![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Keep Windows User Account Control (UAC) enabled.According to Eaton ( 2016), “If the person who clicked on the ransomware doesn’t have write access to a specific data location, then neither will the ransomware.” Don’t use a Windows administrator account for everyday computing.Be careful with automatic file sharing or syncing services, and turn off unneeded network shares.Use a secure browser (see ITPro, NordVPN).On phones, be careful about responding to text messages that may not really come from your bank or other service provider, and about voicemail messages that request a callback that takes you through a series of steps including malware installation on your computer.Social media downloads and instant messaging can infect your system.Don’t even trust the people you know, if there is any possibility that their email attachment could come from someone who has hijacked their email account.Never open email attachments from people you don’t know.Enable the Windows option to “show file extensions,” so as to spot and avoid unfamiliar executables (e.g.Keep your operating system and other software updated, and restart the system at least weekly to facilitate updates.Numerous sources (e.g., CISA, Bitdefender, Microsoft, NoMoreRansom, Backblaze) offer a plethora of suggestions of varying levels of complexity, including these: Crisis situations have a way of making things more interesting. Possibly a realistic compromise is to read and act upon the first few sections now, and then read the rest carefully, later, when you find yourself facing a crisis situation. To me, this post is too long and boring to read until you’ve been attacked, and then some parts of it will be too late. federal government’s Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency ( CISA) defines ransomware as “an ever-evolving form of malware” that encrypts files, making them inaccessible to their intended users while sometimes uploading them to the ransomseeker, who may demand a ransom to return control to the intended user and/or to refrain from releasing the files to third parties or to the world at large. This post offers a proposed program for protecting against ransomware and for recovering from a ransomware attack. Later sections of this post address those subjects, following a plan that suggests separating drives from the computer, testing the motherboard, and then exploring methods of recovering data from the drives, without losing whatever remains and also without spreading infection beyond the primary computer. Given commenters’ recurrent reminders that ransomware is constantly evolving, however, it seems likely that some users will find it necessary to roll up their sleeves and investigate firsthand the status of their data files, and their prospects for recovery. Those materials may help many ransomware victims to arrive at a better ransomware situation than they might have expected. In keeping with much of the literature, that section provides links and a brief introduction to a variety of ransomware response resources. After a review of relevant antivirus offerings, the discussion addresses steps that the user may want to take, as well as some pressures that s/he might want to resist. Some, including regular backups and not running as an administrator, were especially crucial. This post attempts to think through the concerns that may confront the desktop Windows user who suddenly finds that ransomware appears to have taken over his/her system.įor reference, the discussion begins with a review of recommended antimalware precautions. ![]()
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