Our IT partner has just cautioned us about a new piece of malware that is circulating the web. It seems to be linked to news articles pertaining to Osama Bin Laden’s death. Malware creators are fabricating fake news stories and then poisoning the links and photos; if you click on one of these links, it begins the process of introducing an infection to your computer.
Please advise your staff to be cautious when browsing the internet and opening articles that are not directly put out by reputable sources. So far, we have heard only of Windows computers being affected, and not Macs, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Windows Users: If you do happen to get a pop-up on your computer, DO NOT CLICK ANYTHING ON THE POP-UP. With these pop-ups, “‘Yes,” “Close,” “Cancel” and “X” all mean “Yes, please infect my computer.” In order to properly close the pop-up while MINIMIZING the chance of infection, do the following: 1) Click Control-Alt-Delete 2) Click Task Manager 3) Go to the Applications tab 4) Right-click on any open internet browser in the list and choose “End Task.”
Mac Users: If you do happen to get a pop-up on your computer, it’s best practice to simply Force-Quit the browser. As with the Windows users, it’s best to NOT CLICK ANYTHING ON THE POP-UP. In order to properly close the pop-up while MINIMIZING the chance of infection, do the following: 1) Click the Apple Menu 2) Click Force Quit 3) Select your browser from the Force Quit Applications window 4) Click the Force Quit button.