This is not mundane and certainly not pointless: The assholes who are spreading the “Antivirus XP” spyware trojan on the net have taken their crap to a new level with Filefix Pro.
Like the other software, it shows up as a web popup that claims you have corrupted files that need to be fixed. If you install it (and it’s easy to be fooled – things look quite professional), it will encrypt your data files. Once encrypted, you will be asked to pay ($60 and up) to get them back.
Extortionware, pure and simple. I wouldn’t be surprised if they bundle this thing with their other fake antivirus software.
At this point, there is no fix for the encrypted files (you can download their software “trial version” and fix a single file, but it will probably be reincrypted if you can’t move it immediately to a different computer).
So, two things:
Beware any “virus” warning that says you have viruses or other problems on your computer that need to be cleaned. Legitimate antivirus warning usually just tell you they have cleaned a virus; if there’s a virus they can’t clean, they don’t detect it at all.
Back up your data. I use Mozy.com for automatic backups, and I also store my important files in online storage sites (I use mediafire.com, but there are others). You can also burn CDs, or save data on a flash drive. You can clean the spyware, but you may have to retrieve your data from some sort of backup.
This thing is brand new. See Bleeping Computer for one of the few mentions of it on the web. There will be more victims – don’t be one of them.
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