Malwarebytes Anti-Ransomware is specifically focussed upon mitigation of ransomware such as CryptoLocker, CryptoWall, CTBLocker and Tesla. The module is in world-wide beta and can be downloaded from here . This module will be merged into Anti-Malware shortly for FREE.
I tested Malwarebytes Anti-Ransomware on Feb 3rd, and it easily quarantined this Australia Post ransomware variant by it’s behaviour, without ‘signatures’.
The image above is a typical, current, fake email purporting to be from Australia Post.
Tips for detecting fake Australia Post or other emails
The tips below have been created from inspecting the latest Australia Post fake emails, which deliver a new variant of ransomware. Computer users should be vigilant and do the following when reading emails or viewing websites:
1. Look for bad grammar and wrong colloquialisms 2. Do a view source in email for unusual originators i.e. TR (Turkey) RU (Russia) 3. Mouse-over links for suspect destinations i.e. RU 4. Don’t accept downloads/zip files from unknown sites i.e. Yandex.com (Russian Google) 5. Set Explorer to show extensions, as the executable cunningly has a PDF icon 6. Don’t accept prompt “.. allow the following program .. to make changes”
Feel free to share the above, but please give attribution to Andrew Probert, Trusted Solutions, if you re-post.
Note: there are many other overlapping protections such as anti-spam; outbound connection inspection; anti-virus etc. This particular malware delivery technique is simple and simple to block, but the payload is sophisticated and could be delivered by other means, hence the need for end-point protection.
What is ransomware? This article “” provides a well written description.
Do a business impact assessment to understand and put a dollar value on the maximal harm which could arise from this and other events.
Do a business continuity plan, to determine how you can operate in case of an extended computer outage, or in fact any other business disruptions. Some companies know that a significantly extended outage may put them out of business!
Plan to mitigate your risks to acceptable levels; including the investments to make.
Adequate backups of data are a fundamental hygiene for any computer operations disaster recovery (DR) event.
Research and invest in overlapping/complementary technologies to mitigate* exploits and malware infection.
We know Malwarebytes , Anti-Malware and Anti-Exploit will mitigate your risks, and provide cost-effective cleanup of computers. Read more about this in the