Ransomware attacks are on the rise thanks to sophisticated hackers and vulnerable business-owners. It is more important than ever to have a back-up system in place before an attack ever occurs—or be prepared to pay the price!
What is Ransomware?
Your workers click on hundreds of links every day, trusting that they come from and lead to legitimate websites. Ransomware is downloaded after clicking a link that looks trustworthy. A file is downloaded that remains dormant for a portion of time as it gradually takes over your files or hard drive using encryption. The hacker that developed the ransomware will then lock down your system, holding it hostage unless you pay a hefty fee in bitcoin to get the key. If you don’t regularly back up your computers or have a disaster recovery plan in place, you might be stuck paying up or losing everything.
How Can You Protect Against Ransomware?
Luckily, there are many ways that you can protect your business from falling victim to ransomware and catastrophic failure, including the following:
- Use and update your anti-virus software regularly. Schedule scans to run every day after employees leave.
Update all applications and software that you use frequently. - Change computer settings to show the full file extension and remove .EXE files from emails. These are the most common ways that ransomware enters a network. If you need to send EXE files as part of your business, use ZIP files that are password protected or the cloud to send them.
- Back up computers and data in more than one way, whether that means using the cloud and an external hard drive or two different sets of external hard drives. Newer types of ransomware will also encrypt files on drives that are mapped, so ensure that you have a regular back-up plan that doesn’t have a drive letter or that doesn’t remain connected to your network at all times.
- Develop a disaster recovery plan before disaster strikes and ensure that all of your employees are familiar with what to do.
Take advantage of a free network assessment from Computer Services Unlimited, Inc. (CSU) to see how secure your network is and get advice from experts in the field. To see how we can help secure your network, contact us online, give us a call at (410) 484-7380 or email us [email protected].
Disaster Recovery & Backup Solution by Max Minkov
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