerman not only exposes the lie behind The New York Times 1619 Project that falsely claims slavery is central to the history of the United States, he also provides profound lessons about the nature of human societies, lessons important for Americans today as well as for all future settlers on Mars and elsewhere in space.
Conscious Choice: The origins of slavery in America and why it matters today and for our future in outer space, is a riveting page-turning story that documents how slavery slowly became pervasive in the southern British colonies of North America, colonies founded by a people and culture that not only did not allow slavery but in every way were hostile to the practice.
Conscious Choice does more however. In telling the tragic history of the Virginia colony and the rise of slavery there, Zimmerman lays out the proper path for creating healthy societies in places like the Moon and Mars.
“Zimmerman’s ground-breaking history provides every future generation the basic framework for establishing new societies on other worlds. We would be wise to heed what he says.” —Robert Zubrin, founder of founder of the Mars Society.
Available everywhere for $3.99 (before discount) at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and all ebook vendors, or direct from the ebook publisher, ebookit. And if you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and I get a bigger cut much sooner.
A new ransomware attack, designed to kidnap your computer and demand money from you before releasing it, has been written entirely in javascript and is thus more dangerous because many email programs, like Gmail, will not block the running of the .js file.
The bottom like is always the same: Don’t run attachments sent to you unexpectedly, even from friends. Check with them to confirm that they meant to send it, and if they don’t confirm, delete it.
I could also label this story as another reason I don’t use gmail, but that really is a different story entirely.
From the press release: In this ground-breaking new history of early America, historian Robert Zimmerman not only exposes the lie behind The New York Times 1619 Project that falsely claims slavery is central to the history of the United States, he also provides profound lessons about the nature of human societies, lessons important for Americans today as well as for all future settlers on Mars and elsewhere in space.
Conscious Choice: The origins of slavery in America and why it matters today and for our future in outer space, is a riveting page-turning story that documents how slavery slowly became pervasive in the southern British colonies of North America, colonies founded by a people and culture that not only did not allow slavery but in every way were hostile to the practice.
Conscious Choice does more however. In telling the tragic history of the Virginia colony and the rise of slavery there, Zimmerman lays out the proper path for creating healthy societies in places like the Moon and Mars.
“Zimmerman’s ground-breaking history provides every future generation the basic framework for establishing new societies on other worlds. We would be wise to heed what he says.” —Robert Zubrin, founder of founder of the Mars Society.
Available everywhere for $3.99 (before discount) at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and all ebook vendors, or direct from the ebook publisher, ebookit. And if you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and I get a bigger cut much sooner.
I thought the JavaScript language does not have access to the files on a computer. There are no file open/read/write/close primitives.
Forget about ransomware, if any JavaScript program can access your files it can steal anything.
Thanks for the tip!!
The computer related blogs lately have been helpful
Stay tuned! I hope to have a regular series of very worthwhile computer tips relating to Linux in the near future.
It is true that javascript cannot access files but maybe the .js file acts as a carrier for something else.
Robert,
I am thinking about buying a @reagan.com email address.
Who do you use for email service?
Gene
I use a forwarding service provided by the professional science journalism trade organization that I belong to. This is not an option for you.
Gene:
What type of email address are you interested? (what features?)
Gmail, Outlook (Microsoft), and a number of other free email providers do scan your email for key-words & targeted adverts.
(These services are “free,” and that is the trade-off.)
The Reagan dot com folks pledge not to scan your email for advertising purposes, and that’s the major feature they offer. They will however, turn your email over to the Feds, if they are required to do so by Law. All providers are subject to that, unless they are off-shore.
I’m not a computer guy, but I notice that Chrome offers the option, under “Content settings”: “Do not allow any site to run JavaScript” (with an option to exclude selected sites).
Would this eliminate the Gmail vulnerability for Chrome users?