Ransomware - what is it?

The intruders have the ability to steal our money using more sophisticated techniques as technology advances. We are often sent messages from the mail box or mobile device , containing pictures or other programs that may "interest us", but, in fact, are malware that take control of the mobile device or computer.

For example, you can make an advertisement on an ads platform about selling some product. Within a few hours you receive an SMS that offers to swap your item for another that includes a hyperlink to images of this item. If you access this link using an Android device, you download an application that transfers all the money you have to an account belonging to the intruder.

Another popular attack method is to send mail messages that include link text as well as a link, which encourages users to click the link. For example, intruder can offer you good job and you need to fill out a form by clicking on the link. As a result, your mobile or computer is infected with a trojan or a so-called "keylogger" which reads data from your hard disk, and keeps track of keystrokes and sends this information to the attacker. As a result of the analysis of the data that is gathered, the hacker will be able to determine your personal passwords and use them to steal your money or personal information.

What exactly is ransomware?

Ransomware is an entirely new method of earning money from criminals that is founded on the psychology of humans. If you click the link, your device will be blocked , and you are presented with the following message: "You must transfer 100dollars to regain access to your device and prevent data loss." "

Typically, when you click this type of link, the program code is used to modify the Autorun or registry files and the user will see this message. Even if you transfer money, it won't alter anything and you won’t have access to your device.

Ransomware also can cause serious damage to your computer. Be aware, that this type of malware doesn't create backups. Your data is lost forever and nobody will be able to retrieve it remotely.

It is therefore necessary to use anti-virus or other specially designed scripts to repair the system. Never transfer money to intruders!

How to protect

It is crucial to ensure that the antivirus database is current. The majority of infections can be avoided by antivirus programs.

Then, you should regularly backup your data regularly. Make use of a removable external hard drive or cloud services to accomplish this. If you lose your data from your device, you can always restore it without any problems.

But, the most important thing is to be vigilant. Studies show that malware may cause harm to a laptop or device in the majority cases when it opens an attachment to an email, like an attached image, or in your mailbox. Do not open attachments to messages from unknown senders. The best method to guard against these types of messages is to utilize temporary mailboxes to hide your presence in web and filter out the most suspicious messages. Statistics show that temporary mail boxes are less vulnerable to attacks of this kind because their duration is short.

Summary

Don't open mails from unknown persons and never open attachments in such mails.

Don't send money to an intruder when your device is locked. The device cannot be unlocked. Utilize antivirus software or scripts to resolve the issue.

You can shield yourself from malicious attachments by using disposable mailing.