Since October 2014, Security associations have been attempting to fight with a new and dangerous computer virus that has been growing at a very fast speed, especially in the US.
Recognized by the name of Koler virus, the Ransomware is considered as a frustrating and highly infectious malware because of its ability to lock the screen of the devices and to access all the information of the user’s android devices.
About Ransomware
Like its name, a Ransomware is a kind of virus that locks the computers of people and demands them to pay off, if they want to run the functioning of their computer systems properly like before. In all the cases, this virus takes the shape of a persistent window that obstructs people to navigate their systems, whether it’s a mobile phone or a personal computer. Since people can no longer access their devices, they can’t shut off the Ransomware virus through any of the method till a ransom is not paid.
It is not a new phenomenon. The effectiveness of the Ransomware makes it much popular and famous among the scammers, causing a large number of people to pay off the ransoms.
The infectious Nature of the Koler Virus
Out of the 30 countries that are affected by the functioning of Koler worm virus, the three quarters of the android devices have been tracked in the United States and a large section of the affected android devices have been found across the nation of the Middle East.
Its frightening speed and effectiveness is due to its ability to access all the information of the android devices including user contacts and inbox messages. As soon as the Koler virus enters in an android device, it sends one time message to all the contacts in the address book of the user.
People, who are receiving the message from Koler Virus, think that the message was sent by a family member, a friend or an acquaintance. Hence, unknowingly, give birth of new Ransomware by downloading the application showing in that message.
Ways to protect your Android devices
If you think that your android devices are in touch with Ransomware virus and you are no longer able to navigate your devices, then the very first thing you should keep in mind is to never pay off the ransom. Obviously, there is no guarantee that your device will start to function properly, if you paying the ransom.
Although, we know that, Koler virus spread at high speed but, it does not encode files, clearly means that this virus is easy to remove from our mobile devices. There are two basic steps that need to be follow, if you really want your mobile devices to get out of it
- You need to reboot your phone in safe mode. Doing this, you would be able to remove the affected ‘Photo Viewer’ app using the uninstall function
- Or, you can turn off the option of ‘Unknown Sources’ in your android security settings to get out of the threat. Doing this, you will not be able to install android applications from unknown sources