Have you seen the latest Japanese "shoot 'em up" games? They are utterly chaotic and brutal, with hundreds of simultaneous shots on screen and very little room to dodge them. That said, this past weekend a ransomware called Rensenware appeared, developed in South Korea. Unlike other similar infections, what the user must do to recover their files is to score 200 million points on the "Lunatic" level of the game Touhou Seirensen. Good luck...?
The Absurd Challenge
Some games are simply beyond our comprehension, as is the extreme skill of certain players. I still remember this guy who finished Tetris on an arcade machine with transparent pieces. How did he manage to do something like that? How long did he train? Sooner or later we all get good at our favorite games, but there are certain challenges that are crazy. And speaking of craziness... what about a ransomware in which you must play to recover your files?
What you just saw is a session of Touhou Seirensen (Undefined Fantastic Object) on its Lunatic level. This title is part of the Touhou Project series, which pushes the "bullet hell" variant of the "shoot 'em up" category to its limits. And what the video shows is exactly what you are forced to do to restore your personal files when the ransomware named Rensenware hits you. The malware has the ability to monitor the game process and the score. Any attempt to cheat or close the application in advance leads to data loss.
Fortunately, it's most likely that no one will be forced to consume their soul looking for 200 million points in Touhou Seirensen. The creator of Rensenware, a Korean programmer whose name didn't surface, did this as a joke, published the code on GitHub, fell asleep, and the next day the ransomware was everywhere. In fact, during programming, he infected himself and couldn't reach the necessary score. Without wasting time, he designed a new program that completely neutralizes Rensenware and published an apology. Korean friend, your jokes are too heavy...
Source: Kotaku
