DunderMifflin Posted May 13, 2017 Share Posted May 13, 2017 14 hours ago, larrytheimp said: In Airheads Brendan Fraser, Adam Sandler, and Steve Buscemi demand a football helmet filled with cottage cheese as part of the ransom when they hold the radio station hostage. Nice try but nobody watched Airheads, next you'll be claiming something even more ridiculous like nude pics of Bea Arthur Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commodore Posted May 13, 2017 Share Posted May 13, 2017 2 hours ago, Ormond said: Commodore, the fact that these criminals are asking for their ransom in bitcoins has absolutely nothing to say about whether or not bitcoins are the currency of the future. All it shows is that these criminals, like most people who would have the skills to pull this off, are geeky enough to know what bitcoins are. But what makes bitcoins desirable as a ransom payment? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DunderMifflin Posted May 13, 2017 Share Posted May 13, 2017 1 minute ago, Commodore said: But what makes bitcoins desirable as a ransom payment? Harder for aithorities to trace a bitcoin than a dollar? And you don't have meet in a dark alley to exchange a bag of cash? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commodore Posted May 13, 2017 Share Posted May 13, 2017 7 minutes ago, DunderMifflin said: Harder for aithorities to trace a bitcoin than a dollar? And you don't have meet in a dark alley to exchange a bag of cash? Hrmm, I wonder if there are authoritarian countries where the populace might find those features useful. It's not just harder to trace, it's that the transactions are irreversible and the transferred wealth is unseizable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DunderMifflin Posted May 13, 2017 Share Posted May 13, 2017 18 minutes ago, Commodore said: Hrmm, I wonder if there are authoritarian countries where the populace might find those features useful. Some form of virtual currency is the inevitable future, might not be specifically bitcoin. But anybody that invested in bitcoins a few years ago is probably laughing all the way to the.....internet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maarsen Posted May 13, 2017 Share Posted May 13, 2017 2 hours ago, Ser Scot A Ellison said: I just saw an article that said Microsoft sent out a free patch in March that shold have prevented this. Will this not really hurt Tory candidates in the upcoming snap election? Installing a free patch still requires you to actually hire IT staff. Not funding health care is the go to position for aspiring politicians. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrueMetis Posted May 13, 2017 Share Posted May 13, 2017 1 hour ago, Commodore said: Hrmm, I wonder if there are authoritarian countries where the populace might find those features useful. It's not just harder to trace, it's that the transactions are irreversible and the transferred wealth is unseizable. And you think those are advantages of Bitcoin? Those sound like terrible things for a currency. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
all swedes are racist Posted May 13, 2017 Share Posted May 13, 2017 https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/may/13/accidental-hero-finds-kill-switch-to-stop-spread-of-ransomware-cyber-attack haha holy smokes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Altherion Posted May 13, 2017 Share Posted May 13, 2017 3 hours ago, Ser Scot A Ellison said: I just saw an article that said Microsoft sent out a free patch in March that shold have prevented this. Will this not really hurt Tory candidates in the upcoming snap election? To be clear, Microsoft patched supported systems in March. Unless you're paying them a whole lot of money for custom support, this does not include Windows XP. However, this kind of attack is unpleasant enough that today they released a patch for Windows XP, Windows 8 and Windows Server 2003. This is a bit like closing the barn door after the horses have run off except that there might be other malware exploiting the same vulnerability so anyone who still uses these ancient operating systems at work should strongly consider patching. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BloodRider Posted May 13, 2017 Share Posted May 13, 2017 19 hours ago, Commodore said: I remember everyone laughing at bitcoin in this forum a few years ago... Who stopped? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingintheNorth4 Posted May 14, 2017 Share Posted May 14, 2017 Ransomware is a real bitch. I have something very similar that's infected my own laptop, which reminds me, I need to wipe everything off of it to get rid of the virus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iskaral Pust Posted May 15, 2017 Share Posted May 15, 2017 Microsoft used this as an opportunity to remind us that all that people using bootleg copies of Windows won't get the same service on security updates, and that XP is no longer supported (because they want to force you to upgrade). Hardware companies might see an uptick in business as people replace old machines now locked by ransomware. While the makers of Windows and related machines might lose some defectors to Macs, they'll probably net gain from the increased demand for newer OS or replacement machines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrueMetis Posted May 15, 2017 Share Posted May 15, 2017 Windows XP is no longer supported because it's obsolete. While I'm sure Microsoft sees the benefit of people buying a new OS there's only so long you can keep patching an old OS to try and keep up with new hardware and software. Fact is supporting an OS for 13 years after it's release is more than enough and they still released a patch to deal with the ransomware issue. Most copies of Windows XP aren't even 64-bit. Wasting money and people to support it would be stupid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fragile Bird Posted May 15, 2017 Share Posted May 15, 2017 I see the hospitals in Canada got off very lightly. There were some minor effects but no data was lost, no hospitals were shut down. One hospital in Ontario was slightly more affected than others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loge Posted May 15, 2017 Share Posted May 15, 2017 Windows XP came out in 2001, that's 16 years ago. And it hasn't been sold for a decade. Nobody should be running it in 2017. As for forcing people to upgrade, that's actually a good thing for this very reason. They used to do it to sell upgrades, but they're mostly off that business model. It's subscriptions now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archangel Lucifer Posted May 15, 2017 Share Posted May 15, 2017 Does anyone here did cath that virus ? What are the chances are to cath it ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iskaral Pust Posted May 15, 2017 Share Posted May 15, 2017 I wasn't criticizing Microsoft for not supporting ancient XP, just noting their latent frustration that they think pirated Windows exceeds paid Windows installation in the developing economies, and that even in the developed world there are huge numbers of users on obsolete versions. Every time one of these security problems emerges, Microsoft feels like their reputation gets trashed but that it's mainly non-paying "customers" who are affected. Their ratio of reputation damage to revenue compensation is probably the worst in the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loge Posted May 15, 2017 Share Posted May 15, 2017 I don't know what their current stance is but back in the day they sort of encouraged piracy in these counties, or at least turned a blind eye. I think Ballmer once made a statement that he'd rather have people there use pirated copies of Microsoft's software than something else. Maybe the current CEO doesn't share that view or sustaining the Windows/ Office monopoly is less important because the rise of mobile devices sort of broke it anyway, but in that case they pay for the sins of the past. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Altherion Posted May 15, 2017 Share Posted May 15, 2017 Yes, Microsoft would generally prefer that people use pirated Windows than develop their own alternative. Imagine if Russia or China or some other large country decides to officially switch to another operating system (they don't even have to write a new one from scratch, just take a Linux variant and customize it). Suddenly, if any hardware manufacturer wants to sell computers in that country, they have to provide official drivers and software manufacturers have to provide a compatible version of their product. Of course, once the work is done, there is nothing restricting its use to that specific country so the non-Windows alternative can spread. The reputation damage due to unlicensed product is part of the price for being a global monopoly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commodore Posted May 15, 2017 Share Posted May 15, 2017 looks like only around $100k ransom has been paid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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