pernalonga-bugs-and-thugs-03

ransomware

The Wall Street Journal tech news briefing podcast today focuses on Ransomware... You can listen here, but we wanted to give some or our tips as well.WSJ - Tech News Briefing - How to Protect Yourself From a Ransomware Attack

How do you protect yourself from Ransomware attacks? Good question.Lets start with prevention... the number one thing to do is

BACKUP

. Always backup. Many times, the only way to get your stuff back, is to restore from a backup. If you're at home, backup to a USB drive, or Google Drive, or Drop Box, or Mozy, or Carbonite... just do something. Don't wait. At work, your IT provider should provide your company with an all-encompassing backup solution, but keep in mind... if you do not save your important work items to your server or cloud, they may not be backed up. So, be mindful and knowledgeable about your backups.Ask Questions. Ransomware often comes in an email disguised as something important. A delivery notification, a payment reminder, etc.. If it looks suspicious or you aren't expecting it, ask someone to look at it.Antivirus/Antimalware prevention is also helpful, but will not always catch the Ransomware. Remember... software typically can't stop you hitting "yes" or "ok" on something that you shouldn't.

What if you do become infected... what do you do?

The
MOST IMPORTANT THING
is to tell someone immediately. The quicker Ransomware is caught, the less damage it can do. Picture it like a wildfire that spreads over time. That's exactly what it does.Immediately turn off your computer and get your IT company to help remove the infection and restore the damaged data.DO NOT PAY RANSOM FOR ANYTHING.Call Ceeva at 412-690-2300 to talk about Disaster Recovery planning and Ransomware prevention.