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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.
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Source by Paul D Kennedy