Petauke Computer Solutions

Petauke Computer Solutions It is a Sole Trader ICT Company in Petauke Zambia

Nature of Business: Information Technology and Computer Services "Computer Repairs and Hardware Maintenance, Networking etc", Secretarial Services and Stationary

Vision: To Have a Community that can use its
Computers without worrying because it knows it can turn to Petauke Computer Solutions (PCS) to solve any problems it may encounter

Major Markets:
(a) Government Agencies
(b) C

ommercial Organizations
(c) Non Governmental Organisation
(d) Private Persons

Major Business Suppliers: Hardware, Software, and Internet
Providers

Major Competitors:
There are a number of so called Brief
Case Technicians (BCT) in Petauke, Nyimba, katete, Sinda and Chadiza without a proper Education in the Information & Communication Technology field
Since PCS is run by a fully qualified Computer Systems Engineer it will be able to offer mud high quality services

25/08/2021
25/08/2021
31/08/2020

546,914 views|Aug 30, 2020,05:30am EDT
Why You Should Stop Sending Texts From Your Android Messages App
Zak DoffmanContributor
Cybersecurity
I write about security and surveillance.
Close up of man's hand using smartphone in the dark
GETTY
If there’s a glaring issue with a widely used technology now undergoing a major upgrade, you’d think the glaring issue would be fixed. Well, apparently not. If you’re an Android user, then Google either just has or is just about to update your device’s Messages app with its answer to Apple’s brilliant iMessage. Dubbed RCS or Rich Communication Services, this will update your phone’s basic default messenger into a fully-featured chat platform to compete with iMessage as well as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger.

Messaging has become a battlefield, with Apple and Google battling Facebook (both Messenger and WhatsApp) to be the go-to platform on your phone. There are few stickier apps than the one you use to chat with friends, family and colleagues. And as new functionality becomes more commercial—ticketing, coupons, purchases, transfers and ads, this becomes a real money-spinner.

As reported this week, ever more countries are becoming RCS enabled—recent updates have appeared in Argentina, Chile, Denmark, Italy, Norway, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal and Singapore. Although RCS is being deployed by carriers around the world, it is Google driving the rollout—it needs to level the playing field with Apple. RCS is the long-awaited upgrade to the standard SMS capability built into our phones. SMS is a basic tech that’s really best avoided—and unfortunately RCS hasn’t fixed one of its most critical issues.

Putting animated stickers and easy-to-reach GIFs to one side, messaging comes down to a balancing act between functionality, security and install base: The install base across the platforms from BigTech—Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, iMessage and Google Messages is clearly good—albeit Facebook requires an “over-the-top” service, rather than the fallback to network SMS used by Apple and Google. Functionality is good across the board and getting better all the time. But on the security front, there’s still a major difference.

The original and still most universal global messaging platform is SMS—the standard text messenger available on GSM phones. Both Apple and Google use SMS as a fallback for those without iMessage, where Apple is concerned, or without the upgraded chat functions offered by Google, which are built around that new RCS tech. But RCS is not an iMessage equivalent—it’s completely different and has a glaring issue. Android users should turn to WhatsApp or Signal instead of using Android’s Messages app.

When you send an SMS, the data is encrypted between your phone and the cell tower—it can’t easily be intercepted over the air, as such. But that’s simple network security. Once the SMS has disappeared into the network, it is open to interception. And given we text people on different networks and in different countries, your SMS can travel across a hotchpotch of different network servers and systems. You can see the issue. Last year, I reported on a Chinese cyberattack on global carriers pulling SMS from senders and recipients at will.

Back in 2016, WhatsApp fixed this by defaulting to what’s called end-to-end encryption. Many reading this will know exactly what this means—but a surprising number of users are still unaware of the differences. What it means, put simply, is that the message is secured with only the sender and the recipient holding the decryption key. No-one—including the network and WhatsApp—can see what you have sent. iMessage does exactly the same—as long as it’s that blue bubble, once you go green and SMS, then all bets are off.

You can see the issue. Google has decided to adopt an updated SMS architecture, to work with the carriers rather than providing Android with an “over the top” equivalent to iMessage. Your message is encrypted between your phone and Google’s servers, but that message can be decrypted en route—you’re not the only one with the key. And if the message links in with other RCS deployments, then it’s as unsecured as an SMS. You can control when iMessage uses SMS—you don’t have that easy flexibility with Google Messages’ use of RCS. As Google says, “if your chat features are provided by Google, but your recipient’s RCS service is with another provider, your messages are routed through Google’s RCS backend and then routed to your recipient’s RCS backend.”

