United States Cyber Security virus is a ransomware that was programmed to attack computers in USA. This virus can be distinguished from other malwares by a very aggressive behavior towards an infected machine. As soon as it gets inside the system, it blocks computer completely. The only thing the owner of the infected machine can see is a message:
Your PC is blocked due to at least one of the reasons specified below.
You have been violating Copyright and Related Rights Law (Video, Music, Software) and illegally using or distributing copyrighted content, thus infringing Article I, Section 8, Clause 8, also known as the Copyright of the Criminal Code of United States of America.
Article I, Section 8, Clause 8 of the Criminal Code provides for a fine of two to five hundred minimal wages or a deprivation of liberty for two to eight years.
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To unblock the computer, you must pay the fine through MoneyPak of $100.
United States Cyber Security virus just like other versions of this ransomware such as FBI virus, Canadian Police virus or Ukash virus gets inside computer using security holes and system vulnerabilities. One might get infected by the virus after downloading a corrupted file or visiting an infected webpage. United States Cyber Security virus is distributed using Trojans downloaded from exploit pages as well as corrupt shareware.
Once the virus is in the system, you will be displayed with a scary message shown on a with “camera” window each time you turn on your computer. This ransomware disables the rest of your programs therefore your PC does not respond to any of your commands. No matter how convincing the message of this virus looks like, do not pay the fine. It will only encourage more of similar viruses to be distributed and definitely will not unblock your system. If you already paid the fine and read this article after your money is spent, contact your credit card company as soon as possible and dispute the charges. Note, none of official governmental institutions accept payments using prepaid payment system. Once you see such a payment option this should be a first sign for you that something is wrong and you are looking at a scam.
To unblock your computer you will need to do some work manually. First of all restart your computer in a safe mode or safe mode with networking. Then run MSConfig. After it is finished, disable all startup entries. You can identify malicious entries easily as they will reference a file from your user folder. Restart your computer one more time. This time it should not be blocked anymore. Do not forget to perform a full system scan of your PC.
