New scam detected by F-Secure

[Kari]

F-Secure announced today they have detected a new type of scam, which mistakenly leads user to believe Windows has activation problems. Windows seems to require re-activation.

The trojan claims that "you should complete activation" and provides several phones numbers. While these numbers may look like generic service numbers, they aren't. They go to various countries ("00" is the prefix for international dialing). The countries are: São Tomé and Principe (239), Denmark (45), Madagascar (261) and Globalstar Mobile Satellite Service (8819).

Full story: Video - "Windows Activation" Ransom Trojan - F-Secure Weblog : News from the Lab



Kari

 

[Golden]

Good find Kari.

Tip : look at the spelling of the "license" in the image. It's a the classic grammatical error that should raise alarm bells.

The term license is a verb : as in "....our software is licensed using a dongle...."

The term licence is a noun : as in "....our software uses a dongle licence to......"

Strictly speaking, it should have stated "Windows licence locked!"

 

[fafhrd]

The video mentions that the "unlock code" works, and is always the same - it is not unique for each infection. So there's no need to telephone if hit.

The code is :

1351236

Better tell Microsoft they have spelt it wrong then, Golden:

Good find Kari.

Tip : look at the spelling of the "license" in the image. It's a the classic grammatical error that should raise alarm bells.

The term license is a verb : as in "....our software is licensed using a dongle...."

The term licence is a noun : as in "....our software uses a dongle licence to......"

Strictly speaking, it should have stated "Windows licence locked!"

They always use License (n.) they also use Licence for certain documents intended for the UK audience.

Generally Microsoft Use "License, Licensed, Licensing" etc. in both noun and verb forms, since they are a US company and that is how it is spelt in the USA

In Australia, the equivalent term is something like "Fair Dinkum" meaning true, or genuine, I believe.

 

[Kari]

That's also told in the article. The unlock code seems always to be the same, which is quite understandable.

 

[malexous]

I always thought licence was the British spelling and license was the American spelling.

According to Google results, licence is a noun and license is a verb in British English and in American English, license is both.

 

[SIW2]

American spelling

There's an oxymoron in the modern sense.

 

[rbeldua]

well..how ever they spelled it, they always asked consumers to pay for it...doesnt it?

anyway..thanks for the info kari..this really alerts my attention..a friend of mine was actually hit with these virus..ive seen it, it was actually a wallpaper sort with writings about sending money etc etc..i couldnt open every program..in my frustration, as always the last option is to reformat the hardrive...which wipes everything..

 

[Archmage]

But this can cause havoc to those that don´t have english as his primary language.

 

[rbeldua]

But this can cause havoc to those that don´t have english as his primary language.

lmao.........oh man you made my day.......:roflmao:

 

[Kari]

But this can cause havoc to those that don´t have english as his primary language.

lmao.........oh man you made my day.......:roflmao:

This just shows how stupid I am: I fail to see fun in this.

This is a serious threat, and I agree with Archmage said. This is quite depressing and sad news, unfortunately some users are going to fall in this trap.

Kari

 

[Archmage]

lol

What I mean is... to the ones that speak and read only brazilian portuguese (an example, using my language)... don´t matter if it´s spelled Licence, or License... everyone will hit the "Oh-my-God-I-got-a-virus" button or link... and so, the malware spreads...

Kari hit the point in what I´m saying. Sometimes, people here fall in these little nasty traps even in our language (and badly misspelled, by the way). It´s a pity, but it is good to see that Security enterprises are doing the best to help us.

 

[rbeldua]

my apology kari...NO fun intended...

 

[Golden]

Better tell Microsoft they have spelt it wrong then, Golden:

They always use License (n.)

Do they? I think malexeous is on the money.

Microsoft UK Education - Software Licensing - Who Can Buy Education Licences?

 

[fafhrd]

They always use license (n.)

You are quite right, Microsoft seems to use the British English spellchecker for UK documents - about 127,000 if I am to believe Google if I search

licence site:microsoft.com.

Post #3 corrected