Last year, Germany’s SRLabs warned that deploying RCS as an SMS upgrade without a new approach to security “exposes most mobile users to hacking.” The researchers warned that the way in which Google and the carriers were deploying RCS would open users to impersonation—mimicking the number and IP address of a device, interception and tracking. RCS provisioning “is badly protected in many networks,” the team said, “allowing hackers to fully take over user accounts.” And Google Messages “does not implement sufficient domain and certificate validation, enabling hackers to intercept and manipulate communication through a DNS spoofing attack.”

I asked Google whether it has addressed any of the security issues raised by SRLabs—there has been no response as yet.

The technical details don’t especially matter here. The fact is that either your messages are end-to-end encrypted or they’re not. And while you probably think that most of your messages don’t warrant security, we all send financial details, contact details and other sensitive information over messengers. We use messengers to chat with work colleagues. We expect they’re secure from prying eyes.

As Google explains, its security focuses on the connection between you and Google, not what happens after that: “Chat features by Google uses Transport Layer Security (TLS) encryption to protect your messages. This means that anyone trying to intercept messages between you and Google would only be able to see encrypted, unreadable text… RCS is an industry standard for operator messaging. This means that messaging apps that support RCS standard, like Samsung Messages, may connect to chat features by Google.”

Facebook and WhatsApp have both warned that end-to-end encryption is a necessary security measure to stop content “falling into the wrong hands,” Facebook even advocates the secret messages feature in its own Messenger to “mitigate the compromise of server and networking infrastructure used by Messenger—Facebook’s included.” Messenger isn’t end-to-end encrypted by default, and users should switch to WhatsApp. RCS is even worse—at least Facebook is a single provider and doesn’t push content outside its own control.

Google is reportedly developing an end-to-end encryption upgrade for its RCS deployment—and when that’s done, this advice will change and Android users will have an iMessage alternative. Until then, though, I strongly advise you to ensure your go-to messenger is fully encrypted. WhatsApp is likely your best option—it’s ubiquitous and has all the features you need. It’s also due a bunch of feature upgrades, including multiple linked devices, which will make it even better. But if you balk at the idea of Facebook accessing your data—albeit I’m not sure Google is a much better option—then go for Signal, the all round best messenger available today.

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Zak Doffman
I am the Founder/CEO of Digital Barriers—developing advanced surveillance solutions for defence, national security and counter-terrorism. I write about the intersection…Read More
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04/01/2014

Elite Hacker Barnaby Jack 'overdosed on drugs'
Barnaby Jack
Barnaby Jack rose to fame after demonstrating how to hack a cashpoint
Continue reading the main story
Related Stories

Elite hacker dies ahead of event
Fears over future medical hacks
Warnings on medical implant hacks
A world-renowned hacker, who died in San Francisco in July, overdosed on a mix of he**in, co***ne and other drugs, a coroner's report shows.

New Zealand-born Barnaby Jack was found dead in his bed a week before he was scheduled to give a talk at an event.

An autopsy revealed that "acute mixed drug intoxication" led to his death, San Francisco's medical examiner said.

Mr Jack rose to fame after a 2010 demonstration, in which he hacked a cash machine, making it give out money.

The technique was dubbed "Jackpotting".

He had also emerged as a leading expert in the weaknesses that could be found in medical technology.

'No visible trauma'
In July, the medical examiner had provided no further details into what may have caused the hacker's sudden death.

But the autopsy report has now been made available and says Mr Jack had shown "no visible or palpable evidence of trauma".

Instead, his physical symptoms indicated an accidental overdose of he**in, co***ne, and prescription drugs.

The report said Mr Jack's girlfriend had found him lying in bed unresponsive, with "multiple bottles of beer and champagne in the garbage can".

Mr Jack's death occurred shortly before he was due to demonstrate how heart implants could be hacked at the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas.

He had said one technique could kill a man from 30 feet (nine metres) away.

Last year, he told the BBC about how he had discovered flaws in widely-used insulin pumps which allowed him to compromise the devices.

The hack made it possible to control them and administer a fatal level of insulin, Mr Jack said.

"My purpose was not to allow anyone to be harmed by this because it is not easy to reproduce," he told the BBC during an interview in April 2012.

