Ransomware is a type of malware that locks your own data with complex encryption. Usually, the way to get data back is to pay a fee – hence the term ransomware – they actually hold your data hostage and demand a ransom.
Ransomware is not new but is getting better and more widespread. They are also targeting users who will easily pay. Businesses, the elderly, even police departments. The NYTimes recently had a funny yet amusing article about ransomware, which inspired us to write this explainer.
What exactly does ransomware do and is there a way to protect yourself from it? Read to find out.
How does Ransomware work?
Ransomware, like any other malware, gets in through shady email attachments or pirated or infected downloads. Ransomware apps are a bit more stealthy than regular malware. They are not easily detected by anti-virus applications.
Images are for illustration only. Credit: PCWorld
Once the malware is installed, it encrypts all the important files you may have. This means MS Office documents, text files, PDFs, videos, etc. And encryption, using RSA-2048 is pretty tight. Most of the time, the only way to decrypt is to use a private key generated by the malware, usually located on the attacker’s server – out of your reach.
Lack of payments – use a prepaid card, bank transfer or Bitcoin, you don’t have many options. Asking prices can start from $500 and up. Some ransomware keep increasing the price every week that you refuse to pay.
Is all lost?
Ransomware usually just locks your files, it can’t steal your data, but now that they have access to your PC, nothing can stop them. Some new ransomware is known to add pornographic material on your PC and then offer to remove it for you – for a price.
And ransomware isn’t just limited to Windows PCs, it’s known to affect Android smartphones and even Macs.
Of course, there are all sorts of ransomware viruses out there. From seriously deadly and uncrackable to some that are merely pretending.
But malware like CryptoLocker, CryptoWall, and PowerLocker are all serious threats.
Learn more about online security: Check out our Ultimate Guide to Password Manager to learn how to create strong passwords and save your important data from attack.
Cloud
As it turns out, even cloud services like Dropbox and Google Drive are not out of reach for ransomware. If you have one of those services installed and running on your PC, the files on the cloud server will also be encrypted. Furthermore, this may cause your cloud account to be compromised.
“We anticipate ransomware variants that manage to evade security software installed on systems to specifically target endpoints that subscribe to cloud-based storage solutions like Dropbox , Google Drive and OneDrive. Once the endpoint has been infected, the ransomware will attempt to exploit the logged in user’s stored credentials to infect the backed up cloud storage data,” McAfee reports on the risk. 2015 network note – Source
How do you keep your files safe?
Let’s say you’re the type of person who doesn’t believe in obeying the demands of criminals. Because that will only make them stronger. It’s like a kidnapping, you don’t give in to the demands.
Except, of course, if you don’t have a backup copy of your data and you really need it. Then of course you will pay.
To make sure that doesn’t happen, your only option is to create a backup. And not just any backup. Backups that are not linked to your computer and are not on cloud storage are also logged into your PC. It needs to be on a separate drive, disconnected from all.
This means getting an external hard drive and backing up to it every other day or on a weekend.
Or have a full backup abroad, using a service like Backblaze or Crashplan. It will cost you $5 a month, but you can safely back up unlimited data this way.
And data backup is very useful for many other cases. In case you lose your laptop, it crashes, your hard drive fails, or your house burns down.
After backing up, you need to make sure you don’t install malware. That means not downloading email attachments from people you don’t know and staying away from the dark corners of the internet. Not downloading pirated stuff would also help.
What to do with an infected computer?
If your computer is infected with malware and you have backed up your data somewhere – which you can easily restore – then you will want to get rid of this malware application completely.
For this you will need to format the computer and start fresh. Since the malware is encrypted and you have no way to disable it, the only way is to wipe it. Alternatively, you can also try to restore the system from a point before it was infected.
Let us know your experience with ransomware in the comments section below. We certainly hope that you don’t have such memories to share, and never will.
Categories: How to
Source: thpttranhungdao.edu.vn/en/
