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Checkmate is a new ransomware infection that encrypts large volumes of office data and demands victims to pay 15,000 USD for its decryption. The virus uses secure algorithms to encipher important pieces of data (e.g., documents, tables, databases, photos, etc.). During this process, all affected files get visually changed with the .checkmate extension. For instance, a file named 1.xlsx will change to 1.xlsx.checkmate and reset its original icon to blank. As a result, the data will become no longer accessible. Lastly, developers create a text note called !CHECKMATE_DECRYPTION_README.txt to explain how files can be decrypted. The text note states how many files have been encrypted and what can be done to reclaim them. As mentioned above, extortionists require victims to pay an equivalent of 15,000 USD in Bitcoin to their crypto wallet address. Additionally, swindlers also offer to try free decryption - by sending 3 encrypted files (no more than 15 MB each) through the Telegram Messenger. They will afterwards supply the victim with free decrypted samples and provide the wallet address for the ransom payment. After transferring money, cybercriminals promise to respond back with decryption tools to unlock access to data. Unfortunately, at the moment of writing this article, there are no third-party tools that could allow free decryption without the direct help of cybercriminals. Means of encryption used by ransomware are usually very strong, making independent tools oftentimes useless with regard to decryption.

LIZARD and LANDSLIDE are two very similar ransomware infections developed by the same group of extortionists. They both encrypt personal data and create identical text files (#ReadThis.HTA and #ReadThis.TXT) explaining how users can restore access to the restricted data. The two ransomware variants are also identical in how they rename encrypted files with slight differences. Depending on which of the two ransomware affected your system, targetted files will be altered according to [DeathSpicy@yandex.ru][id=victim's_ID]original_filename.LIZARD or [nataliaburduniuc96@gmail.com][id=victim's_ID]original_filename.LANDSLIDE different only in e-mail of cybercriminals and final extension (.LIZARD or .LANDSLIDE) used at the end. After encryption is done, the virus creates text files we mentioned above with identical content. Victims are informed that, in order to decrypt the files, they have to contact swindlers through one of the given e-mail addresses. Cybercriminals say they will set an exact price for decryption to be paid by victims in Bitcoin (BTC). After this, they promise to send the decryption tool that will help affected users unlock the restricted data. In addition to this, cybercriminals offer to send a 100-200 KB size file along with the e-mail message. It will be decrypted for free and returned to victims as proof that ransomware developers are capable of decryption. Although cybercriminals are usually the only figures able to decrypt files completely, many security experts advise against paying the ransom.

If you wonder why you are unable to access your data, then this could be because Mkp Ransomware, Baseus Ransomware or Harmagedon Ransomware attacked your system. These file-encryptors belong to the Makop ransomware group, which has produced a number of similar infections including Mammon, Tomas, Oled, and more. Whilst encrypting all valuable data stored on a PC, this versions of Makop assigns victims' unique ID, cyber criminals' email address, and the new .mkp, .baseus or .harmagedon extensions to highlight the blocked files. For instance, 1.pdf, which was previously safe, will change its name to something like 1.pdf.[10FG67KL].[icq-is-firefox20@ctemplar.com].mkp, 1.pdf.[7C94BE12].[baseus0906@goat.si].baseus or 1.pdf.[90YMH67R].[harmagedon0707@airmail.cc].harmagedon at the end of encryption. Soon after all files end up successfully renamed, the virus goes forward and creates a text file (readme-warning.txt) with ransom instructions.

It is a popular error that prevents users from updating their iOS devices. The message interrupting update success usually appears like this - "The iPhone Could not be Updated. An Unknown Error Occurred (4000)" and does not offer any list of solutions. As a rule, the reason why users are unable to perform a successful iPhone update in iTunes is because there is something that blocks proper syncing between the two. It is, in other words, a connection issue that hinders your device and iTunes from working together in order. Very often such connectivity problems are caused by third-party anti-malware software, outdated operating system or iTunes, or even hilarious bugs related to insufficient battery level and locked screen of a device. The 4000 error became a subject of wide discussion in 2021 where most of the reports were centered around iPhone XR while updating from iOS 13.5 to iOS 14.1. However, not excluded that the same issue may occur on other iPhone models and iOS versions as well. If you are also into a struggle of fixing the 4000 error, feel free to follow our tutorial below and try each solution presented. Chances are you will find the one that sorts out the issue.

