Malware: New Malware Demands Pay-By-Phone ‘Activation Fee’

"Microsoft may have decided to drop the "kill switch" it developed to penalize Windows Vista users who failed to activate their operating system software, but criminal hackers are taking up the slack. A new Trojan called Backdoor.Win32.Delf.ctk is capable of locking users out of vulnerable systems and demanding a pay-by-phone activation fee.

Victims are presented with the option of sending a text message to an SMS number, billed at a rate of about $10 to $20, or of calling a phone number, billed at about $3 per minute, to obtain a "license code" that will ostensibly unlock their compromised computers." New Malware Demands Pay-By-Phone ‘Activation Fee’ — Security — InformationWeek

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Tagged as: Malware, new malware