I am writing this post because I have attacked by a Ransomware a few weeks ago. I lost all valuable official documents which were stored in my 500GB hard disk drive. For this, I want to share some helping tips for my readers. I know you heard of it in the office or read about it in the news. You may have a pop-up message on your computer screen that tells you of a ransomware infection. Well, if you're curious to learn everything there is to know about ransomware, you've come to the right place. I will tell you about the different forms of ransomware. How you can get infected, Where it comes from, Who attack you and what you can do to protect yourself.
What is ransomware?
Malware or ransomware is a type of malware that prevents users from accessing their system or personal files. And that requires the payment of a ransom to be able to access them again. The first ransomware variants were created at the end of the 1980s, and payment had to be made by postal mail. Today the creators of ransomware ask that payment using credit cards or crypto.
How can you get infected?
Ransomware can infect your computer in several ways. One of the most common methods is malicious spam, or malspam, which are unsolicited messages that are used to send malware by email. The email message may include trap attachments.
Another usual infection method, which peaked in 2016, is malicious advertising. Malicious advertising involves the use of online advertising to distribute malware with little or no user interaction. While surfing the web even though legitimate sites!
There are three main types of ransomware. They are the following:
Scareware
The scareware is not scary. It includes fake security programs and fake offers of technical support. You may receive a pop-up message informing you that malware has been detected. And the only way to get rid of it is to pay. If you don't you will continue to be bombarded with pop-up messages but your files are basically safe.
A legitimate computer security software program would not target customers in those terms.
Screen blockers
With these the alert changes to orange. If a ransomware that locks the screen reaches your computer it will prevent you from using your PC. When the computer is turned on a window appears that occupies the entire screen. Often accompanied by an official-looking emblem of the FBI or the United States Department of Justice. This indicates that illegal activities have been detected on your computer and that you must pay a fine. However, the FBI would never act like this or demand any payment for conducting illegal activity. In case they suspect that you commit piracy or that you are in possession of child pornography. For any other computer crime, the FBI would follow the appropriate legal channels.
Encryption Ransomware
This is the worst of all. This is the one that kidnaps the files and encrypts them, demanding payment to decipher them again and return them. The reason why this type of ransomware is so dangerous is because when cybercriminals take over the files there is no security software or system restore capable of returning them. Unless you pay the ransom, you can say goodbye to your files. And if you pay it there is no guarantee that the cybercriminals will return the files.
Mobile Ransomware
Have you seen this message before
"Your smartphone is in danger update it now"
Nowadays ransomware began to be seen on a large scale on mobile devices. Normally, mobile ransomware displays a message indicating that the device has been blocked due to some type of illegal activity. The message says that the phone will be unlocked once a fee is paid. Mobile ransomware is often introduced through a malicious application. It requires you to boot the phone in safe mode and remove the infected application in order to recover access to your mobile device.
How to protect yourself from ransomware?
Security experts agree that the best way to protect against ransomware is to avoid infection. Although there are many methods to treat a ransomware infection. Often require some technical knowledge that the general user does not possess. Therefore this is what we recommend to users to avoid the consequences of ransomware attacks.
Conclusion
The first step in ransomware prevention is to invest in an excellent computer security program. Some programs with real-time protection are designed to stop attacks with advanced malware such as ransomware.
Then, even if it's annoying, you should create backup copies of the data regularly. Our recommendation is to use cloud storage that includes high-level encryption and multi-factor authentication. However, you can also buy USB drives or external hard drives where you can save new or updated files. But do not forget to physically disconnect these devices from the computer after performing the backup. Otherwise, they could also be infected with Ransomware. Also, make sure your systems and software are always up to date. Many did not install the update and were left defenseless against the attack. We know that it is difficult to always keep up with a growing list of updates for the growing set of software programs. Therefore, we recommend that you enable automatic updates.
Above all use common sense. If something seems suspicious take action.
Comments
Post a Comment