"But hopefully it will promote some change in these companies and get some meaningful security in these devices."

Mr Jack's expertise and vivid demonstrations of his knowledge at events like Black Hat earned him the respect of many security professionals.Elite Hacker Barnaby Jack 'overdosed on drugs'
Barnaby Jack
Barnaby Jack rose to fame after demonstrating how to hack a cashpoint
Continue reading the main story
Related Stories

Elite hacker dies ahead of event
Fears over future medical hacks
Warnings on medical implant hacks
A world-renowned hacker, who died in San Francisco in July, overdosed on a mix of he**in, co***ne and other drugs, a coroner's report shows.

New Zealand-born Barnaby Jack was found dead in his bed a week before he was scheduled to give a talk at an event.

An autopsy revealed that "acute mixed drug intoxication" led to his death, San Francisco's medical examiner said.

Mr Jack rose to fame after a 2010 demonstration, in which he hacked a cash machine, making it give out money.

The technique was dubbed "Jackpotting".

He had also emerged as a leading expert in the weaknesses that could be found in medical technology.

'No visible trauma'
In July, the medical examiner had provided no further details into what may have caused the hacker's sudden death.

But the autopsy report has now been made available and says Mr Jack had shown "no visible or palpable evidence of trauma".

Instead, his physical symptoms indicated an accidental overdose of he**in, co***ne, and prescription drugs.

The report said Mr Jack's girlfriend had found him lying in bed unresponsive, with "multiple bottles of beer and champagne in the garbage can".

Mr Jack's death occurred shortly before he was due to demonstrate how heart implants could be hacked at the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas.

He had said one technique could kill a man from 30 feet (nine metres) away.

Last year, he told the BBC about how he had discovered flaws in widely-used insulin pumps which allowed him to compromise the devices.

The hack made it possible to control them and administer a fatal level of insulin, Mr Jack said.

"My purpose was not to allow anyone to be harmed by this because it is not easy to reproduce," he told the BBC during an interview in April 2012.

"But hopefully it will promote some change in these companies and get some meaningful security in these devices."

Mr Jack's expertise and vivid demonstrations of his knowledge at events like Black Hat earned him the respect of many security professionals.Elite Hacker Barnaby Jack 'overdosed on drugs'
Barnaby Jack
Barnaby Jack rose to fame after demonstrating how to hack a cashpoint
Continue reading the main story
Related Stories

Elite hacker dies ahead of event
Fears over future medical hacks
Warnings on medical implant hacks
A world-renowned hacker, who died in San Francisco in July, overdosed on a mix of he**in, co***ne and other drugs, a coroner's report shows.

New Zealand-born Barnaby Jack was found dead in his bed a week before he was scheduled to give a talk at an event.

An autopsy revealed that "acute mixed drug intoxication" led to his death, San Francisco's medical examiner said.

Mr Jack rose to fame after a 2010 demonstration, in which he hacked a cash machine, making it give out money.

The technique was dubbed "Jackpotting".

He had also emerged as a leading expert in the weaknesses that could be found in medical technology.

'No visible trauma'
In July, the medical examiner had provided no further details into what may have caused the hacker's sudden death.

But the autopsy report has now been made available and says Mr Jack had shown "no visible or palpable evidence of trauma".

Instead, his physical symptoms indicated an accidental overdose of he**in, co***ne, and prescription drugs.

The report said Mr Jack's girlfriend had found him lying in bed unresponsive, with "multiple bottles of beer and champagne in the garbage can".

Mr Jack's death occurred shortly before he was due to demonstrate how heart implants could be hacked at the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas.

He had said one technique could kill a man from 30 feet (nine metres) away.

Last year, he told the BBC about how he had discovered flaws in widely-used insulin pumps which allowed him to compromise the devices.

The hack made it possible to control them and administer a fatal level of insulin, Mr Jack said.

"My purpose was not to allow anyone to be harmed by this because it is not easy to reproduce," he told the BBC during an interview in April 2012.

"But hopefully it will promote some change in these companies and get some meaningful security in these devices."

Mr Jack's expertise and vivid demonstrations of his knowledge at events like Black Hat earned him the respect of many security professionals.Elite Hacker Barnaby Jack 'overdosed on drugs'
Barnaby Jack
Barnaby Jack rose to fame after demonstrating how to hack a cashpoint
Continue reading the main story
Related Stories

Elite hacker dies ahead of event
Fears over future medical hacks
Warnings on medical implant hacks
A world-renowned hacker, who died in San Francisco in July, overdosed on a mix of he**in, co***ne and other drugs, a coroner's report shows.

