How to save yourself from ransomware? The worst nightmare for anyone with necessary sensitive data is having it stolen. What choices should be made to safeguard them?
How It Spreads
Today we use the PC to keep all kinds of data, photos, accounting documents, email messages, and more that everyone has a value that only when they are no longer accessible do we realize how much they are worth. The good old backup practices are an “obsolete” object, thanks to the infinite capacities of the new storage media, the increasingly rare presence of tools to burn already on PCs, and even goodwill is often put to the test. It is worthless to have an external hard drive, perhaps USB but perpetually connected to the PC.
This, too, will be considered a peripheral of the PC and “kidnapped” as a result. A copy made on a USB hard disk could be compelling, but once you have completed the document, you should disconnect it from the PC and put it back, waiting (hopefully never) for its use for recovery. At this point, however, a question to ask is a must: how many times have you thought of doing it but then said to yourself … I’ll do it at another time, thinking that nothing will happen in the meantime. Even if we keep our guard up, we cannot be sure of avoiding certain inconveniences.
In addition to studying increasingly practical encryption algorithms, computer pirates are looking for particularly effective and always different social engineering systems. Suppose the first examples of viruses were attached to an email written in English or uncertain Italian (which could at least cast doubt on the need to open the attachment). In that case, the most recent is packaged in such a way as to involve even the savviest user up to get him to act. Examples of how one can be misled are invoice emails that seem to be sent in all respects by a service provider (electricity, telephony, etc.) with the almost perfect representation of an invoice and inviting you to click a link for all the details.
How To Protect Yourself
Given that having a good antivirus has always been a best practice, it is also true that it is not enough, and in many cases, it is not even the antivirus “fault” if you are infected. To be efficient, an antivirus should include a function that allows it to intercept anomalous and repetitive processes on specific files; without getting into too many technicalities, the way these viruses operate is always the same. Install on the PC a portion of code that, when run as a regular program, makes an encrypted copy of all personal files, deletes the originals (and any autonomous copies operating system), and displays a message asking for a ransom to return the readable files to you.
It is impossible to try to decrypt your files independently as the encryption system is so complex that it would take centuries, even with the most powerful computer available. In this case, the antivirus that intercepts repetitive and continuous operations are highly effective. In our daily practice, we have been able to positively evaluate a product that is perhaps little known but very efficient. It is QUICK HEAL declined in different versions depending on the degree of “protection” I want to manage. This product provides the user with tools that guarantee safe browsing and additional protection even for private accesses such as home banking. For more information on this product, please refer to the offers chapter of this issue.
A practice that is undoubtedly effective in any case is to make backups of the necessary data on an instrument external to the PC, reachable ONLY with a protection password on the local network and the cloud. A nas, costing a few hundred euros, a well-made backup policy, and an on-cloud history are the best allies for your data. Do not forget a constant updating of the operating system and the leading applications and an equally constant updating of the most delicate instrument of the whole chain: the user! As medicine teaches, good information on how to prevent infection is the best treatment that can be put in place.
Reachable ONLY with password protection on the local network and the cloud. A nas, costing a few hundred euros, a well-made backup policy, and an on-cloud history are the best allies for your data. Do not forget a constant updating of the operating system and the leading applications and an equally constant updating of the most delicate instrument of the whole chain: the user! As medicine teaches, good information on how to prevent infection is the best treatment that can be put in place.
Reachable ONLY with password protection on the local network and the cloud. A nas, costing a few hundred euros, a well-made backup policy, and an on-cloud history are the best allies for your data. Do not forget a constant updating of the operating system and the leading applications and an equally constant updating of the most delicate instrument of the whole chain: the user! As medicine teaches, good information on how to prevent infection is the best treatment that can be put in place.
Do not forget a constant updating of the operating system and the leading applications and an equally constant updating of the most delicate instrument of the whole chain: the user! As medicine teaches, good information on how to prevent infection is the best treatment that can be put in place. Do not forget a constant updating of the operating system and the leading applications and an equally constant updating of the most delicate instrument of the whole chain: the user! As medicine teaches, good information on how to prevent infection is the best treatment that can be put in place.
Also Read: How An Antivirus Program Works
