The kit in question is, according to Malwarebytes, “ a grab-bag of social engineering lures and exploits to attack web users and install ransomware on their computers. What’s the Threat to Edge and Chrome Users?ĭiscovered by cybersecurity researchers from Malwarebytes, the ransomware is inserted onto victims’ computers after a process facilitated by the Magnitude exploit kit.Įxploit kits are tools used by cybercriminals and are packed with exploits that target software a lot of people use, like Javascript or Adobe.

The news further reinforces the importance of having antivirus software installed on your devices just in case you click a shady pop-up advertisement. The fake updates, pushed out by scammers using Magnitude exploit kits, mark a shift away from older kits that would typically take advantage of now sparsely-used or deprecated programs like Internet Explorer and Flash.

Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge users have been cautioned to watch out for fake updates that are in fact ransomware.

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