Pay2Decrypt is a ransomware-type virus that encrypts personal data and blackmails victims into paying the so-called ransom. A ransom is usually some amount of money cybercriminals demand from users for file decryption. Each file encrypted by the virus will appear with the .PAY2DECRYPT extension and a set of random characters. To illustrate, a sample originally named 1.pdf will be changed to 1.pdf.PAY2DECRYPTRLD0f5fRliZtqKrFctuRgH2 resetting its icon as well. After this, users will no longer be able to open and view the encrypted file. Immediately after successful encryption, the ransom creates hundred text files with identical content - Pay2Decrypt1.txt, Pay2Decrypt2.txt, and so forth until Pay2Decrypt100.txt.

"McAfee Subscription Has Expired" is a message that one can receive to his or her e-mail address. On the initial basis, McAfee is a legitimate company developing professional solutions against various computer threats. However, cybercriminals use its name to spread fake messages about expired subscriptions and that users have to renew them. It is said that people ('who got lucky to receive this e-mail'), are eligible to use a one-day limited offer and purchase a 2-year McAfee subscription of completely antimalware experience for only $29.99. Clicking on the "Buy now" hyperlink leads to a rogue website that displays a fake list of detected threats on your PC. Of course, it is fake and otherwise designed to force inexperienced users into paying for non-existing subscriptions or downloading suspicious software. Entered card details on shady websites like this may be collected to steal more money and sell information to third-party figures. Thus, if you got tricked into entering your financial credentials, we recommend you call your bank and block the utilized card immediately. Messages like "McAfee Subscription Has Expired" may be delivered to users who, in fact, have never had any relation with McAfee Antimalware services. This would be a good sign for such users to assume that it is a scam created to extort money from them. Read our guide below to learn more useful information on protecting yourself against phishing means of distributing malware or scam techniques.

Undoubtedly, smartphones have become an integral part of our everyday lives. We are all inherently dependent on them, and any problems related to their consistent usage may put us into an awkward spot. This is what has been a subject of worry to some percentage of people experiencing problems with Android devices. Specifically, the scope of such issues has been centered around unexpected restarting or crashing cases that occur while performing various tasks. Due to this, some users are left with little or none of adequate device usage to satisfy their needs. Unfortunately, there is no single reason why such issues occur - it can be linked to the outdated operating system, incompatibilities caused by third-party apps, the presence of malware, insufficient memory space, and, in rarer cases, even hardware problems. Below, we have compiled a guide with the most potential and efficiency-tested solutions to breathe new and flawless life into your Android smartphone. Note that all instructions located below are generic and can only differ slightly on some smartphone models.

DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN is a browser error preventing users from visiting some desired pages in Google Chrome. It has quite similar symptomatic traits to other connection issues such as ERR_NETWORK_ACCESS_DENIED, ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSED, and ERR_INTERNET_DISCONNECTED as well. Users are oftentimes greeted with a message like "This site can't be reached" offering no working solution to get over the problem. All errors of this type do not have one single cause of appearance - there can be a number of different reasons striking each user. This list of potential reasons usually comes from issues with DNS and IP-Address performance which become evident when trying to establish a website connection. This can be therefore caused by software conflicts, wrong configuration settings, and other hiccups leading to problems with the connection. If you are sure that the URL address of the website you are trying to visit is typed correctly and no basic solutions result in success, feel free to follow our tutorial below for an advanced list of resolution methods. There are 8 of them in total to try and succeed in opening problematic websites eventually.