3, 2, 1, GO! Make backups of your data!

     With the recent proliferation of ransomware, a type of malware that encrypts your data and holds it hostage until payment is received, what should be done to protect valuable data?

10 easy ways to prevent malware infections

     We told you how to tell if you’re infected with malware. How about how to stop the infection from happening in the first place?

     Yes, it’s possible to clean up an infected computer and fully remove malware from your system. But the damage from some forms of malware, like ransomware, cannot be undone. If they’ve encrypted your files and you haven’t backed them up, that's it. So your best defense is to beat the bad guys at their own game.

October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month

     Cybersecurity awareness has never been more important than it is right now. Governments, businesses, and individuals are increasingly under attack by cybercriminals looking for profit or political gain. It seems like everywhere you look, malware attacks are on the rise, from cyberespionage attempts on mobile phones to ransomware attacks on businesses. The topic even received national attention in the first presidential debate, where Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton said, “I think cybersecurity will be one of the biggest challenges facing the next president.”

How to tell if you’re infected with malware

 

      Picture this: you start your computer and wait. And wait. And wait some more. When your desktop finally shows its face, things don’t get any better. Your Internet is sluggish, your programs are taking forever to load, and your cursor is dragging 20 seconds behind your mouse. You might have tried to open too many programs at once. Or…You might be infected.

Finally a way to fight back against Ransomware

     For the last four years, ransomware has evolved into one of the biggest threats to cyber security that we have seen in a long time. Names like CryptoLocker, CryptoWall, and CTBLocker keep average computer users and security specialists alike up at night. For good reason: Ransomware is cunning, effective, and proliferating, and the cyber security industry hasn’t really had an answer for it, until now.

     Ransomware is easy to understand but hard to beat. It infects the machine, encrypts all files and then demands payment to get the files back. Ransomware works so well that most variants will even remove themselves when the damage is done, knowing you have the choice of either paying the ransomware author to get your files back, or risk losing them forever.