A new form of ransomware has emerged that locks out the user as usual, but instead of asking for a ransom, it forces the computer into work mining Bitcoins. Researchers at Malwarebytes found the new variant of the Reveton ransomware; Making money mining Bitcoins for practical gain involves running arrays of GPUs solving the ever more complex algorithms needed to generate Bitcoins.

"Ransomware is most commonly spread via drive-by downloads and Reveton especially has been seen working with some of the most notorious exploit kits available today," writes Malwarebytes researcher Adam Kujawa in a blog post on the threat.

Consumers are advised to update browser software and plug-ins to guard against the most common types of threat exploited by Reveton-peddling hackers.