Lots of ransomware viruses (VirLock, Cryptolocker, FileCoder, TorrentLocker) have attacked computer users lately.
Here are some tips to avoid ransomware virus:
- Ensure your operating system and security software are regularly updated.
- Consider investing in substantial anti-virus tools, including specialist Cryptolocker prevention kits.
- Don’t open attachments from unknown sources or from emails that appear to be from a legitimate source but are suspicious.
- Regularly back up important data and keep it within unconnected storage.
- Consider moving more data to cloud services offered by Google and others.
- Businesses should check incident response and resilience protocols to monitor for infection.
- Ensure staff are educated in good computing practices and how to spot threats.
- Use software to identify if a computer is infected. If so, disconnect it from networks immediately and seek professional advice.
- If you believe you have been compromised, change online account passwords and network passwords after removing the system from the network.
- Block .exe files over email, including within ZIP files. This can usually be done using an anti-spam system.
