GoldenEye Ransomware alert. You are safe with Bitdefender.

Massive GoldenEye / Petya ransomware attack is currently unfolding worldwide.

Do not worry,
with Bitdefender you are safe.

Bitdefender has identified a massive ransomware attack triggered by a version of the GoldenEye or Petya ransomware that is currently claiming victims across the world. Unlike other families of ransomware, GoldenEye does not encrypt individual files, but rather the entire hard disk drive. It then reboots it to prevent the user from accessing that information. When the encryption process is complete, GoldenEye forcefully crashes the computer and asks for $300 as ransom.

Our initial investigation reveals that it spreads automatically from one computer to another using multiple vulnerabilities in the operating system, including the EternalBlue exploit that grabbed the headlines during the #WannaCry attack.

We're writing you to let you know that you are safe and Bitdefender blocks the currently known samples of the new GoldenEye variant.
If you want to know more about this, we're tweeting live as the investigation unfolds on @Bitdefenderlabs.

Stay safe, you deserve it!
The Bitdefender Team

 

If you think you are vulnerable then apply the patch described here: "By creating a read-only file - named perfc - and placing it within a computer's "C:\Windows" folder, the attack will be stopped in its tracks."

John

 

Actually it's been found to need 3 files, perfc perfc.dat and perfc.dll

Tracking Petya and "vaccine" and info here:

New Cyberattack Spreads From Russia to the United States

Although the killswitches are nice, it's better to patch your OS

Microsoft Windows Patches - MS17-010 for full protection.

 

Bitcoin has been used as ransom payment.

Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency and a digital payment system [13]:3 invented by an unknown programmer, or a group of programmers, under the name Satoshi Nakamoto. [14] It was released as open-source software in 2009. [15]

The system is peer-to-peer, and transactions take place between users directly, without an intermediary. [13]:4 These transactions are verified by network nodes and recorded in a public distributed ledger called a blockchain. Since the system works without a central repository or single administrator, bitcoin is called the first decentralized digital currency. [13]:1 [16]

Besides being created as a reward for mining, bitcoin can be exchanged for other currencies, [17] products, and services in legal or black markets. [18] [19]

As of February 2015, over 100,000 merchants and vendors accepted bitcoin as payment. [20] According to research produced by Cambridge University in 2017, there are 2.9 to 5.8 million unique users using a cryptocurrency wallet, most of them using bitcoin. [21]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitcoin