The Pokemon Go ransomware virus is out to catch’em all!

A Pokemon Go-themed ransomware virus has appeared on Windows computers, tablets and phones. The ransomware is the latest in a series of malicious applications that have popped up in the wake of the global Pokemon Go obsession.

This particular piece of malware is known as POGO Tear and it’s based on open source ransomware code called Hidden Tear. POGO Tear encrypts the files on victims’ computers, changes the extension to “.locked” and then demands a ransom on a screen emblazoned with famed character Pikachu’s picture.

POGO Tear is currently coded to display its ransom message in Arabic only as shown below. The text informs users that their data has been encrypted and instructs them to contact blackhat20152015@gmail.com to decrypt their files. It also thanks them for their generosity.

What’s interesting about this malware is that it incorporates several features not usually found in other ransomware viruses. POGO Tear creates an administrative user account called Hack3r on the victim’s machine and then hides it from the logon screen so the user can’t tell it’s there.

It also creates a network share on the victim’s computer and copies itself to all available network drives. The ransomware automatically executes when Windows starts.

If your computers have been infected with ransomware or any other viurus, call IES today at 781-816-9437. The longer you wait, the worse the situation will be!

Play Pokemon with 50,000 other people in "Twitch Plays Pokemon".

No one was quite expecting "Twitch Plays Pokemon," the massively-multiplayer Pokemon game being streamed on Twitch.tv for more than 150 hours straight, to virally erupt within a week of going live, let alone accomplish anything by way of in-game progress. Yet the channel has ballooned to mind-boggling popularity as the group of tens of thousands of Twitch users have managed to make surprising advancements in tandem with hilarious missteps.


In the process, a community unlike anything the Internet has ever seen has sprouted up, the strangest aspect of which is the disturbingly elaborate religious narrative crafted by thousands of meme-hungry participants. It would be an understatement to say it's one of the weirder things to happen on the Internet lately.


Currently, the stream has garnered more than 15 million total views and the active viewer count has at times exceeded 100,000, up almost 10 times what its peak was last Friday. The self-described "social experiment," started by an anonymous Australian programmer last week, began as a fascinating look into collective behavior and group dynamics.


Want to see the game live in action? Or jump into the game? Visit Twitch.tv/TwitchPlaysPokemon.


Source: CNET