Computer viruses are nasty things at the best of times but I have felt a bit under siege recently. In the last two weeks alone I have had to deal with:
1. The Locky ransomware which encrypted a Windows 10 PC, network shares on a Linux server along with the Dropbox backups. It also started to encrypt another Dropbox account which had a shared folder with the master account.
2. A trojan which allowed an attacker to get on to a system and change email settings and give themselves remote control of the system without any client intervention whatsoever. They even intercepted the clients telephone call to hotmail (number searched for on Google) when the client realised something was wrong.
3. Another potential Locky ransomware attack which luckily was spotted by the antivirus.
4. A trojan which attacked Google Chrome and locked the system. All the client could see was an error message saying their ip address was now blocked due to suspicious activity and they should ring the number below to get it sorted.
As you can see it has been a bit busy!!
The best defence against these types of attack is of course not to get hit in the first place. Don’t open suspicious emails (and attachments) or even emails from people you don’t know. Make sure your antivirus is working and fully updated and as always be aware of which websites you are viewing.
One last thing – backups. In the case of the first Locky Ransomware attack the client had backups on Dropbox which allowed them to roll back the account and recover their files. Without this they would have lost everything. Backups are essential in the fight against viruses and hackers so make sure you have some!!!
About the Author
Hi I’m Chris Wakefield the owner of ComTech IT Support. I provide Cisco, Windows, OS X and Linux based IT Support to small businesses throughout Scotland.
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