New Zealand-born Barnaby Jack was found dead in his bed a week before he was scheduled to give a talk at an event.

An autopsy revealed that "acute mixed drug intoxication" led to his death, San Francisco's medical examiner said.

Mr Jack rose to fame after a 2010 demonstration, in which he hacked a cash machine, making it give out money.

The technique was dubbed "Jackpotting".

He had also emerged as a leading expert in the weaknesses that could be found in medical technology.

'No visible trauma'
In July, the medical examiner had provided no further details into what may have caused the hacker's sudden death.

But the autopsy report has now been made available and says Mr Jack had shown "no visible or palpable evidence of trauma".

Instead, his physical symptoms indicated an accidental overdose of he**in, co***ne, and prescription drugs.

The report said Mr Jack's girlfriend had found him lying in bed unresponsive, with "multiple bottles of beer and champagne in the garbage can".

Mr Jack's death occurred shortly before he was due to demonstrate how heart implants could be hacked at the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas.

He had said one technique could kill a man from 30 feet (nine metres) away.

Last year, he told the BBC about how he had discovered flaws in widely-used insulin pumps which allowed him to compromise the devices.

The hack made it possible to control them and administer a fatal level of insulin, Mr Jack said.

"My purpose was not to allow anyone to be harmed by this because it is not easy to reproduce," he told the BBC during an interview in April 2012.

"But hopefully it will promote some change in these companies and get some meaningful security in these devices."

Mr Jack's expertise and vivid demonstrations of his knowledge at events like Black Hat earned him the respect of many security professionals.Elite Hacker Barnaby Jack 'overdosed on drugs'
Barnaby Jack
Barnaby Jack rose to fame after demonstrating how to hack a cashpoint
Continue reading the main story
Related Stories

Elite hacker dies ahead of event
Fears over future medical hacks
Warnings on medical implant hacks
A world-renowned hacker, who died in San Francisco in July, overdosed on a mix of he**in, co***ne and other drugs, a coroner's report shows.

New Zealand-born Barnaby Jack was found dead in his bed a week before he was scheduled to give a talk at an event.

An autopsy revealed that "acute mixed drug intoxication" led to his death, San Francisco's medical examiner said.

Mr Jack rose to fame after a 2010 demonstration, in which he hacked a cash machine, making it give out money.

The technique was dubbed "Jackpotting".

He had also emerged as a leading expert in the weaknesses that could be found in medical technology.

'No visible trauma'
In July, the medical examiner had provided no further details into what may have caused the hacker's sudden death.

But the autopsy report has now been made available and says Mr Jack had shown "no visible or palpable evidence of trauma".

Instead, his physical symptoms indicated an accidental overdose of he**in, co***ne, and prescription drugs.

The report said Mr Jack's girlfriend had found him lying in bed unresponsive, with "multiple bottles of beer and champagne in the garbage can".

Mr Jack's death occurred shortly before he was due to demonstrate how heart implants could be hacked at the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas.

He had said one technique could kill a man from 30 feet (nine metres) away.

Last year, he told the BBC about how he had discovered flaws in widely-used insulin pumps which allowed him to compromise the devices.

The hack made it possible to control them and administer a fatal level of insulin, Mr Jack said.

"My purpose was not to allow anyone to be harmed by this because it is not easy to reproduce," he told the BBC during an interview in April 2012.

"But hopefully it will promote some change in these companies and get some meaningful security in these devices."

Mr Jack's expertise and vivid demonstrations of his knowledge at events like Black Hat earned him the respect of many security professionals.Elite Hacker Barnaby Jack 'overdosed on drugs'
Barnaby Jack
Barnaby Jack rose to fame after demonstrating how to hack a cashpoint
Continue reading the main story
Related Stories

Elite hacker dies ahead of event
Fears over future medical hacks
Warnings on medical implant hacks
A world-renowned hacker, who died in San Francisco in July, overdosed on a mix of he**in, co***ne and other drugs, a coroner's report shows.

New Zealand-born Barnaby Jack was found dead in his bed a week before he was scheduled to give a talk at an event.

An autopsy revealed that "acute mixed drug intoxication" led to his death, San Francisco's medical examiner said.

