Sounds like a load of crap. If you've got sus files/pictures already on your pc then your already infected...
That's not what the article says. And though each one makes his own decisions according to his circumstances, ignoring warnings may not be the wisest policy.
@Katz thanks for the heads up, yep all caution is needed before download any thingsstill I hate facebook and related craps then I'm secure
Thanks Katzenfreund. It seems that the malicious code is embedded in the image. When you try to view it, it infects your machine.
Indeed we keep hearing horror stories of all kinds associated with FB all the time. I'm not a member either, but strangely it's the current craze, driving discussion boards to inactivity. To paraphrase your sig, "Just because we are paranoid doesn't mean it's not dangerous".
security people are always cracking these crypto locker keys but it's always changing, so it depends on what version of a locker you have compared to retrieving all your data. Getting you data back might not matter to some and others it could be their entire business One web site that is up to date on crypto lockers is Bleeping Computer, so if you do get hit then go there first. I try to keep off line backups of my stuff I want to keep the most in case something like this would happen to me
˄˄ Ransomware is not strictly restricted to Windows, though Mac OSX and Linux are far less frequently attacked by certain kinds of it. So it makes sense for every user to be careful.
I don't doubt the article. I'm saying if you've already got unknown dodgy files on your system then your already infected. How else would they get there if you didn't download them?
If I were to right-click on a questionable image and select "scan with eset" from the context menu, would it warn me?
Nothing is foolproof if you don't want to be at risk on pc then throw out your pc and never use one again, that's fool proof !
It should not only warn you, but delete it outright. In fact, if your defenses are up to standard, they shouldn't allow it to download in the first place.