The virus, called Azov, masquerades as ransomware, that is, as ransomware.
During the month of October, thousands of computers around the world were infected with this virus. This is distributed through cracked software and pirated licenses or through piracy platforms. What is special about the Azov virus is that it looks like ransomware (ransomware), but it doesn’t actually appear to be. This is because the virus embeds fake ransom text, however once the user gets infected with this virus, they get no concrete hints to fix the problem. The user cannot pay a ransom and has no other way to get rid of the virus. He remains his hostage, with no escape.
It would seem that this virus has as its main objective to destroy the files of computers running Windows 11. In fact, the Azov virus would work in cycles: it replaces 666 bytes of data present on the victim’s computer with other unusable data. The number 666 probably refers to the number of the devil.
Furthermore, the virus has the second objective of collecting information collected on the infected computer by installing software that can collect identifiers and other private data. It remains to be seen for what purpose and in what context this collected data will subsequently be reused.
A virus that claims to be pro-Ukrainian
The name of the “Azov” virus directly refers to the nationalist units of the Ukrainian army. As for the “ransom” note in the virus, it presents itself as Ukrainian and claims to contest Russia’s occupation of Crimea by blocking computers. However, even this note does not attack Russia directly. It could be that this political dimension of the virus is just a red herring and that its goal is “only” to harm infected computers.
It is difficult to know the origin and concrete objectives of this virus, however if you are affected by this virus, the only remedy will be to change your passwords as soon as possible and then probably reinstall Windows.
_
Follow Geeko on Facebook, Youtube and Instagram so you don’t miss news, tests and advice.