Mr Jack rose to fame after a 2010 demonstration, in which he hacked a cash machine, making it give out money.

The technique was dubbed "Jackpotting".

He had also emerged as a leading expert in the weaknesses that could be found in medical technology.

'No visible trauma'
In July, the medical examiner had provided no further details into what may have caused the hacker's sudden death.

But the autopsy report has now been made available and says Mr Jack had shown "no visible or palpable evidence of trauma".

Instead, his physical symptoms indicated an accidental overdose of he**in, co***ne, and prescription drugs.

The report said Mr Jack's girlfriend had found him lying in bed unresponsive, with "multiple bottles of beer and champagne in the garbage can".

Mr Jack's death occurred shortly before he was due to demonstrate how heart implants could be hacked at the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas.

He had said one technique could kill a man from 30 feet (nine metres) away.

Last year, he told the BBC about how he had discovered flaws in widely-used insulin pumps which allowed him to compromise the devices.

The hack made it possible to control them and administer a fatal level of insulin, Mr Jack said.

"My purpose was not to allow anyone to be harmed by this because it is not easy to reproduce," he told the BBC during an interview in April 2012.

"But hopefully it will promote some change in these companies and get some meaningful security in these devices."

Mr Jack's expertise and vivid demonstrations of his knowledge at events like Black Hat earned him the respect of many security professionals.Elite Hacker Barnaby Jack 'overdosed on drugs'
Barnaby Jack
Barnaby Jack rose to fame after demonstrating how to hack a cashpoint
Continue reading the main story
Related Stories

Elite hacker dies ahead of event
Fears over future medical hacks
Warnings on medical implant hacks
A world-renowned hacker, who died in San Francisco in July, overdosed on a mix of he**in, co***ne and other drugs, a coroner's report shows.

New Zealand-born Barnaby Jack was found dead in his bed a week before he was scheduled to give a talk at an event.

An autopsy revealed that "acute mixed drug intoxication" led to his death, San Francisco's medical examiner said.

Mr Jack rose to fame after a 2010 demonstration, in which he hacked a cash machine, making it give out money.

The technique was dubbed "Jackpotting".

He had also emerged as a leading expert in the weaknesses that could be found in medical technology.

'No visible trauma'
In July, the medical examiner had provided no further details into what may have caused the hacker's sudden death.

But the autopsy report has now been made available and says Mr Jack had shown "no visible or palpable evidence of trauma".

Instead, his physical symptoms indicated an accidental overdose of he**in, co***ne, and prescription drugs.

The report said Mr Jack's girlfriend had found him lying in bed unresponsive, with "multiple bottles of beer and champagne in the garbage can".

Mr Jack's death occurred shortly before he was due to demonstrate how heart implants could be hacked at the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas.

He had said one technique could kill a man from 30 feet (nine metres) away.

Last year, he told the BBC about how he had discovered flaws in widely-used insulin pumps which allowed him to compromise the devices.

The hack made it possible to control them and administer a fatal level of insulin, Mr Jack said.

"My purpose was not to allow anyone to be harmed by this because it is not easy to reproduce," he told the BBC during an interview in April 2012.

"But hopefully it will promote some change in these companies and get some meaningful security in these devices."

Mr Jack's expertise and vivid demonstrations of his knowledge at events like Black Hat earned him the respect of many security professionals.Elite Hacker Barnaby Jack 'overdosed on drugs'
Barnaby Jack
Barnaby Jack rose to fame after demonstrating how to hack a cashpoint
Continue reading the main story
Related Stories

Elite hacker dies ahead of event
Fears over future medical hacks
Warnings on medical implant hacks
A world-renowned hacker, who died in San Francisco in July, overdosed on a mix of he**in, co***ne and other drugs, a coroner's report shows.

New Zealand-born Barnaby Jack was found dead in his bed a week before he was scheduled to give a talk at an event.

An autopsy revealed that "acute mixed drug intoxication" led to his death, San Francisco's medical examiner said.

Mr Jack rose to fame after a 2010 demonstration, in which he hacked a cash machine, making it give out money.

The technique was dubbed "Jackpotting".

He had also emerged as a leading expert in the weaknesses that could be found in medical technology.

'No visible trauma'
In July, the medical examiner had provided no further details into what may have caused the hacker's sudden death.

But the autopsy report has now been made available and says Mr Jack had shown "no visible or palpable evidence of trauma".

