Of all the parts of your computer to be affected by a virus, you might not think about your printer. However, a new gibberish-producing virus is doing just that. The virus, called “Trojan.Millicenso”, has infected thousands of office printers from all over the world.
After infecting a computer, the Millicenso virus opens up a horrendous number of ad-infected webpages before forcing your printer to spit out page upon page of useless information. The entire process is quite alarming, and it’s unknown what purpose the virus serves as of yet.
As of Monday, June 25, the virus has wasted thousands of reams of paper from companies all over the world. While you can stop the virus by turning off your printer, it still fills your computer’s internet browser with painfully annoying advertisements.
What’s the reasoning behind all of this ferocity? Well, we suspect the virus loads up your computer with advertisements and then targets your printer because it wants you to move away from the computer. Then, once your workstation is left unattended, the ads can continue to run unabated on your PC. Meanwhile, you’re frantically trying to turn off your printer and clean up the mess of gibberish-filled pages lying on your office floor.
This is one of the few cases where malware can directly cause damage in the real world. While other forms of malware – like identity stealing key loggers – can ruin your financial life, it doesn’t occur as an immediate result of the virus’s actions. With Millicensco, we’ve opened a whole new world of PC security.
Millicenso is currently spreading through the ‘old-fashioned’ method of email attachments. If you receive a suspicious file in your company’s email inbox, do not open it. All it takes is one weak link to expose an entire corporate network to a dangerous virus. Don’t be that weak link.
With this new Millicenso virus, the best way to defend yourself is to turn off your printer and run a powerful antivirus scan. Or, identity and remove malware on your PC with a free tool like PC Cleaner Pro.