- Aug 6, 2015
- 306
In this article, Haylee from the Emsisoft blog discusses about how troublesome ransomware is. As all internet capable devices and businesses are at risk.
Haylee explains in brief what ransomware is and stresses on the importance of always having a Plan B at hand, what should be backed up, what backing up options are available and online backup services.
What would you do if an attacker had gained admin rights to your computer and disables your anti-malware/internet security package?
Haylee mentions about how anti-malware software is able to identify malicious files very well but it will not prevent from opening the doors to summon the bad guys in.
External hard drives are an excellent option for making backups provided that they're not connected to a computer during a ransomware attack.
Refer to Seagate's brilliant guide on how to organise files with a backup masterplan (Will be posting this in the guides section): Backing Up 101: Creating Your Back Up Plan|Seagate
Another point Haylee discusses about is how cloud safety is being sabotaged rather than attacking computers directly, allowing data to be held at ransom at a larger scale with thousands of other users.
Haylee advises to look at cloud services that support revisioning. This is where old versions of files are kept and easy to access if backup files were destroyed by malware. Refer to this table for online backup options: Comparison of online backup services - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In short:
Haylee explains in brief what ransomware is and stresses on the importance of always having a Plan B at hand, what should be backed up, what backing up options are available and online backup services.
What would you do if an attacker had gained admin rights to your computer and disables your anti-malware/internet security package?
Haylee mentions about how anti-malware software is able to identify malicious files very well but it will not prevent from opening the doors to summon the bad guys in.
External hard drives are an excellent option for making backups provided that they're not connected to a computer during a ransomware attack.
Refer to Seagate's brilliant guide on how to organise files with a backup masterplan (Will be posting this in the guides section): Backing Up 101: Creating Your Back Up Plan|Seagate
Another point Haylee discusses about is how cloud safety is being sabotaged rather than attacking computers directly, allowing data to be held at ransom at a larger scale with thousands of other users.
Haylee advises to look at cloud services that support revisioning. This is where old versions of files are kept and easy to access if backup files were destroyed by malware. Refer to this table for online backup options: Comparison of online backup services - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In short:
- Software and operating systems should be kept updated
- Program and app permissions should be examined closely
- Apps from untrusted sources or sites should not be installed
- Data and services should be backed up frequently
- A 'quality' anti-malware product/internet security package should be installed and regularly updated (hint hint)
- If you're infected? TAKE EVERY POSSIBLE STEP TO AVOID PAYING! Each bitcoin that goes into the hands of a (scumbag) cybercriminal increases the distribution and profitability of this type of malware