...and the reason that Windows is targeted is simply because this type of attack is possible not because of its' seeming ubiquity. Also, the "operating system that nobody uses" is actually the OS that runs the internet, powers your phone, runs your TV, router and even your washing machine.

Windows is just a poor proprietary client for a Linux world

These techniques are applicable on any platform

That just isn't the case. Users don't have the rights to install and execute additional software on Linux or (real) BSD (not Mac). Windows, by comparison, doesn't have any proper, rigorously enforced, permissions structure, so it's trivially easy to install and execute malicious code - often without user intervention.

The actual reason that Windows is the only target for ransomware is that the attacks are possible and Windows (l)users are generally technically naive - which is why they still use Windows!

"Jigsaw" is obviously just a "proof of concept" - the Real Version(TM) will be along shortly, which will be delivered by a drive-by exploit on a few vulnerable, but heavy traffic, websites, won't require (l)user intervention to install it, won't have a trivial decryption solution and will force the user to pay for decryption very quickly, before their files are not just encrypted, but deleted permanently.

FREE is too expensive! When they offer me a free computer and pay me $50 per hour to beta test their crapware, then I'll bite. Until then, I'll continue to use Linux Mint because it Just Works

They get really upset if you keep them on the phone for half-an-hour or more ("there's someone at the door - hang on").... If half a dozen of us do that to each scammer each day, they'll NEVER find any marks! I just play a talk radio station to them, so they know the line is still open. My record is 57 minutes, and the scammer burst into tears when I told him he'd been taken.....

The other thing to do is to play with their heads - they are just using a script, so if you deviate from it, they haven't got a clue what's going on. I've let these clowns into sandboxed XP or 7 Virtual Images where they've found "Bank Details" which unleash some very nasty malware if they download them! Other zip files they love to download are movies, music and porn - the images I built to hit these cretins had plenty of those....

A Old Folks Home across the road from me runs computer classes for the inhabitants who're interested - I've run a few classes for them - and they now take these scammers on in much the same way as I do.

It must be realised that not all these scammers are offshore - there was evidence of the Old Folks Home was specifically targetted by people who were aware of the ages and potential vulnerabilities of the residents.

£30 gets you a small SSD. Pre-load it with Mint Linux (or Ubuntu if you prefer) and a whole suite of software. Install into victim's machine, having wiped their HDD and configured it as /home - problem entirely solved. The customer has a machine that (to them) is astonishingly fast, is easily maintained remotely and is secure.

95% of users don't want to "play games" - if they do, we advise them to buy a Playstation. When users ask "where's MS Office", they're politely pointed to Open Office (or Libre Office) which has all the functionality without the cost and reliability overheads of the MS product. If anyone's foolish enough to want to use "Quick Books", we provide them with some really nifty spreadsheets that have been pre-assembled to do all that "Sage" and "Quick" can do.....

Users generally find that Linux Mint runs much more quickly than Windoze ever did on their hardware, because it isn't overburdened with all the worthless Anti-this and Anti-that snake oil that MS-brokenware seemingly demands.

We've done a lot of "radical" upgrades with cheap (£30) SSDs pre-loaded with our Mint Linux-based software suite. Our users cannot believe a sub - 5 second boot time and instant-loading applications. They were used to going to get a coffee while their machine started in the morning, and going for another while an application loaded!

Sorry MS - your software just doesn't make the grade, your security is non-existant, and your prices are ridiculous!

Sadly, all the Mac OSs are as compromised as the M$ rubbish.... Just install Linux Mint Cinnamon and stop worrying. Mom'll get the hang of it in minutes, and she won't be able to compromise her system because she won't ever be able to get administrative rights - keep those for yourself and do her basic maintenance remotely. That's what I've done with my elderly relatives for the last 10 years or more!

The best protection these days is still to block all advertising, run with limited permissions, and have automated external backups with versioning. If the user is capable, blocking all third-party scripting is also incredibly effective.

Nope - the best protection is not to use the most easily compromised, most deliberately under-secured, and most expensive "operating system" out there..... The stupidity of the average user is astonishing. They ALLOW themselves to get into this ridiculous situation, without back-ups, with a Swiss-cheese "operating system" and with worthless, snake-oil "anti-malware" rubbish.....

It is *our* fault for installing AV software and going back to picking our noses.

No - it's the propensity of the average punter to fully believe that the "operating system" that came "free" with their computer is the only option open to them. Most of them aren't aware that there even might be an alternative....

Diesel engines don't have to pollute - particulate filters can get rid of over 94% of emissions. Unfortunately they cost money and require additional maintenance. The already squeezed haulage industry won't pay extra to go "green" unless they're forced to by Law.

Here come more specious "green" taxes.

"Global Warming" is a myth designed to fool the unthinking masses into accepting ever higher Tax bills

I use headphones with an absolutely ruler flat response from 30Hz to 19kHz. I use them for listening to the radio, TV, music and even (sometimes) telephone calls. They're Sennheisers and are ideal, lightweight, uncoloured headphones.

By comparison, the "Beats" rubbish are bass heavy, distorted and have all sorts of bizarre phase shifts and peaks and troughs in their response. They're truly horrible, physically uncomfortable to wear and grossly overpriced. Their abysmal performance, with their bizarre pricing and spurious cache amongst the ignorant makes them an ideal "fit" for Apple.

Shut up you apple fanboy. Retina display is marketing speak to fool the sheeple who will buy anything if it has an apple logo

It's amazing that Apple can make a feature out of displays that failed Samsung quality control! They weren't good enough for Samsung products, so they're downgraded and used for Apple products......

Sadly, LEDs do not yet provide enough light of the correct colour, and charge too much for the priveledge. CFLs are dangerous (heard one explode?) and give a flickery, poor colour light. Halogen incandescents are entirely intolerant of vibration, and their light is still too blue. LEDs cannot provide the almost omnidirectional light that incandescents can - they tend to be too directional.

I'm using a range of lamp solutions - 12V halogen floods (mostly 50 Watt) in bathrooms and the kitchen, LEDs in hallways, and halogen incandescent everywhere else. I have a good supply of "rough service" incandescents for places where nothing else will do.

The "green" lobby need to understand - changing lightbulbs will do nothing significant to change power consumption. These cretins also need to forget the silly windmills (you'll never offset the carbon expended to construct, transport, install, commission and maintain them in their wholelifetimes!). We do need to stop burning fossil fuels - just to keep the hydrocarbons available for other purposes and to clean up the air - but the silly "renewables" (with the possible exception of wave power) just don't work. We need to expand geothermal generation (costly to construct, but incredibly efficient), nuclear generation (the cleanest and safest option if you don't make the mistake of putting your reactor on a geological fault), and improve battery technology.

I drive a Tesla!