Ransomware Prevention Tips

| April 28, 2017

Overview

Ransomware is a type of malicious software which encrypts data and then demands a ransom from the user to decrypt the files. Files are typically not deleted or harmed in any way. However, the files really are encrypted, and cannot be opened (in most cases) without the decryption tool. Ransom is paid via BitCoin and typically runs anywhere from $1,000 to $10,000.

Prevention

There is no 100% way to prevent ransomware or any other type of malicious software. However, by following these recommendations, you can help protect yourself.

  1. Run a good anti-virus/anti-malware software. Free programs are great, but you need something with good alerts and an active subscription. 
  2. Avoid mapped drives. Ransomware will encrypt all drives accessible to your computer, mapped drives included. Network shares can easily be added as shortcuts to your desktop and the favorites section of Windows 7, 8, and 10.
  3. Use web-based email. Fundamentally, the use of web-based email (as opposed to an email client) means files are not downloaded to your PC until you ask for them to be. Google’s email system is available for your business for about $5/user/month. 
  4. Do not use built-in Administrator accounts. Windows has a built-in user named “Administrator” under no circumstances should you use this account, ever. Create another admin user and use that user. Disabling this account is also preferred
  5. Use a backup with versioning that is not connected to your systems. This can be a NAS or Cloud backup, so ransomware won’t encrypt it as well.