Key Secured Message pretending to come from Payroll Reports <[email protected]> is another one from the current zbot runs which try to drop cryptolocker, ransomware and loads of other malware on your computer. They are using email addresses and subjects that will entice a user to read the email and open the attachment. A very high proportion are being targeted at small and medium size businesses, with the hope of getting a better response than they do from consumers.
Almost all of these have a password stealing component, with the aim of stealing your email or FTP ( web space) log in credentials. Many of them are also designed to specifically steal your facebook and other social network log in details.
Please read our How to protect yourselves page for simple, sensible advice on how to avoid being infected by this sort of socially engineered malware.
You have received a Secured Message from:
The attached file contains the encrypted message that you have received.
To decrypt the message use the following password – nC4WR706
To read the encrypted message, complete the following steps:
– Double-click the encrypted message file attachment to download the file to your computer.
– Select whether to open the file or save it to your hard drive. Opening the file displays the attachment in a new browser window.
– The message is password-protected, enter your password to open it.
This e-mail and any attachments are confidential and intended solely for the addressee and may also be privileged or exempt from
disclosure under applicable law. If you are not the addressee, or have received this e-mail in error, please notify the sender
immediately, delete it from your system and do not copy, disclose or otherwise act upon any part of this e-mail or its attachments.
If you have concerns about the validity of this message, please contact the sender directly. For questions about Key’s e-mail encryption service, please contact technical support at 888.764.6396.
13 March 2014 : Key_Herman_Bean.rar (7kb): Extracts to NIKON-2013564-JPEG.scr Current Virus total detections: 2/50
This Key Secured Message is another one of the spoofed icon files that unless you have “show known file extensions enabled“, will look like a proper PDF file instead of the .exe file it really is, so making it much more likely for you to accidentally open it and be infected.
All of these emails use Social engineering tricks to persuade you to open the attachments that come with the email. Whether it is a message saying “look at this picture of me I took last night” and it appears to come from a friend or is more targeted at somebody who regularly is likely to receive PDF attachments or Word .doc attachments or any other common file that you use every day. Be very careful when unzipping them and make sure you have “show known file extensions enabled“, And then look carefully at the unzipped file. If it says .EXE then it is a problem and should not be run or opened.