Semalt Expert Defines Steps To Avoid Ransomware Infections

One of the most dangerous things to infect a computer system is malware. One good example is the CryptoLocker malware which has been a nuisance to online users for a while now. Until a few months ago, experts did not have a definite solution to ending the menace. The malware locked out over half a million people out of their systems. The government together with some security experts managed to neutralize the threat, and online users can now rest easy. What the government did was that they seized all the computers believed to be the source of the malware.

Later on, an IT company developed a tool which they made public for use by the people who had their computers infected. Its primary purpose was to decrypt any firewalls and recover their lost files.

Oliver King, the leading specialist of Semalt Digital Services, has discussed some compelling issues that will help you avoid dangerous ransomware attacks.

Nevertheless, as much as online users have one less problem to think about, CryptoLocker does not exist in isolation. There are similar malware roaming the internet, with hackers continuing to develop more on a daily business. For example, after taking down CryptoLocker, CryptoWall, took its place. It is a ransomware that has been in existence since November 2013. Since then, over 625,000 PCs containing over 5.25 billion files have fallen victim. The ransomware is not as complicated as CryptoLocker in infrastructure and source code but does not make it less of a threat.

When CryptoWall gains entry into a clean computer, it scans all the files then uses RSA encryption to encrypt it. Once it permanently places itself in the system, it opens the notepad application with distinctive details about how the owner can access the decryption service. The process will, of course, involve a payment for the service. At a minimum, the decryption programs begin at USD 500 and rise to USD 1000 after seven days. The instructions indicate that the only transactions accepted are in the form of bitcoins and the address to pay changes with each infected user.

The following 9 steps indicate means through which users can shield themselves from ransomware such as CryptoLockker and CryptoWall as they both fall in the category of insidious ransomware family.

Always make sure to update the operating system and security software used to access the internet.
Protect the system data by investing in protection tools and disaster recovery tools such as Pavis Backup.
Do not click on any email attachments sent by unknown persons and watch out for those made to look like they emanate from legitimate senders.
Store important information in an unconnected storage on a regular basis.
Cloud services offered by search engines provide ample security, and as a user, one should consider moving their information to them.
Incident response and resilience protocols exist to help businesses monitor system infections.
Software programs to detect the chance of infection. If the program identifies a potential threat, consult with an IT professional immediately.
Also, regular account and network password changes reduce the risk of infection when one removes a system from the network.
Flag or block any .exe files sent over emails, or use an anti-spam filtering system.