This sextortion malware is DANGEROUS! Blackmails with cryptocurrency; here's how to avoid it | Tech News

This sextortion malware is DANGEROUS! Blackmails with cryptocurrency; here's how to avoid it

MyloBot malware in a new avatar has been found sending sextortion malware mails. The malware can bypass most security protocols.

By: HT TECH
| Updated on: Aug 22 2022, 10:10 IST
malware
MyloBot malware sends extortion emails after infecting your PC. Here's what to do. (Pixabay)
malware
MyloBot malware sends extortion emails after infecting your PC. Here's what to do. (Pixabay)

This sextortion malware is much more dangerous than you can even imagine! The MyloBot malware is back and this time, it has evolved in a way to take advantage if you consume pornographic content. The malware, which was first detected in 2018, is now known to infect your computer and send sextortion emails and demands the ransom in cryptocurrency Bitcoin. This new iteration of MyloBot can also hide itself well for the periods of 14 days, thereby avoiding antivirus and malware protection solutions.

First reported by The Hacker News, the evolved version of this malware is designed to abuse the victim by sending extortion emails based on his/her online usage. The extortion mails wait until you visit a pornographic website your computer and immediately send the mail, threatening to leak a video that it claims to have recorder from your computer's webcam to your contact list.

MyloBot malware threatens to leak your video

The sextortion email even says that the malware has recorded both the screen grab of what you were watching alongside the webcam feed, thereby revealing your awkward expressions to your family and friends circle.

The email, however, gives a solution to avoid all that if you are willing to pay $2,732 to the hacker in Bitcoin.

"This threat actor went through a lot of trouble to drop the malware and keep it undetected, only to use it as an extortion mail sender," Minerva Labs researcher Natalie Zargarov said. "Botnets are dangerous exactly because of this unknown upcoming threat. It could just as easily drop and execute ransomware, spyware, worms, or other threats on all infected endpoints."

How to avoid sextortion email?

The best part is to avoid replying to such mails, since this malware only sends an extortion email. However, you will need to clear it up from your system. Hence, you should install a malware detection and cleaning tool with the latest updates. Do note that all malware detection tools should be updated with the latest definitions. Additionally, you can reset your entire computer to clean it up.

You should also avoid visiting suspicious websites that tend to throw a lot of these botnets, malware, ransomware, and other things on your system. Always ensure you visit 'https' websites to avoid these threat actors.

Catch all the Latest Tech News, Mobile News, Laptop News, Gaming news, Wearables News , How To News, also keep up with us on Whatsapp channel,Twitter, Facebook, Google News, and Instagram. For our latest videos, subscribe to our YouTube channel.

First Published Date: 16 Feb, 11:46 IST
NEXT ARTICLE BEGINS