Nearly all virus warnings sent by e-mail are hoaxes. But, here is one warning that is very serious. It requires you to pay a ransom to get all your files back, which is not always successful. To avoid it, avoid opening any e-mail attachments that look suspicious, even if from a friend or legitimate company, do not click on any link in a suspicious e-mail, and do not go to web sites that look suspicious.
http://www.komando.com/tips/index.aspx?id=15500&utm_medium=nl&utm_source=alerts&utm_content=2013-10-31-article-1-title-a
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CryptoLocker
Update 11-4-13: At first the criminals behind CryptoLocker said you had four days to pay or your files were locked forever. Now, however, they say that you can get them back even after four days. The catch is that you'll have to pay more than $2,000!
While you might pay this ransom as a last resort, users are reporting that some files will give an error and stay locked. There is no way to recover those files.
- See more at: http://www.komando.com/tips/index.aspx?id=15500&utm_medium=nl&utm_source=notd&utm_content=2013-11-04-article_2-title#sthash.ekNiKXMS.dpuf