It happened to me a few
months ago. I turned on my computer and a bright colourful screen appeared. It
had the Gárda Síochána's logo on top and on the left there was a headline: Your
computer is locked.
I couldn't move beyond
this screen. To say that I was annoyed would be an understatement. Having your
computer locked so that you could not access any files or programs is, in my
line of business, a disaster.
At the time I wasn't
sure if this was a scam or not. The Gárda logo looked like the real thing. What
was written on the page sounded genuine. It stated that I was in breach of the Information
Security and Control Act (ISCA) 2012. I'd never heard of this law, but then
I'm not a lawyer.
The message on the
screen did not say exactly what crime I had committed but it did say that I had
broken at least one of the activities prohibited by ISCA 2012. It listed these
activities. The list included breach of copyright... downloading pirated music
and videos... viewing and disseminating child pornography... visiting banned
websites etc. I'd never heard of a banned website.
The screen also showed
the fines and jail terms I receive if were to be convicted of any of the
prohibited activities. It all seemed very convincing.
The eerie thing was that
my webcam came on and I could see myself in a little monitoring box up towards
the top of the page. There was also a little block underneath showing my IP
address and my location. All this reinforced a sense that I was being monitored
closely... shades of prism!
Payment by Ukash
The message said that
legal action against me was pending and that in the meantime my computer would
remain locked. But then it stated that I could, however, pay a fine instead and
my computer would be unlocked.
They even specified the
method of payment (and not at a court as you would expect). I was expected to
pay by Ukash.
Ukash is
e-money, electronic money, cash you spend online. It's available in hundreds of
thousands of outlets all over the world. In Ireland, you can buy Ukash using
PostPoint, PayPoint or Payzone outlets which you find in shops, such as
newsagents, small grocery shops and petrol stations.
When you buy Ukash and
pay with regular cash, you receive a 19-digit Ukash code. The message on the
screen told me to enter the code on the screen, press submit, and my computer
would be released.
The message further
stated that, if the Ukash was not paid within a few days, I would be receiving
a summons from the criminal courts.
I didn't fall for it. I
just did not believe that the Gardaí would expect payment using Ukash. In
Ireland, I think, fines can only be paid in court or to a specific Gárda
station.
But I know some people
who have bought Ukash and submitted the Ukash code. Nothing happened. Their
computers remained frozen. They were conned.
Having your computer
locked and seeing this threatening screen can be quite upsetting. You can't do
any work and the threat of legal action is certainly not pleasant. So what do
you do?
Well, I was lucky. I
work for a computer maintenance company and so I was able to get great advice.
Here's what I did
I performed a System
Restore. This means that I took my computer back in time, ie I returned it
to the state it was in before it got infected. Doing this is quite easy. Just
follow these steps while I walk you through:
(1) Turn off your
computer and start it up again.
(2) As it starts up, press
the key F8 rapidly until the Advanced Options menu shows on your screen
(3) Select Safe
mode with Command Prompt from the menu
(4) When the command
prompt screen appears you'll see the following: c:Windowssystem32>
(5) Type 'cd restore'
(without the quotation marks) so that you get: c:Windowssystem32>cd restore
(6) Press ENTER
(7) Now type
'rstrui.exe', so that you get: c:Windowssystem32cd restore>rstrui.exe
(8) Press ENTER
(9) The System Restore
screen will appear
(10) Click on NEXT
(11) Select an available
restore point, making sure it is before the time and date when you could have
been infected by the Ukash virus
(12) Click NEXT again
(13) A warning screen
will appear stating that 'Once started, System Restore cannot be interrupted.
Do you want to continue?'
(14) Click YES.
Your computer should now
open OK, with everything as it was before it became infected with the Ukash
virus. You should now scan your PC or laptop with your anti-virus software to
eliminate all the files relating to the Ukash virus.
This method can be used
for most common Windows operating systems, including XP, Vista, Windows 7 and
Windows 8. The great thing about it is that it leaves all your files and
programs intact except for any programs and drivers you installed after the
date you go back to.
Other solutions
There are other ways you
can get rid of the Ukash virus yourself.
For example, you could
restart your computer as detailed in steps (1) and (2) above. When the Advanced
Options menu appears, select Safe mode with Networking and
press ENTER. If you are lucky, you will be able to open your computer in safe
mode.
Open up your anti-virus
software and update it. Then start a full system scan and remove all the
entries that it detects. If you don't have anti-virus software installed
download the free version of AVG 2013 from http://www.avg.com and
do a full system scan to get rid of the virus.
The problem is that the
Ukash virus often prevents your computer from starting in safe mode.
There are several other
ways of getting rid of the Ukash virus manually. However, the step-by-step
version I outlined above is probably the easiest to follow. In fact, several
friends who know little about computers have managed to follow these steps
easily and have successfully rid themselves of the Ukash virus.
If you feel that you
cannot do it manually on your own, you have two other options.
Getting expert help
Firstly you can take
your PC or laptop down to your nearest computer repair shop. It will probably
take about a day to have it done and the cost is likely to be €100 or more. In
addition, you'll have the hassle of unplugging it, humping it down to the
repair shop and back, and then setting it all up again.
A much more cost
effective solution is to use a remote technician to guide you through the steps
you need to follow using the telephone. The cost for this should be no more
than €25 for a complete fix, no matter how long it takes, and your telephone
call should be free. Of course you'll have to do the work at your computer, but
that's easy with expert advice from an expert technician, who's been there and
done that a thousand times over, telling you exactly what to do step-by-step.
I don't know how I got
infected with the Ukash virus but it caused me to lose most of a day's work. I
probably clicked on something. The best thing to do is to avoid getting it in
the first place, so be cautious when visiting sites and downloading stuff.
Paul Kennedy is
the marketing manager of Jupiter Support (Ireland). He can be
contacted by email to paul@jupitersupport.ie. You can also go to jupitersupport.ie where
you can use chat or Skype to talk with a technician free of charge.
Alternatively you can call 0766803006 to chat to a technician.
Jupiter Support only charges a fixed fee of €19.99 to rid your
computer of any and all viruses on a no-fix/no-fee basis.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Paul_D_Kennedy
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/8001061
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