guilbert53
master brummie
Some of you may have seen on the news today (9th April 2019) a UK man put in prison for 6 years for blackmailing people using Ransomware attacks on their computer.
Ransomware attacks are very nasty but there are things you can do to protect yourself from them.
What is Ransomware? - Ransomware is a small software program that is downloaded to your computer (often when visiting a web site, sometimes via email) that then "locks up" your computer and the only easy way out is to pay some money to the "hacker".
Note in the case of the hacker above he posted his Ransomware on "adult" web sites, but in fact Ransomware can be placed on ANY web site. So don't think if you never visit adult web sites you are safe.
What does Ransomware do? - Ransomware will "take over" your computer, filling the screen with a scary warning message, and saying unless you "pay up" it will delete all the files off your PC, or maybe "scramble" (encrypt) all your files.
This happened to hundreds of NHS computers in the UK a couple of years ago and caused chaos.
How can I avoid it? - If Ransomware has been hidden on a web site it is very difficult to avoid it as it will be downloaded to your computer in the background and you have no idea it has happened. If it comes in an email then NEVER click on a link in a suspicious email.
The best way to avoid Ransomware is to make sure you have good security software on your computer and it is up to date and run regularly (though Ransomeware MAY slip through even the best security software).
One way to reduce the impact of Ransomware is to move as many "personal" files as you can OFF your computer and store them on an external hard drive. I have almost NO personal files on my computer, I keep them all on an External Hard Drive, and open the files direct from the external hard drive.
Also make sure you backup ALL personal files on a regular basis. You can backup files to an External Hard Drive, to a "memory stick", or up to the Cloud (or all three).
Just stop to think for a minute what impact it would have if ALL the files on your computer were lost.
So backup your files NOW to ensure you have at least one extra copy of every personal files on your computer.
Below, link to the News story on the BBC web site (this is a safe link!):
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-47800378
.
Ransomware attacks are very nasty but there are things you can do to protect yourself from them.
What is Ransomware? - Ransomware is a small software program that is downloaded to your computer (often when visiting a web site, sometimes via email) that then "locks up" your computer and the only easy way out is to pay some money to the "hacker".
Note in the case of the hacker above he posted his Ransomware on "adult" web sites, but in fact Ransomware can be placed on ANY web site. So don't think if you never visit adult web sites you are safe.
What does Ransomware do? - Ransomware will "take over" your computer, filling the screen with a scary warning message, and saying unless you "pay up" it will delete all the files off your PC, or maybe "scramble" (encrypt) all your files.
This happened to hundreds of NHS computers in the UK a couple of years ago and caused chaos.
How can I avoid it? - If Ransomware has been hidden on a web site it is very difficult to avoid it as it will be downloaded to your computer in the background and you have no idea it has happened. If it comes in an email then NEVER click on a link in a suspicious email.
The best way to avoid Ransomware is to make sure you have good security software on your computer and it is up to date and run regularly (though Ransomeware MAY slip through even the best security software).
One way to reduce the impact of Ransomware is to move as many "personal" files as you can OFF your computer and store them on an external hard drive. I have almost NO personal files on my computer, I keep them all on an External Hard Drive, and open the files direct from the external hard drive.
Also make sure you backup ALL personal files on a regular basis. You can backup files to an External Hard Drive, to a "memory stick", or up to the Cloud (or all three).
Just stop to think for a minute what impact it would have if ALL the files on your computer were lost.
So backup your files NOW to ensure you have at least one extra copy of every personal files on your computer.
Below, link to the News story on the BBC web site (this is a safe link!):
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-47800378
.
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