The following is courtesy of Doug Grabowski at the Grabowski Group (edited and updated November 2016)
I try to not do out-of-cycle updates, but wanted to make you aware of a dangerous new virus making the rounds called Cryptolocker. It’s a new breed of malware that is called ransomware: it will infect your computer and one-way encrypt all of your vital documents (Word, Excel, PDF, email, photos, images, etc.) on your computer AND all connected network drives(!). It’s very nasty, and you will be held ransom for a $100 or $300 payment. It’s spreading very quickly as a customer service email with ZIP or EXE attachment from UPS, FedEx, or from a major bank.
DO NOT OPEN ANY ATTACHMENTS from untrusted sources. These aren’t PDF attachments, they’re not PDF they are the virus.
Not trying to scare anyone, but we’ve had a couple infected clients and it’s not a fun event to restore everything from backup, and wanted to share the warning.
My advice: do not open any attachments. Check your backups. Have your IT staff / provider check out reputable sources (such as the information at: Bleeping Computer – Cryptolocker) for prevention and removal information.
Again, please be careful. And be sure to get it addressed by your technology team.
Douglas R. Grabowski, Jr. is Managing Partner of Grabowski Group, Inc., a strategic technology advisory firm, with offices in Connecticut, NYC, and Florida, that develops and delivers services to improve the way businesses use technology to achieve strategic, operational, and financial goals. He can be reached at doug@grabowskigroup.com.