Instead, his physical symptoms indicated an accidental overdose of he**in, co***ne, and prescription drugs.

The report said Mr Jack's girlfriend had found him lying in bed unresponsive, with "multiple bottles of beer and champagne in the garbage can".

Mr Jack's death occurred shortly before he was due to demonstrate how heart implants could be hacked at the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas.

He had said one technique could kill a man from 30 feet (nine metres) away.

Last year, he told the BBC about how he had discovered flaws in widely-used insulin pumps which allowed him to compromise the devices.

The hack made it possible to control them and administer a fatal level of insulin, Mr Jack said.

"My purpose was not to allow anyone to be harmed by this because it is not easy to reproduce," he told the BBC during an interview in April 2012.

"But hopefully it will promote some change in these companies and get some meaningful security in these devices."

Mr Jack's expertise and vivid demonstrations of his knowledge at events like Black Hat earned him the respect of many security professionals.

25/12/2013

Cryptolocker ransomware has 'infected about 250,000 PCs'
By Leo Kelion
Technology reporter
Cryptolocker
Infected victims are given a time limit to release their data before they lose it forever
Continue reading the main story
Related Stories

Copycat ransomware racks up victims
Crooks 'seek ransomware making kit'
Police warn of 'ransom' spam
A virulent form of ransomware has now infected about quarter of a million Windows computers, according to a report by security researchers.

Cryptolocker scrambles users' data and then demands a fee to unencrypt it alongside a countdown clock.

Dell Secureworks said that the US and UK had been worst affected.

It added that the cyber-criminals responsible were now targeting home internet users after initially focusing on professionals.

The firm has provided a list of net domains that it suspects have been used to spread the code, but warned that more are being generated every day.

Ransomware has existed since at least 1989, but this latest example is particularly problematic because of the way it makes files inaccessible.

"Instead of using a custom cryptographic implementation like many other malware families, Cryptolocker uses strong third-party certified cryptography offered by Microsoft's CryptoAPI," said the report.

"By using a sound implementation and following best practices, the malware authors have created a robust program that is difficult to circumvent."

Ransom dilemma
The first versions of Crytpolocker appear to have been posted to the net on 5 September.

Early examples were spread via spam emails that asked the user to click on a Zip-archived extension identified as being a customer complaint about the recipient's organisation.

Later it was distributed via malware attached to emails claiming there had been a problem clearing a cheque. Clicking the associated link downloaded a Trojan horse called Gameover Zeus, which in turn installed Cryptolocker onto the victim's PC.

By mid-December, Dell Secureworks said between 200,000 to 250,000 computers had been infected.

It said of those affected, "a minimum of 0.4%, and very likely many times that" had agreed to the ransom demand, which can currently only be paid in the virtual currencies Bitcoin and MoneyPak.

Top 10 infected countries Number of infected systems identified using test "sinkhole" servers between 9-16 December Percentage of total
SOURCE: DELL SECUREWORKS
US 1,540 23.8%
Great Britain 1,228 19.0%
Australia 836 12.9%
France 372 5.8%
Brazil 309 4.8%
Italy 204 3.2%
Turkey 182 2.8%
Spain 145 2.2%
China 138 2.1%
Canada 135 2.1%

"Anecdotal reports from victims who elected to pay the ransom indicate that the Cryptolocker threat actors honour payments by instructing infected computers to decrypt files and uninstall the malware," added the security firm.

"According to reports from victims, payments may be accepted within minutes or may take several weeks to process."

However, Trend Micro, another security firm, has warned that giving into the blackmail request only encouraged the further spread of Cryptolocker and other copycat schemes, and said that there was no guarantee of getting the data back.

Safety steps
Dell suggested PCs be blocked from communicating with the hundreds of domains names it had flagged as being linked to the spread of Cryptolocker, and it suggested five further steps the public and businesses could take to protect themselves:

Install software that blocks executable fields and compressed archives before they reach email inboxes
Check permissions assigned to shared network drives to limit the number of people who can make modifications
Regularly back-up data to offline storage such as Blu-ray and DVD-Rom disks. Network-attached drives and cloud storage does not count as Cryptolocker can access and encrypt files stored there
Set each PC's software management tools to prevent Cryptolocker and other suspect programs from accessing certain critical directories
Set the computer's Group Policy Objects to restrict registry keys - databases containing settings - used by Cryptolocker so that the malware is unable to begin the encryption process

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