How to avoid falling victim to Ransomware

How to avoid falling victim to Ransomware

It has recently been reported that there has been an increase in ransomware attacks affecting a variety of operating systems in the UK.

Why the UK?

The UK is regarded as a testing ground by foreign criminal gangs and as a result many companies have found themselves victims of these attacks and held to ransom. It’s anticipated that the volume of attacks will continue to rise this year. Therefore, it’s imperative that companies protect themselves.

Back in September, we wrote an article called ‘Beware Ransomware’ which gives you all the needs to knows about ransomware. It can affect any device – computer, laptop, smartphone etc – once encrypted, criminals demand a ransom before rendering the files inoperable.

Companies using an old version of software or those whose security updates are out of date are more at risk.

Here are some tips to protecting yourself from attack:

• Use a reputable antivirus software and a firewall – avoid free versions
• Ensure your email uses good spam filtering and anti-virus software – we offer Smart Fish email filtering from just £2.50 +Vat per month, per user {the more users, the less the user cost}
• Ensure that reputable malware detection software is installed
• Keep up-to-date with security updates for your operating systems
• Back up often and take backups off site
• If your server is affected disconnect it from the network
• Enable your popup blocker within your internet browser
• Exercise caution – do not click on links within emails, avoid suspicious websites etc
• If you receive a ransomware note, disconnect from the local network and internet
• Alert the police

If in doubt, get in contact with us at Smart and we can give you some advice.