Ever since the Internet became a household commodity, many viruses and malware have donned a social mask; causing harm to computers and data but doing so by deceiving the user. One form of this is ransomware, a type of malware that locks users out of their computer until they pay a toll.

Viruses, malware, and most other online scams are pretty tricky. Much of the time, in order to be effective, they need to pluck at a user's heartstrings or instill action-driving fear in order to infiltrate a system. That's why so much malware these days comes in looking like a legitimate virus scanner, telling you there are urgent issues with your PC and informing you that the only way to fix these 'issues' is by paying them money.

This has been very common over the past few years - fake antiviruses are some of the most annoying instances of malware technicians need to deal with on a regular basis. The latest trend, however, doesn't even pretend to be innocent. This type of malware will simply take over your PC and demand payment to relinquish control. Think of the old mobster flicks where ransom notes were written with demands like bringing unmarked bills to the old port on the south side of town.

We urge users who experience strange activity on their computer to contact us at 1-800-442-5011 - if your computer reports issues or viruses and asks you to pay to remove them, it is likely a scam. Ensuring that you are using updated software like the latest web browser, windows updates, and an updated licensed antivirus will go a long way to protect your PC.